Guitar Prices Have To Change

All these companies raised prices and then never lowered them. Nobody is paying it. Then you got all these people that ran out and bought all this gear during Covid and then realized that it actually takes time and practice to learn and are dumping it all on the used market. There's shit tons of Strats, Les Paul's, and amps.

I’ve hit a point in my life where I honestly have ZERO interest in getting a new guitar. I’ve gotten pretty much everything I need to play the music I want to and the desire to buy a new instrument is pretty much gone after 25 years of playing.

What I learned is that I do not need 30 guitars and ten amps.

God I wish I’d sold my gear off during the pandemic boom.

another real bummer on reverb is sales tax on used gear that has already had sales tax paid on it, sometimes more than once

"Boutique" effects pedal prices are stupid, too. Paying $400 for $25 worth of components and a metal box ain't gonna happen cap'n. I understand small builder margins aren't that great, but good lord with some of those prices.

That’s riiiiiiight! Time for prices to come down on EVERYTHING.

Im speaking of gear in general, but ive noticed alot of people on both marketplace and craiglist posting USED gear for the price of what it costs brand new (and sometimes even more than what it costs new)... I dont think people are doing their homework on prices or some crap... (i.e.-a Boss Blues Driver (non-Waza) for $100. Its like $89 brand new, or a PRS MT-15 for $800, etc)... Its very strange.

Now do houses.

Looking at Music Man. Their prices are absolutely bullshit on the Majesties right now. I bought a 7 string when they first came out for $2200. They're now $4k and some of them are closer to $6k.

My brother had a music store in the early '70s. When you walked in the door, you automatically got a 20% discount on Fender, Gibson, Guild, Yamaha, Ovation, Epiphone guitars and we were happy to give it. Nowadays, greedy Fender and greedy Gibson want full pop and that, directly from them so they get ALL the money! Guitars these days are good quality, no doubt. But give people a break on the costs, good grief.

My hot take, as a classical musician who's getting back into guitar, is that guitarists in general are too susceptible to the temptation to buy a shiny new guitar when most of the issues they're having with their current guitar could be addressed with a proper setup and a smart practice routine. Conventionally, it's been the assumption that you'll get an entry level instrument to start, buy or rent a step-up instrument when you get serious, invest in a professional instrument if you start to go pro, and maybe get your hands on a utility instrument to fill a different niche if you need that (i.e. I'm a tenor trombonist, but occasionally rent a bass trombone when an opportunity arises for that role). In the guitar world, I see a lot of people with a dozen or more guitars, seemingly all of which are lower-budget models that all happen to be imports from countries with abysmal labor practices (and to be fair, American guitar manufacturing isn't doing so great these days). It takes maturity to properly maintain what you have while you save your money for a serious instrument, and keep that as your primary workhorse, but our brains are wired to favor novelty, and the guitar industry realizes that, hence the disproportionate focus on budget models.

I will NEVER pay more for a non-collectable guitar than its original retail price. Reverb just looks like Ebay sharks hawking beanie babies anymore.

Yeah. I'm done with buying guitars, enough is enough. On to basses... :)

Taylor continues to raise prices. Last quarter, they raised hardshell case prices from 199 to 299. Ridiculous. I work for a mom and pop shop, and they're handcuffing the owner from expanding other lines - and he's been a Taylor dealer since the 80s. Something has to give.

Data analyst here, prices aren’t gonna go down until the C-suite starts to want to make less money. Sales are to make room for inventory that’s likely more expensive with a negligible difference. If you see stuff that’s good quality at a good price, that’s an outlier and you should support that company in their efforts. The people at the top have lost sight of organic growth and are at the mercy of shareholders who will divest if profits dip.

I have just taken an opportunity this past week. Have been looking to get a LTD EC401 white for almost a year. Went to this small store in the city I live in Canada and it was marked down by $400, brand new! I spoke with the guy and I was saying how much I've been looking for that guitar and he literally said "if you take it now, I'll throw in the ESP TKL softcase for free" which is not actually a softcase, it's a very good bag with hard sides and back, like a mid-point between a softcase and a hardshell case. It was a no-brainer! And I ended up helping this small store instead of giving money to big music store chains. I'd advise everyone here to do that, go visit your local shops instead of big retail stores, they are all struggling in some way (some more than others) but the big guys can hold stock for longer. ✌️

It’s funny with guitars, I mean, if you tried to sell your 4 yr old bowling ball or sofa, you’d be happy to get 1/2 of what you paid, but selling a 4yr old Cort acoustic, people expect 90% of what they paid…

I’ve just started making partscasters tbh

All I know is Katana's should basically be free at this point. GC's online used section is packed with them. But, the prices for those are pretty much where they've been for two years. I can't imagine how many new in boxes Katana's are sitting in warehouses around the world.