PSA: When comparing guitar prices, consider inflation

[Greg McCoy]

Since Drew is apparently lax in his duties of educating people about economic concepts...

Not aimed at anyone in particular, but I notice that in every Ibanez thread ever there is a lot of...

they have gone way up in price, I traded a camel and two precious gemstones for (X Ibanez) in Nazareth in 4 A.D. and now they want $2500!

and

[quote]IN 1920 AN IBANEZ WAS ONLY $5, THIS PRICE INCREASE IS RIDICULOUS, I DIDN'T SURVIVE THE DUST BOWL TO PAY $3k FOR (insert instrumental guitarists name here) MODEL[/quote]

and

IN 1970 I BOUGHT ONE OF THESE IN A HANDSHAKE BARTERING DEAL FOR A HEFTY BAG OF WEED AND SOME GOOD VIBES, THIS PRICE INCREASE IS RIDICULOUS

Half of the price increases people complain about are actually the exact same price as the Halcyon golden years or marginally higher. They only look like massive price increases if you don't know what inflation is.

There are even online calculator sites that make comparing prices easy.

https://www.bls.gov/data/inflation_calculator.htm

[Nick]

That would be fine if in 94 a 1000usd or gbp or whatever guitar was now 1800.

A prestige ibanez (rg1527) I bought in 2011 for 500gbp would now cost over 3x that in the uk for a guitar of similar build quality eg the current 2027xl.

Prices are fucking nuts here but we also have brexit lunacy to thank for that.

[Greg McCoy]

That would be fine if in 94 a 1000usd or gbp or whatever guitar was now 1800.

A prestige ibanez (rg1527) I bought in 2011 for 500gbp would now cost over 3x that in the uk for a guitar of similar build quality eg the current 2027xl.

Prices are fucking nuts here but we also have brexit lunacy to thank for that.

Talking US here. All the pricing is based on the US, since we are the greatest country in the world. Importing and exporting and whatever adds complexity.

And yeah, they have gone up across the board. In many cases though it's nowhere near as much as people state. More like 10-20%.

It's not Ibanez specifically, or this site specifically, but I notice a lot of educated people who would recognize inflation is a factor in any other situations suddenly forget about it when talking about gear.

[Nick]

Yeah prices obviously can't stay the same forever but over here prs, suhr, ibanez, mayones, Jackson are all out of hand.

Jackson recently just lumped a extra 1k onto all usa models because I guess 1k felt like a round figure that was easy to work with?!

[Greg McCoy]

Yeah prices obviously can't stay the same forever but over here prs, suhr, ibanez, mayones, Jackson are all out of hand.

Jackson recently just lumped a extra 1k onto all usa models because I guess 1k felt like a round figure that was easy to work with?!

I have noticed the Jackson price increase most obviously. I think it's been out of hand since like 2012. 2008 in some cases

The last time I thought Jackson/Charvel was the $1k US San Dimas era and the end of the MIJ era. The price increase isn't as bad as it looks obviously, due to inflation, but it has been creeping higher even in the US. Especially now that they have shifted to being a Bulb based brand.

When USA models were 2400-2600 (although some models were more and figured tops and etc.) was the last time I thought it was fair. And even that was a little high.

[Nick]

Yeah s usa jackson soloist with a figured top will now run you 4k gbp over here so maybe closer to 5k us?

[Greg McCoy]

Yeah s usa jackson soloist with a figured top will now run you 4k gbp over here so maybe closer to 5k us?

Don't know exact numbers, I just put it under the blanket term "too much".

I had a 2012 Broderick I got on a sale when they were $3k new. Think I paid $2400. Local shop was having an anniversary sale. That was fair. Those had great hardshell cases too. This guitar.



I bought a Jackson SKB hardshell last night, those are way out of hand. $200 for a hardshell case is ridiculous.

[Nick]

Haha some used prices for that guitar are double that here now

[Leah]

IMIK top of the line Schecters topped out around $599 in 2003-4ish. Now it's twice that.

[Markus]

That would be fine if in 94 a 1000usd or gbp or whatever guitar was now 1800.

