JP Price Now vs 2009

[LordVonUberbird]

At one point I had the JP 6 string in Red Pearl Burst and unfortunately had to sell it when relocating years bac. I've been looking at getting a new guitar and have always missed my JP. Looking at current prices is a bit shocking to say the least. I dug out my old receipt and I paid $2225 new before tax in March 2009. That same guitar now costs $3350 to $3403 (Long and McQuade vs LA Music) in Canada. How on earth is $1125 justified over 7 years or $160.70/year? Yikes

 

[beej]

Well the cost of building guitars in California has gone up since 2009. And the Canadian Dollar has dropped from the mid-90s to 1.3-ish. So that's a lot of difference right there.

 

[LordVonUberbird]

Well the cost of building guitars in California has gone up since 2009. And the Canadian Dollar has dropped from the mid-90s to 1.3-ish. So that's a lot of difference right there.

The dollar was virtually the same in March 2009, only .02 more than it is now. A 37% increase in the cost of manufacturing seems very unlikely as well.

 

[mikeller]

Depends on models you are comparing - in 2009 I bought a standard JP6 (non piezo) for approx $1,600.00. The standard JP6 now is $1,785 on both Guitar Center & Musician Friend site. That is a modest increase in 7 years...

 

[LordVonUberbird]

Depends on models you are comparing - in 2009 I bought a standard JP6 (non piezo) for approx $1,600.00. The standard JP6 now is $1,785 on both Guitar Center & Musician Friend site. That is a modest increase in 7 years...

I'm comparing the same model. I had the JP 6 with piezo and bullet inlays. $185 over 7 years is quite modest, but this one has gone up approx $175/year which is ridiculous.

 

[John C]

I can't offer an explanation - but EBMM did take a good price increase over the past 7 years, and part of that is paying their employees a living wage in California, part of it is overhead/regulations/etc. that have changed in the past 7 years. I don't begrudge them paying their employees a living wage for SLO, California.

The USA MAP shown on the Music Man website for a fully-loaded pearl redburst JP6 is $2,399. Factor in the exchange rate and you're at $3,071 Canadian. For the remainder of the price difference your question isn't for EBMM, it's for your Canadian retailers and distributors.

 

[Big Poppa]

I can tell you that they have probably gone up 20-25 Percent...Our health insurance has doubled, workers comp tripled, utilities way up wages up at least 15%...and there is a layer of distribution that wasnt there in 2009.

 

[beej]

Not to beat the dead horse since BP has addressed the cost issue ... but-

The dollar was virtually the same in March 2009, only .02 more than it is now.

The Canadian Dollar has dropped considerably more than two cents since 2009 ... March was the outlier. More like 10-20 cents depending on when in the year. Retailers would have bought their stock earlier when the dollar was lower.

 

[beamer128]

Neighbor to the North, could you find a dealer in the northern U.S. and pick one up there? Or maybe there's laws that prohibit that.......

 

[PraX]

Supply and demand. I never thought that I would ever spend more than $1500 on a guitar and I bought a JP15 recently.

 

[LordVonUberbird]

Neighbor to the North, could you find a dealer in the northern U.S. and pick one up there? Or maybe there's laws that prohibit that.......

You could do that. I believe you would also avoid and paying duty because it's made in the US. You would have to pay sales tax.

The dollar was quite low Oct 2008 through to April 2009. Guitars never seem to go up in a linear way. It's always in big jumps. Gibson and Fender have done the same thing over the years as well. They'll often jump up $200 in one shot.

mikeller also pointed out that the standard non piezo only went up $185 over 7 years. Unless that's incorrect that's a pretty big difference, even taking into account the piezo electronics.

The best option seems to be buying a used one

 

[Siddius]

I can tell you that they have probably gone up 20-25 Percent...Our health insurance has doubled, workers comp tripled, utilities way up wages up at least 15%...and there is a layer of distribution that wasnt there in 2009.

I don't know if these new expenses are represented in increased health benefits, but it should also go as a reminder to us that when you buy American you are paying for our fellow citizens health and well being. The price increase is of course unfortunate for us, but if that means that a member of our surprisingly small professional musical community can afford to take their kid to the doctor's office, then it is a price I am certainly willing to pay. There are a tragic amount of musical professionals who cannot afford such luxuries.

