While I'm certainly no fan of the price increase, I vehemently disagree that a MIA Strat is not worth $1300! For the past few years I have believed that American made Strats were one helluva bargain. Every one I have purchased has been an excellent playing, great sounding and beautiful instrument. I do not mail order, or internet order, my guitars. I go to Dave's Guitar in LaCrosse, WI and plan to make a day of it. I will test play every guitar of the type I'm interested in to ensure that I get one that is exactly the way I like it, and usually don't find big differences between them. They are consistently excellent. I would much rather pay $1300 for an American Standard Strat then the same amount for a Gibson. What's that price gonna get for a Gibson these days, a low end Les Paul Studio? I mean, heck they want $2800 for an LP Standard these days, and their quality is all over the place!
I think American made Fenders are one of the few items these days that are worth every penny, even if they take a few more pennies then they used to.

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

well in Australia mim standards are $1000 and highway 1's are $1400 and at the moment 1 Australian dollar = 64 cents US

im not sure if thats the new pricing or not.

when i bought my mim classic 60's they were $1700 new

yes, there's new pricing in effect here in Australia... perhaps not as drastic as has been reported elsewhere, but it's definitely gone up. I bought a time machine guitar second-hand for AUD $3,300 (USD $2,000 plus GST) and in January the retail on a new one was AUD $5,546. Now it's $5,899 for the same guitar (even though the custom shop isn't making that particular model anymore). An Eric Johnson strat will now set you back AUD $5,000... that's roughly USD $3,300. Current MSRP is USD $2,930 for that instrument, so I guess once you add 10% GST it evens out.

ive seen a few stores that have old stock they cant sell, and still have them at the lower prices, buton their websites they are advertised at the new prices, but they are still lower than rrp

true, and it's always been the case that you can talk them down for cash... been a long while since I bought a guitar new. I used to work in a guitar store, and you'd take 10% off as a matter of course if the customer asked for it... but they had to know that they had to ask... heh.

Here`s the way I see it....If you want a Fender product you`ll pay the price no matter what it is. There are always good deals with used instruments in good condition so if the price increase bothers you that much there`s always that option.

I think the timing of the increase was unfortunate, but the actual cost of Fender guitars in far better than most top flight manufacturers. Try buying a Gibson (not studio version) or PRS for $1200. Fenders prices, I've felt, have always been the most reasonable. I'll say this, in 2007 I bought a Gibson Studio Mahogany LP. It was $699. 18 months later goes for $899 and its a piece of junk.

The Reverend's are really sweet though and still a bargain.
Don't think the price increase increased the value of your Strats you already own, it don't work that way. It's supply and demand. They did not increace on the used market. There's too many of them.

When looking at a the online prices, I'll use Musiciansfriend, the American Standard Strat jumped from $1000 to $1275. Up 27.5%

The American Deluxe Strat jumped from $1225 to $1600. Up 30.6%

The Blues Jr. NOS went from $550 to $675, up 22.7%.

The DRRI went from $950 to $1200. Up 26.3%

I bought my DRRI in Jan '08, when they were $850 (Got it for $750, and Mf took a hunered off the Les Paul Studio I ordered then as well. Sweet. Love those folks.).

The price of that amp has gone up 41% in 13 months. 41%.

I've got 4 Fenders. Am Del Strat, DRRI, Bj NOS and Pj and I absolutely love them all.

But there is absolutely no way anyone can rationalize to me the hikes we're seeing. But it's pretty clear that a lot of folks here are trying to.

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

Well, I posted that badly. I was trying to quote the previous one.
D'OH...again.

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