One of my friends wold me yesterday that on February 1st, all Fender guitars will cost 30% more than they do now

Does anybody know if this is true? I sure hope not!

It wouldn't seem reasonable in this economy for a manufacturer of any goods to increase their prices by a third. I think you just got bad information.

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September 18th, 1970
There were none better before him.
There have been none better since.

I heard 25%, but actually saw about a $50 increase at the local music shop.

It would be nice if Fender would bring back some of the colours that they used years ago as some of today's range are a bit dodgy!! As for a price increase, I hope Fender are not getting too far into the same mould as Ferrari, Rolls Royce, Rolex etc whereby you are paying an ever-increasing amount for the name with no real increase in the quality of the product! Fenders are expensive enough as it is so we certainly don't need a price hike, especially in today's economic climate.

Yep.... Monty is right.... Local music stores (Guitar Center) already has standard MIM strats for about $50 bucks more than last years. I'm sure s that way across the board with all manuafacturers.

It was bound to happen. And to be honest, unless you are buying guitars left and right, it wont make that much dfference.

Not sure about the percentage, but they always go up every few years, like $40-$50 or so. That's normal - and common for anything in that price range - guitars, tv's, audio systems, etc.

There's no conspiracy or anything, just normal inflation. You'll never see prices level off and stay that way forever

The prices will come back down. If your smart, you'll just wait for a sale at the end of the year. If not, just look elsewhere. I love my Strat but It's not the only guitar I own. Not all of my guitars are Fenders. If people keep paying the outrageous prices, they'll keep charging. Energy costs are the latest excuse.
Lets see, $1300 for a bolt together Strat or a Les Paul or PRS? Decisions, Decisions..........

Man if local store are already charging the $$$...what will the price be come Feb 1st?Hmmmm......let us just wait and see...

im so happy i bought my 2008 mia strat b4 the whole economic downfall

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fly little wing

It might not be the end of the world. Fender may raise its list price, but nobody pays list. The vendors purchase at dealer prices. That increase will probably not be the same in dollars as the increase in list price.

Another factor is profit margin. When I was a kid the thumb rule was that you could get your guitars for about half off list price. These days it's only about a third off. So profit margins may be higher than they used to be. Unless Fender is taking more percentagewise. But Fender has to compete, too.

Dealers still have to compete for sales. They might be willing to accept a smaller profit margin, absorbing some of the increase, in an effort to get more sales.

We'll all pay more for guitars. But depending on the economic factors the increase may not be as high as we fear.

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James Burton Upgrade Telecaster
Hot Rodded Am Fat Strat Texas Special (now featuring Kinman Traditional II pickups)
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guitars are kind of like cars. Some poeple absolutely need a new one, while others keep an eye out for a used one that's 20% less the one with the factory wrapping.

It's a pretty stupid move in this economy. Businesses are going under like crazy. The next new guitar I but will probably be a Reverend or an Eastwood.
Really nice guitars reasonably priced.

I always buy used, so I'm not too overly worried about the price increase.

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it sure looks like a heck of a lot more than just '40 or 50 bucks' or just reflecting commodity input price escalation on a lot of the models. yes, these a list and nobody ever pays list - but you are still going to pay the corresponding percentage increase over what you would pay at the store today.
http://www.fender.com/resources/price_lists.php