Is new gear prices soaring?

  • Prices have been soaring for the last two years. I am starting to see some of the used market prices come down a little. I am also seeing sales on things that retailers have a lot of stock of. I have also seen several guitar manufacturers raise prices recently or announce the increases are coming soon.

  • Prices have been soaring for the last two years. I am starting to see some of the used market prices come down a little. I am also seeing sales on things that retailers have a lot of stock of. I have also seen several guitar manufacturers raise prices recently or announce the increases are coming soon.

    I bought a Helix LT in 2017, the device was launched just some months before (so a pretty new product) and we could have it for 850€ instead of 1000€ official price.... I made a deal and had it for 750€ in stock-B with Thomann, i've noticed anything that could make me think it was used.


    Now, you find it at 1090€ on the same website. Every modelers have followed this same tendency... X/

    No, it's brand spanking new. B-stock is even cheaper.

    Same price at Musicstore for example, so it's not only Thomann.

    I have another example ; iv'e bought a Vox AC10 B-stock and when i received it, it was accompanied with a shit of paper enunciating all parts that have been replaced. I assume the previous owner has sent it back cause it was defective.... Without knowing that, it looked new and, fortunately, i've never had problems with it.

  • Exchange rate $ Vs. € went 15% up. But this doesn't explain the raise in US

    I often forget this point ! :)

    I've heard that many times to explain why the price raises suddenly but when there's a contrary tendency, the price stays the same....So i don't believe in this argue anymore,

    In the past, electronics devices such as modelers use to have a high price at the beginning slowing decrease during months/years.

    It's not the case today, the price is high, becomes low, and comes back at a high(er) point.

    I've bought a Nux MG30 at 300€, it decreased to 230€ now it's back at 300€....

  • Exchange rate $ Vs. € went 15% up. But this doesn't explain the raise in US

    Prices are up (Inflation) because there is too much money going after too few goods. Economy 101. There is a lot of wishful equipment I am going to have to skip for a while.


    "Supposedly" inflation is at 8.2% in the US according to "official" calculation. That's total BS. This EVH bumblebee was $899 two years ago (I almost bought one and the red stripe was $100 more). Bumblebee is now $1149. That's more than a 25% increase. :cursing: That increase is pretty much consistent for all guitar brands.


    https://www.sweetwater.com/sto…black-with-yellow-stripes

    Larry Mar @ Lonegun Studios. Neither one famous yet.

  • Prices are up (Inflation) because there is too much money going after too few goods. Economy 101. There is a lot of wishful equipment I am going to have to skip for a while.


    "Supposedly" inflation is at 8.2% in the US according to "official" calculation. That's total BS. This EVH bumblebee was $899 two years ago (I almost bought one and the red stripe was $100 more). Bumblebee is now $1149. That's more than a 25% increase. :cursing: That increase is pretty much consistent for all guitar brands.


    https://www.sweetwater.com/sto…black-with-yellow-stripes

    I've seen it too. Guitars gone up about 275-367$/euro. Insane prices. :pinch:That will make guitarists purchase more guitars. Not.:rolleyes: Better to wait until a guitar hits the second hand market.

    Think for yourself, or others will think for you wihout thinking of you

    Henry David Thoreau

  • Maybe it's because sea shipping prices exploded. in october 2021 a 40ft container costs 16.000$ from china to mainland europe. In 2020/before pandemic start it was 2.000$. (source: german finance-magazine "capital")


    For example: i payed 472€ for a gretsch in april 2020. The same guitar (same colour, etc.) at the same store now costs 559€. That's 18% more.


    Also nearly every company and everyone had less profit in the last 3 years and so everyone tries to get this missing profit back. That's the neverending story...

  • Maybe it's because sea shipping prices exploded. in october 2021 a 40ft container costs 16.000$ from china to mainland europe. In 2020/before pandemic start it was 2.000$. (source: german finance-magazine "capital")


    For example: i payed 472€ for a gretsch in april 2020. The same guitar (same colour, etc.) at the same store now costs 559€. That's 18% more.


    Also nearly every company and everyone had less profit in the last 3 years and so everyone tries to get this missing profit back. That's the neverending story...

    True but if I go out to a bar and bar A sell a beer for 3 euro and bar B sell a beer for 2 euro. Of course I choose bar B. Which bar will sell more and make more money this weekend? The answer is obivous. Now guitars also have to compete with more expensive food, electricity and gasolin. So why do they choose to raise their prices and insist they will sell the same amount of guitars this year like they did last year? It don't make sense.

    Think for yourself, or others will think for you wihout thinking of you

    Henry David Thoreau

  • True but if I go out to a bar and bar A sell a beer for 3 euro and bar B sell a beer for 2 euro. Of course I choose bar B. Which bar will sell more and make more money this weekend? The answer is obivous. Now guitars also have to compete with more expensive food, electricity and gasolin. So why do they choose to raise their prices and insist they will sell the same amount of guitars this year like they did last year? It don't make sense.

    Not done any research on this but I suspect that prices are not just going up but are best described as volatile i.e. I think they are perhaps going up in some cases and down in others (don't ask me for examples :) ).....


    So some reflecting the issues around supply and rising transport costs and others reflecting stock not selling.

  • So why do they choose to raise their prices and insist they will sell the same amount of guitars this year like they did last year? It don't make sense.

    Well, I'm sure they're not expecting to sell the same amount. Rather, they are likely scaling down production (and thus transportation and other derived expenses) and recouping fixed expenses by pricing their products higher. This is speculation on my part, but it does make sense to me.

  • Well, I'm sure they're not expecting to sell the same amount. Rather, they are likely scaling down production (and thus transportation and other derived expenses) and recouping fixed expenses by pricing their products higher. This is speculation on my part, but it does make sense to me.

    Unfortunately, that is the economic spiral...demand drops, prices go up, demand drops further...hence how recessions start.


    Disclaimer - I have no expertise in economics or product management and so possibly totally wrong :)

  • Not quite :). Prices go up when supplies go down. When demand goes down prices follow down until demand matches the prices again.

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    Edited once, last by musicmad ().