Fender's Recession Price Increase

So you own a business. Your stuff's not selling all that well. The economy's bad. Unemployment's up, the GDP is shrinking. What do you do?

Of course! Raise prices!

This is apparently Fender Musical Instruments Corporation's strategy. Their February price list (PDF link) went into effect today. Take a look through it, but make sure you're sitting down. Or, if you really want to be prepared, may as well just bend over now.

I'm a Jazzmaster fan so I'll pick it out as an example:

'62 AVRI Jazzmaster: $2,360
Elvis Costello Jazzmaster: $2,530
J. Mascis Jazzmaster: $1,590
Classic Player Jazzmaster: $1,400

Now, yes, these are list prices, but they're about 25% higher than the list prices were yesterday. Other guitars have even greater increases - just look at the full list. Already, I'm seeing some auctions on Ebay with Classic Players at over $1,100 and Elvis Costellos at over $2,000. That will probably be the going retail price. (Previously, Classic Players were $800 and Elvis models were $1,599, so that's a huge increase for those specific models).

Is there any way around this stupidity? Yes.

Current stock is still being sold at the old prices. So hit up Guitar Center quick. Help me out in the process by clicking the image below to get there.



Used prices also haven't reflected the change yet, but they'll probably increase over time to come closer to the new guitar prices. Hit Ebay while you can.


If you miss the boat on both of these options, just buy Japanese. Fender Japan has raised their prices slightly over the past year, but they were already cheaper than Fender USA and they didn't raise prices that much. So they're now going to be the clear better value again once all this dust settles. They're better guitars than the Mexican Classic Players anyway, which now cost about $300 more. The really good news is that Ishibashi is now selling new guitars to the United States again - Fender has lifted that prohibition. And buying used through U-box is still an option too, if you really want a guitar on the cheap.

There is still one more thing you can do, if you hurry: get a Thin Skin. These are special run Fender-made instruments with a thinner nitro finish. Some think this allows the wood to "breathe better", and they'll probably age quicker too. If that appeals to you, check out Dave's Guitar Shop or Wildwood Guitars. They do come in some nicer colors than the AVRI's, although the fretboard and frets aren't vintage style. The prices will likely remain the same as they are until stock runs out - a Jazzmaster is $1,599.

What is Fender thinking with this price increase? You got me. Yes, I know the famous story about Gibson in the 1980's and how they were almost out of business and they raised prices and suddenly people started buying their guitars again. Well, first of all, that was a confluence of events that favored Gibson - the country was coming out of a recession at that time and the economy was gaining steam. They were also helped by Fender's own QC problems - their main competitor wasn't doing so hot either. And they didn't have all these good-quality Asian imports to deal with back then. Gibson and Fender are both in danger of relegating themselves to niche guitar makers if they keep up pricing like this during a recession.

Not to mention the fact that Fender's supposed to be the working-man's guitar. The whole point of Fender as a company is to make guitars regular people can afford and play - that's why they exist! A 25% price increase during a recession goes against everything Leo Fender would have stood for.

If I'm going to pay that much for an American Jazzmaster, I'm just going to buy a vintage one.