It looks like Fender's price hike didn't work out as planned last year

[zarl]

I just checked MusiciansFriend and saw that many Fender guitars have the MSRP and MAP prices rolled back significantly, close to the pre-February 2009 price hike. Even the Road Worn stuff is reduced slightly. It did seem silly of Fender to hike prices as the economy was tanking. The revised pricing is more reasonable, although still on the high side.

 

[supergenius365]

I noticed in GC a few months ago that prices were down, lower than even catalog (MF, AMS, etc.) prices.

 

[Trandy]

That was a huge tactical error on Fender's part.

Overall sales are down....and they took a beating in the PR department.

 

[Jack Dotson]

I don't know. It looks to as though they're just having a sale on the American Standards and notice only the basic finishes are at the old prices. The Deluxe's are still just a couple of hundred less than a new LP Traditional Pro.

I think a grand is about the limit for a nice American Standard and $1200 max for a Deluxe. Their amp's are a bigger rip-off IMO.

Unless there's a massive sale I'll not buy any new Fender stuff until they come back to earth.

 

[David Garner]

Their amp's are a bigger rip-off IMO.

That's the truth. I bought a boutique handwired Deluxe instead of a DRRI back when I could get the DRRI for $650-750 new. At $1000-1100, it's almost a no-brainer to get a clone. You can't get the one I got for near that, but you can get a solid clone (Vintage Sound, Weber kit built by someone, etc.) for a couple hundred more. It makes no sense to go new PCB built overseas when you can get a quality handwired for not that much more.

 

[Help!I'maRock!]

It makes no sense to go new PCB built overseas when you can get a quality handwired for not that much more.

the DRRI is MIM, not Asia.

still, i agree that they're not worth it. you can get a Silverface for what the RI goes for. why bother?

 

[ba614]

I think Fender's price hike is working out just like they planned.

Fender established a higher base price for thier instruments at a time that only hard core buyer's were going to buy a new instrument anyway.

Now they can lower the price to the previous price and rake in buyer's that think they are getting in at the old price before prices go back up.

 

[tamader74]

I'm confused,The drri. states mia,the footswitch mim,The fender cover sez made in china...Bought/made after '98 when we opened the floodgates of what our trade were

 

[travisvwright]

.

No mods today. I love good political debate. But here I'm talking about guitars please respect that.

 

[sanhozay]

There's good business and there's idiotic greed. FMIC has been an example of both with last year being their less than finest moment. Maybe they assumed they were going to "mop up" and get their headstock patent and elevate their brand name worth. Presently their price structure isn't smart and it isn't going to serve them well, regardless of the economic climate. Maybe their business model requires way too much volume for profit and the price change reflects a shrinking net profit. Again, who knows & who really cares? I stopped shopping for Fender because dollar to dollar their custom shop wares pale against the alternates.

 

[big mike]

Knock off the politics.

 

[Curly]

IMO, it was not just the timing of the increase, but also the amount ... what was it, 18%?

If someone is diligent, they're likely to find what they want at 10 - 20% off, but I'd have to say that the number of sales are an indication that the price increase didn't work out as planned.

 

[Jon Silberman]

I think Fender's price hike is working out just like they planned.

Fender established a higher base price for thier instruments at a time that only hard core buyer's were going to buy a new instrument anyway.

Now they can lower the price to the previous price and rake in buyer's that think they are getting in at the old price before prices go back up.

You are exactly correct. It's all about Fender raking in as much consumer surplus as possible through their pricing strategy.

 

[MarkF786]

Do we even know if this is a permanent price drop, or just a sale?

 

[brianeharmonjr]

Well, Fender hiked their prices at the beginning of the year. All the dealers bought in for the year around NAMM time. Then, after a bit of a public backlash, they dropped many of the prices back down a few months later. This completely ****ed over smaller dealers (like the one I work at). The price increase at the beginning of the year wasn't really out of line. It had been over a year since any prices were increased. It was just bad timing that resulted in some smaller guys getting screwed and some bad PR for the company. There's my rant.

 

[coldfingaz]

This debacle has been sad to watch especially since we knew this would happen. How many customers did they lose forever? I do feel bad for the good people that still work for FMIC, but if the quality of their products is in line with their business decision making I don't think I'm missing much.

What I really don't understand is why anyone here or with any knowledge about Fender products & their history would (a) buy any new Fender guitar over a used one or (b) ever buy one of their RI amps when you can get an original SF version for less.

Seriously, have you just not looked at the used prices?

 

[travisvwright]

Wait is SF better than BF? (My marshall ingorance showing)

 

[LHanson]

Wait is SF better than BF? (My marshall ingorance showing)

The difference is cosmetic on most DR's. One of the best kept secrets of the Fender world.

 

[buddastrat]

How would you know? Maybe it was all part of a scheme. Maybe they raise prices and then offer more sales/promotions or part of a setup to give the illusion that it's a good deal when they lower them.

Aren't they the largest guitar company? I wouldn't worry about it.

 

[sanhozay]

What I really don't understand is why anyone here or with any knowledge about Fender products & their history would (a) buy any new Fender guitar over a used one or (b) ever buy one of their RI amps when you can get an original SF version for less.

Because FMIC still runs the company in the letter & newspaper era. I don't think they get it. These types of forums, twitter, facebook, all future platforms are essential to consider when you are a company the size of Fender. That fantastic heritage of Leo Fender providing all the horsepower for so many years is not going to sustain if the damage control department doesn't have the oversight to realize how many people are discussing their products and prices hundreds of times, every day of the year.