A prestige ibanez (rg1527) I bought in 2011 for 500gbp would now cost over 3x that in the uk for a guitar of similar build quality eg the current 2027xl.

Prices are fucking nuts here but we also have brexit lunacy to thank for that.

You're basically comparing a bound body and neck, ebony fretboard, Dimarzio-equipped, Lo-Pro Edge-equipped 27" scale guitar with shitty stock pickup, no-binding, Edge Pro-equipped rosewood boarded 25.5 scale guitar

A more accurate comparison would be the 1077XL or 2077XL, which I'm pretty sure were much more expensive than the RG1527. Ibanez doesn't really have a 7-string that compares specswise with the 1527 right now.

On the other hand, Ibanez has the Genesis line which is most likely cheaper now than an RG1550 was 10 years ago, even without adjusting for inflation.

[mpexus]

People also seem to forget in 2007/8 the World hit a huge recession thanks to Banks... everything went down in price. Back then I was lucky that neither me or my wife lost our jobs, and we noticed that most things become cheaper. Restaurants, Vacations plans, Hotels, Furniture and yes even guitars and common households. People were afraid to spend money and Sellers needed to sell. Among food places only ones I noticed they never changed their prices and in some cases bumped them up were the Fast Food restaurants. In fact around that time it was cheaper to go eat proper food than on those so called restaurants.

Then we slowly came out of it and Fender every year raises their prices each year. Also the Dollar started gaining terrain again. I remember we could buy a mid level Schecter for 550-650 euros and they are now 1100-1300 euros for the same guitar. The LTDs EC were around 700-800 euros and are all now 1100+ and made in cheaper factories.

The RG 550 Genesis is a proof MIJ Brand Guiitars can made and be less than 1K, but also they cut corners on those, the fretwork is not at same level as the Premium Ibanez made in Indonesia.

[Nick]

You're basically comparing a bound body and neck, ebony fretboard, Dimarzio-equipped, Lo-Pro Edge-equipped 27" scale guitar with shitty stock pickup, no-binding, Edge Pro-equipped rosewood boarded 25.5 scale guitar

A more accurate comparison would be the 1077XL or 2077XL, which I'm pretty sure were much more expensive than the RG1527. Ibanez doesn't really have a 7-string that compares specswise with the 1527 right now.

On the other hand, Ibanez has the Genesis line which is most likely cheaper now than an RG1550 was 10 years ago, even without adjusting for inflation.

No I'm comparing 2 guitars I've actually owned and arguably the 1527 was better quality and felt like the more expensive guitar. I've owned 3 1527s and while I'm sure there were duds all 3 of mine and all the others I played were great. On the 2027 it has shitty proprietary "dimarzios" not real ones. The "ebony" is also not great as its definitely stained black. After almost 2 years owning it my left hand still comes away from it with dye on it. Not that i don't like it, it's great but to say its a better quality guitar is demonstrably false.

But for a better price comparison...

An RG 752 is currently £1500, yeah it might in some finishes have an Ash body but that hardly makes any difference, it's basically the same guitar the 1527 was.

You could also compare it to some of the cheaper lines, most of which cost more now but are shit. Eg rg7420 or 1027. £750 and about £1k respectively and both shit in comparison to a prestige ibanez.

[jacksonplayer]

Inflation or no, there's no question that the market for used guitars is in a bit of a bubble right now, and it's worldwide. It's especially amusing for certain brands like '90s Japanese Jacksons/Charvels, where there are zillions of them out there as well as a bunch of tools who think that a beat-up '91 Fusion Standard (or whatever) is a $1k guitar.

[Markus]

No I'm comparing 2 guitars I've actually owned and arguably the 1527 was better quality and felt like the more expensive guitar. I've owned 3 1527s and while I'm sure there were duds all 3 of mine and all the others I played were great. On the 2027 it has shitty proprietary "dimarzios" not real ones. The "ebony" is also not great as its definitely stained black. After almost 2 years owning it my left hand still comes away from it with dye on it. Not that i don't like it, it's great but to say its a better quality guitar is demonstrably false.
.

Quality is one thing, but the specs are undisputably more premium on the 2027XL. The RG7620 I had was just as good as the RG2077XL I had before it - even though the 2077XL was a far more expensive guitar back then, and probably even more so now.