 

[mikeller]

Yeah health insurance costs have gotten absurd. I work for a small company - I suspect this may very well be my last year of having company health benefits available. Even with the company picking up 63.5% of the tab, my share is still almost $800 a month for my spouse and I.

 

[DarthV]

You could do that. I believe you would also avoid and paying duty because it's made in the US. You would have to pay sales tax.

The dollar was quite low Oct 2008 through to April 2009. Guitars never seem to go up in a linear way. It's always in big jumps. Gibson and Fender have done the same thing over the years as well. They'll often jump up $200 in one shot.

mikeller also pointed out that the standard non piezo only went up $185 over 7 years. Unless that's incorrect that's a pretty big difference, even taking into account the piezo electronics.

The best option seems to be buying a used one

There shouldn't be any duty, but you would still have to pay PST/HST/GST (depending on province). The big kick to the crotch is how far the CAD has fallen. I ordered my 2014 PDN JP6 before everything went to hell. And until the CAD recovers, I just can't see me forking out that much money for another EBMM. Even used prices are insane now.

 

[LordVonUberbird]

There shouldn't be any duty, but you would still have to pay PST/HST/GST (depending on province). The big kick to the crotch is how far the CAD has fallen. I ordered my 2014 PDN JP6 before everything went to hell. And until the CAD recovers, I just can't see me forking out that much money for another EBMM. Even used prices are insane now.

It may just be HST. Until the dollar gets back to close to .85 I won't be ordering anything. Just have to watch for used deals and act fast.

 

[DarthV]

It may just be HST. Until the dollar gets back to close to .85 I won't be ordering anything. Just have to watch for used deals and act fast.

Yep, but used costs have risen as well. I've seen people asking $3k for a mint JP6. Ouch!

 

[LordVonUberbird]

Yep, but used costs have risen as well. I've seen people asking $3k for a mint JP6. Ouch!

Used prices in the US are quite good, and once (if) the dollar recovers that will be the way to go I think.

 

[Axis-of-Evil]

LVU unfortunately if you look at many guitar manufacturer's the prices are way up and sometimes hard to believe!! Big Poppa has always been to me a high quality, high character guy and I'm sure he wants to be a good corporate citizen in California, but now days it's almost impossible. That's Cali's fault. The truth is if BP took his company and moved out of California, all his business expenses would immediately drop to an acceptable level. Who am I though to tell him to leave the land of dreams!!! I'm just thankful that Sterling by MM is around and will hopefully keep expanding the line so many can enjoy their amazing designs!!! I don't have $3G at the moment for a Majesty but I sure can swing $800 for the Sterling Majesty!! Do yourself a favor and walk into a GC and try one of the Sterling JP's. I played a Koa JP100 and it played great and had the same dimarzio pickups in the MM version. I'm not saying its the same as a MM JP but I was impressed.

 

[B2D]

Correct me if I'm wrong, but haven't most of the JP's gotten pickup upgrades and fret upgrades as well at the factory? I'd think that would add to the value of the guitar itself.

 

[Firewalker]

At one point I had the JP 6 string in Red Pearl Burst and unfortunately had to sell it when relocating years bac. I've been looking at getting a new guitar and have always missed my JP. Looking at current prices is a bit shocking to say the least. I dug out my old receipt and I paid $2225 new before tax in March 2009. That same guitar now costs $3350 to $3403 (Long and McQuade vs LA Music) in Canada. How on earth is $1125 justified over 7 years or $160.70/year? Yikes

I got my JP6 pearl redburst in May 2012 for $1975 before tax at Long and McQuade so according to your numbers the price actually went down there for a bit before going up. The dollar was close to or at parity when I bought my JP so the price now considering all the factors mostly being the exchange rate seems fair an d reasonable to me.

I personally respect the 'living wage' policy of this company. Knowing my guitar wasn't made in a 'sweatshop' adds to the quality of the product IMO.

Just my 2 cents. (That's 3 cents american after exchange)