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Any thoughts on the Fender price drops?


Maess

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the mims will drop back down(maybe not back to 350)when the mias start selling again. if you have a loss somewhere you have to make up for it somewhere else. they made a mistake and they no it at least un-like gibson, they arnt sacrificing quality to make up for it. i know the fender guys are glad for it and at least they will backing off on the worn guitars. im a little tired of seeing the new old look on the spotlight stands when i go into a music store

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Yeah, well I remember paying $.32 a gal for gas as a kid before our gov started printing money we couldn't back up... But that isn't coming back either:rolleyes:

 

 

Yeah, but their price raise isn't due to a steeper cost of parts, just them wanting to make more money

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It worked. They introduced the pricing increased which caused a short buying frenzy. Then they worked with their best customer, GC/Musicians Friend and came up with various promotions including "Fender Friday" which made people buy things, during the worst economic times in years, that they normally wouldn't buy. Fender is doing a much better job of getting the available dollars on the market than any other guitar maker in the industry.

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Yeah, but their price raise isn't due to a steeper cost of parts, just them wanting to make more money

 

 

Not sure about that. Hasn't the price of both woods and metals gone up conciderably over the last few years? I'm not sure really, but I thought so. Also minimum wage has been going up every year so the cost of labor is also increasing. I'm not saying the huge price jumps that Gibson has been doing every year is justified, but there is no way the cost of guitar making hasn't been going up.

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Not sure about that. Hasn't the price of both woods and metals gone up conciderably over the last few years? I'm not sure really, but I thought so. Also minimum wage has been going up every year so the cost of labor is also increasing. I'm not saying the huge price jumps that Gibson has been doing every year is justified, but there is no way the cost of guitar making hasn't been going up.

 

 

Not enough to justify a $150 price jump... Minimum wage doesn't figure into the equation that much either, their made in Mexico after all. The workers are probably paid no ore than $10 a day.

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That too
:thu:



Not enough to justify a $150 price jump... Minimum wage doesn't figure into the equation that much either, their made in Mexico after all. The workers are probably paid no ore than $10 a day.



Yeah, I was refering to the American part of Fender with the minimum wage thing. But, obviously what effects one part of the company is going to effect the whole company. Number I found is that Fender has about 1000 employees, I assume that's world wide. So lets just pick a random number and say that 250 of those people are minimum wage earning Americans who work 30 hours a week. In 2007 federal minimum wage went from 5.15 to 5.85. Then in 2008 it went to 6.55. Then is 2009 it went to 7.25. That means the cost of labor for those 250 employees each year went up by a cost of $252,000. Which means in 2009 those employees cost $756,000 more then they did in 2006. That means that at an extra 150 dollars an instrument it takes 5,040 guitars to make up for minimum wage alone.
That's all based off my random number of emplyees of course but the bottom line is that the cost of doing business is going up.

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I think Fender saw what the oil companies have been doing and said "why not?" So they jacked up their prices, got everyone to scream about it, and not this big "price cut" takes them back to where they were in some cases (higher in other cases) and this thread is all "wow, Fender cut prices, let's buy buy buy!"



This is the correct answer :thu:

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Yeah, I was refering to the American part of Fender with the minimum wage thing. But, obviously what effects one part of the company is going to effect the whole company. Number I found is that Fender has about 1000 employees, I assume that's world wide. So lets just pick a random number and say that 250 of those people are minimum wage earning Americans who work 30 hours a week. In 2007 federal minimum wage went from 5.15 to 5.85. Then in 2008 it went to 6.55. Then is 2009 it went to 7.25. That means the cost of labor for those 250 employees each year went up by a cost of $252,000. Which means in 2009 those employees cost $756,000 more then they did in 2006. That means that at an extra 150 dollars an instrument it takes 5,040 guitars to make up for minimum wage alone.

That's all based off my random number of emplyees of course but the bottom line is that the cost of doing business is going up.

 

 

 

None of their employees make minimum wage. The health care increases are way more dramatic though.

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None of their employees make minimum wage. The health care increases are way more dramatic though.

 

 

I don't know anything about health care increases, but surely they have some minimum wage employees. Not everyone who works at Fender makes guitars.

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Yeah, well I remember paying $.32 a gal for gas as a kid before our gov started printing money we couldn't back up... But that isn't coming back either



we must be close to the same age, i worked at a gas station when gas was 35 cents a gallon :thu:... that said, i love my american standard strats - the `modern c' neck fits my hand just right. i prefer the s/s/h myself.

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...Bottom line though, a good Gibson or Fender will always beat the best is expensive.


Just enjoy what you can afford, it's sad if you have to lie to yourself to make you feel better about your gear.

 

 

I completely disagree.

Not only can cheaper guitars be better than Fender or Gibson, but wood is relatively inexpensive. Yes, even good wood.

 

And it's not always about affordability. The same applies to guitars that are at least as expensive as Fender or Gibson. I preferred my Melancons and Bakers, for example.

 

If I wanted a $999 "strat" today, my first choice would probably be G&L. When I got mine it was cheaper than a comparable Fender, and better than the Fenders I tried in that price range.

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I don't know anything about health care increases, but surely they have some minimum wage employees. Not everyone who works at Fender makes guitars.

 

 

There aren't too many 'name' companies outside te service sector that pay minimum wage.

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I completely disagree.

Not only can cheaper guitars be better than Fender or Gibson, but wood is relatively inexpensive. Yes, even good wood.

 

 

I don't believe that a cheap guitar will ever beat a GOOD Gibson or Fender. Once again, I do believe there are crap Gibsons out there, but when they are good they are unbeatable. For the record, I don't own a Fender and the only Gibson I own is my J45 acoustic.

 

Completely serious not being a smart ass question, do you know how the cost of wood has changed over the last five years or so? I can't find anything and I'm curious.

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If as has been stated in the "NO AFTER XMAS Sales" threads, instrument retail kept inventory low...then:

1. Lots of Fender's in their warehouse

2. Price drop - remember when this happened early last year, big ads etc. right before...

3. MF began to have the phone in weekly sales. Remember the incredibly low prices on Fender (jazzmaster USA 999, road worns 499-599, duo sonic CV 199, special prices on custom shops, roadhouse and many more I can't remember. oh yeah jimmy vaughan was 399.

4. the return of Fender Friday!!

It could happen.

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I bought two MIA Strats in 1998 and 2004. I bought the 98 brand new with case for $700 out the door and I bought the 2004 for $750 with case out the door. To me paying $1,000 for a Strat is ridiculous and I'm sure the current models are worth ~33% more than my 04. There are so many used Fenders in the market I would actually have a hard time ever buying a new one again anyway...not to mention all the copies out there.

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It's just a pity we won't see a price drop in this part of the world - at current exchange rate - the new price should work out to around R8500-R9500 (allowing for shipping) current American Strat price here is R19500, which you can haggle down to around R13000-R15000 which is still a lot of money - no wonder folk are buying off the net left right and centre....

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