[mpexus]

Inflation or no, there's no question that the market for used guitars is in a bit of a bubble right now, and it's worldwide. It's especially amusing for certain brands like '90s Japanese Jacksons/Charvels, where there are zillions of them out there as well as a bunch of tools who think that a beat-up '91 Fusion Standard (or whatever) is a $1k guitar.

And if it says Charvel or even Charvette seems people go insane on the prices...

[jim777]

Ibanez has announced they are raising prices in February 2022, so given that they are actually announcing it and giving the timeframe we should assume it will not be a couple of bucks, but possibly a handful of percentage points. If there's something (new) you want, get it before February if you can.

[Chris]

Ibanez has announced they are raising prices in February 2022, so given that they are actually announcing it and giving the timeframe we should assume it will not be a couple of bucks, but possibly a handful of percentage points. If there's something (new) you want, get it before February if you can.

Fortunately there are no current Ibanez worth buying anyway.

[Ghost.]

I think the biggest problem with all these Ibanez inflations is people asking ridiculous prices for Ibanez 7620, 7420, 1527 and etc.

In no way shape or form should you be paying $900-$1200 for any one of these that are beat to absolute smithereens. Quite a few of them are and they are demanding crazy prices for them. I saw Guitar Center charging $1,000 for a Ibanez K-7 that had a hole literally drilled through the headstock. So stupid.

[beneharris]

IMIK top of the line Schecters topped out around $599 in 2003-4ish. Now it's twice that.

Those Schecters are still better than their current ones, too.

But I can see the price increase. They generally have fancier wood, better hardware, etc. They're at least attempting to justify it.

I do remember back when I joined up on SSO, and then MG, we were talking about $1500 being top of the line stuff.

[Mike]

Those Schecters are still better than their current ones, too.

But I can see the price increase. They generally have fancier wood, better hardware, etc. They're at least attempting to justify it.

I do remember back when I joined up on SSO, and then MG, we were talking about $1500 being top of the line stuff.

When I joined SSO it was $1899 for a USA Soloist. An SL1 in black is now $4299.

[beneharris]

When I joined SSO it was $1899 for a USA Soloist. An SL1 in black is now $4299.

Yeah, that is nutty.

[Drew]

Thanks Garrett

That would be fine if in 94 a 1000usd or gbp or whatever guitar was now 1800.

A prestige ibanez (rg1527) I bought in 2011 for 500gbp would now cost over 3x that in the uk for a guitar of similar build quality eg the current 2027xl.

Prices are fucking nuts here but we also have brexit lunacy to thank for that.

There are really three things, IMO at least, to consider with changes in pricing over time.

1) Inflation, as Greg points out. That can have a fairly material impact over a decade.
2) Exchange rates. Generally speaking, the dollar has weakened against most currencies in the past 10-20 years. If a guitar is made in japan, and the cost of production in yen is unchanged, if the dollar weakens against the yen 10% in a decade, the cost in dollar terms has increased 10%. The pound has DEFINITELY weakened thanks to Brexit, so you guys are in the same boat.
3) idiosyncratic factors. The RG1527 was too cheap when it was first introduced, because the alternative it had to be priced to compete with wasn't another production guitar, it was all the used 7620s that had gotten blown out at $450 less than ten years before. Ibanez, i suspect, figured they HAD to price them cheap, because they had basically destroyed the market for quality double locking seven strings shortly before, and no one would have bought one new if they sold for $1,200, like the 7620s used to. IIRC, there was a pretty big price difference between the 6-string equivalent model and the 7, which should have been a pretty good sign that something was going on - I rememebr at the time saying that the 1527 was the best bang-for-your-buck Ibanez in production with ANY number of strings. Those early 04-05 1527s fucking smoked, too, some of the best Ibanez guitars I've ever played.

But, in the long run, #1 and 2 should explain a pretty good chunk of the change in price of a guitar from year to year.

[Iron1]

Fortunately there are no current Ibanez worth buying anyway.

[Budda]

Ok but who's buying my stuff?

[Randy]

Fortunately there are no current Ibanez worth buying anyway.

IDK, the JIVA is pretty nice