Here is some fun facts for all the people b*tching about Fender's OUTRAGEOUS price debacle:
(these figures are based on Claritis data in 2007 CPI-U-RS adjusted dollars)
We will start with 1955, because I cant find any 1954 data.
In 1955, a new Fender Stratocaster would cost you about $250 (says Wikipedia). In 1955, the average median income in the US (for a male) was about $4,241.
In 2008, the average median income was about $46,224, and a Strat (figuring in the 2009 increase) costs a consumer $1,250.

So in adjusted dollars, a 1955 strat would have cost you over $2,700.

Inflation is a little more tricky because it varies every monty, so here is a ROUGH (and I mean rough) estimate based on historical inflation data from inflationdata.com.

1955-61= 2.8
1962-73= 4.9
1974-84= 8.8
1985-96= 3.9
1997-08= 3.4

Average from 1955-2008: 4.76% (give or take) would mean that if Fender only adjusted prices for inflation for the last 53 years, a USA strat would cost about $910.
I bought my new 2008 Fender Strat USA Standard for about $880 (including tax) from Guitar center last month. That would mean that I payed less than annual inflation for over 50 years based on the original 1955 price.
I call that a pretty good deal.
Yes, the recent increase puts the USA standards clearly over the inflation rate, but this will even out as the inflation rate catches up with the spike in price.

You put this all together and you get....... a great guitar made by a company with almost 60 years under it's belt priced just above the annual inflation. I call that a good f*ckin' deal.

PEACE. God, slow day at work.

God, what a slow day at work!!!!!!

In 55 the guitars were handbuilt from ALL american parts. The nearest you can get to that today is customshop although they are still CNC shaped and cost a bit more than $2700.

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No no and no

Either buy them or don't but I am also tired of the complaining!

This statement is not directed to anyone specific.

thankyou

Yes lets stop complaining...
I have posted this before, but what the heck, I think that the Fender stuff you own now ALSO went up in value...

Bill

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Hey, Boy Blue is back!

Didnt mean to open up a can of worms on starting another thead about this but everything is going down in price and value right now.Cars,realestate,stocks.Just think the price increase of guitars are going in the opposite direction from the rest of the world.I love fender guitars and i want the company to thrive but i dont think increasing prices right now will help them.

I agree. I have one Strat. It's a 72 and the only one I want or need. I got it as a graduation present from my father. Prices are going up on everything. You have a choices, eat the increase, buy used, get a MIM or Squire, wait for a clearance sale, save a little longer or buy from another manufacturer. Reverand, Eastwood, Epiphone all make nice guitars too. No, It's not a Strat or maybe not even what you want, but the important thing is playing music. I have a lot of different guitars, not all Fender I might add, and use them as tools to make my music. The whining about prices is getting old.

I saw a post in a trade mag the other day that suggested Gibson should have Epiphone build their guitars for them, since Epi's quality is going up while Gibsons seems to be falling!
An outrageous statement to be sure, but we are definitely blessed to have such a huge variety of quality guitars to choose from these days, and at relatively reasonable prices.
People will always cry about price increases, it's in our DNA. My main concern is the timing. It just seems like it couldn't have come at a worse time. But I don't run the company, they know what needs to be done and when. I really don't want to see them struggling or, God forbid, declaring bankruptcy like practically everyone is doing these days.

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I grew up in the "Dark Ages" of gear, when a '63 Strat was just an old guitar!

I know that everyone hates the price increase, but Fender has to stay in business and the only way to stay in business is to make a profit. The new increase has shifted my next guitar choice a little, but in the end we'll see if Fender will be my next new guitar purchace. I do love them.

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RK

2007 Fender Highway 1
2012 American Deluxe
2015 MIM Dave Murray HHH
2010 Fender Blacktop
1987 Fender Avalon Acoustic
2012 Marshall DSL 15 watt head

+1 -- Besides, they have not had any price hike for at least six or seven years. I paid $400 for my MIM Std back in 2004.

Also, FHopkins is lying ... we all know who his statement is really directed to.

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Laughing out loud with fear and hope, I have a desperate plan ...

the price of everything else is going down. why is it that guitars are going up.

Hi BigJay: there's also the factor of debt to build in.

Fender have made several purchases of other companies over recent years. Most spectacularly in 2007 they bought up the huge (by music industry standards) Kaman Music Corp, who in turn own many brands such has Hamer.

Such purchases will almost certainly have been financed with borrowing. Servicing that debt will have looked fine a couple of years ago when sales were high and growing. As you have observed, sales must surely be on the way down at present, we can only guess by how much (for they'll never tell us).

Servicing their debt may now be very challenging. I think cvilleira was on target when he said a few weeks ago that cash in hand may be in very short supply for Fender right now.

Aquisitions that turn out to be too ambitious are a notorious way for otherwise successful companies to founder. Let's give Fender the benefit of the doubt on their uncomfortably timed price encrease. Things may be going very hard for them at present...

Cheers - C

You have to look at the increase positively, my strat went up $200-300 since I bought in 2001. This means your gear can become more valuble with time. Duh.

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-Classic 50's Strat.
-Std. Telecaster.
-Mike Dirnt P-bass.
-Custody of SE Strat.
-Peavey Predator/Dean Evo/Epiphone DR150/Gibson Slide (much older than me).

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