2016 Price Increases

[Prime_BASS]

Was a local shop at the weekend with the drummer and he was picking up some Zildian cymbals and the clerk said that they were going up 30% on Monday. They've had some sort of nod and everything basically is going up one way or another. Stuff from fender all the way to drum stuff I've never heard of.

Anyone know why, can't just be inflation at that increase.

[BigRedX]

Fall in the value of the Pound due to the recent EU referendum vote.

[machinehead]

I noticed the Fender prices increasing in the last few weeks. A US Precision 3TSB now seems to be £1343 in GAK and the other bigger shops.

I almost sold my immaculate 2008 Precision last week but I'm very glad I didn't now, when I see the cost of replacing it.

Frank.

[HowieBass]

It could be a double whammy of exchange rate changes and increased costs incurred by the manufacturers themselves. I believe a similar increase is affecting Sony camera equipment. Then the shop itself might need to up their markup to cover increased costs such as the new higher minimum wage for over 25s that came into effect in April.

[Shambo]

[quote name='BigRedX' timestamp='1470175870' post='3103933']
Fall in the value of the Pound due to the recent EU referendum vote.
[/quote]
This. Imported things are going to increase in price.

[Woodinblack]

[quote name='Shambo' timestamp='1470177437' post='3103948']
This. Imported things are going to increase in price.
[/quote]

Especially the US rate. Day before brexit was 1.5, today is 1.33 (which is a recent high).
If something from the US was retailing at £1000 then, it should be retailing at £1127 today. As it probably isn't going to go much higher any time soon, manufacturers will be resetting their prices.

[thebassist]

I was looking at commissioning a new build Fodera but that is dead right now.p due to the weak pound.

[AndyTravis]

This used to happen every 2 or 3 months when I worked in a music retailer...

I worked around the VAT changes too. Was hard to explain to customers with a straight face at times - even though we never made any extra out of it.

I went to my old shop the other day and couldn't believe the Fender stock in particular...

It rarely changed the other way when the pound was strong - I will say that...

[TrevorR]

Yup, one word. Brexit.

[Musicman20]

Brexit. Amazon example: Boss pedals have risen by £5-10 each (and that is AFTER the normal price rise they had recently).

Politics shouldn't be part of this thread but it's the exact reason. It is not a normal price rise across the board. It is Brexit. I'm sure a leave voter will say I'm over reacting or it'll settle down.

I'm quite glad I don't plan to buy anything other than pedals for the next few years.

[tauzero]

Brexit - the excuse for everything. The pound is down a bit against the dollar and euro - it recovered after an initial drop. As it's somewhere round 10% down, that is not the sole reason for a 30% price rise. So it's simply money-grabbing greed while there's a good excuse to be had.

[ivansc]

[quote name='tauzero' timestamp='1470213516' post='3104064']
Brexit - the excuse for everything. The pound is down a bit against the dollar and euro - it recovered after an initial drop. As it's somewhere round 10% down, that is not the sole reason for a 30% price rise. So it's simply money-grabbing greed while there's a good excuse to be had.
[/quote]

Not hardly. Pound is still way down on where it was at the end of 2015, before Brexit paranoia really set in.
I get a pension from the USA in dollars and am renovating a house in Brittany. Believe me I am glad I moved pounds into euros when I did.
When I see the pound back at around 1.40 on the euro, I will agree it is just a "seasonal bliip".
Todays Forex rates are 1.19 on the euro and 1.33 on the US dollar. Ouch. Even now it is still a drop of some 18-20% and the greenback is worse.

[stingrayPete1977]

I think it's still fair to blame brexit if brexit is what has given companies something to hide behind.

[Musicman20]

[quote name='stingrayPete1977' timestamp='1470214463' post='3104072']
I think it's still fair to blame brexit if brexit is what has given companies something to hide behind.
[/quote]

Exactly.

[TrevorR]

[quote name='tauzero' timestamp='1470213516' post='3104064']
Brexit - the excuse for everything. The pound is down a bit against the dollar and euro - it recovered after an initial drop. As it's somewhere round 10% down, that is not the sole reason for a 30% price rise. So it's simply money-grabbing greed while there's a good excuse to be had.
[/quote]

But no surprise that corps react that way... Costs rise 10%, prices rise 30%... = more profit. Twas ever thus!

[project_c]

[quote name='tauzero' timestamp='1470213516' post='3104064']
Brexit - the excuse for everything. The pound is down a bit against the dollar and euro - it recovered after an initial drop. As it's somewhere round 10% down, that is not the sole reason for a 30% price rise. So it's simply money-grabbing greed while there's a good excuse to be had.
[/quote]

How is an economic downturn which is an obvious and undisputed direct result of that vote an 'excuse'? The economy of the U.K. is in deep trouble, if you think this is a 'blip' i'd like to see what you define as an economic disaster. When nobody has a pot left to p!ss in, people are still going to be saying it's a coincidence that has nothing to do with Brexit.

[Musicman20]

[quote name='project_c' timestamp='1470218057' post='3104120']


How is an economic downturn which is an obvious and undisputed direct result of that vote an 'excuse'? The economy of the U.K. is in deep trouble, if you think this is a 'blip' i'd like to see what you define as an economic disaster. When nobody has a pot left to p!ss in, people are still going to be saying it's a coincidence that has nothing to do with Brexit.
[/quote]

Not to stir the political pot even more, but completely agree.

[tauzero]

[quote name='stingrayPete1977' timestamp='1470214463' post='3104072']
I think it's still fair to blame brexit if brexit is what has given companies something to hide behind.
[/quote]

So you wouldn't blame British Gas if it put up its prices 50% because wholesale gas prices had gone up 1%?

[Raymondo]

Worth a look....

http://fxtop.com/en/historical-exchange-rates.php?A=1&C1=GBP&C2=EUR&YA=1&DD1=03&MM1=08&YYYY1=2006&B=1&P=&I=1&DD2=03&MM2=08&YYYY2=2016&btnOK=Go%21



Not sure if this will work but, if you take the average exchange rates of the £/euro for the last ten years, this years average is higher than any year since 2007 apart from 2015.

[Raymondo]

I am just pointing out that exchange rates change regularly.....not necessarily just because we have had a vote to leave the EU.

[Shambo]

To suggest the fall in the value of the pound and economic downturn in the UK economy since 23[sup]rd[/sup] June is a blip or mere coincidence and would insult the intelligence of a sea anemone. The country is moving in to the well predicted economic recession that Brexiteers labelled ‘operation fear’. An increase in the cost of luxury imported goods would be the least painful symptom one could hope for.

[jonsmith]

Sterling against Euro is probably not the best benchmark in this case as the Euro was also weakened by the Brexit referendum. I suspect that most international trade in musical instruments uses USD as its base currency. It's true that Sterling has been slowly weakening against USD for most of the last couple of years. GBP drifted nervously downwards against the US Dollar after the plan to hold the referendum was announced, then plummeted off the edge of the cliff when the referendum result was known. It hasn't really rallied either, though I keep seeing people saying that it has. Price rises are inevitable.

[Musicman20]

I've actually spoken to some stores who have said the leave vote has created significant problems. Wonder if anything good will come out of it. I don't want results that are great for us years down the line, I'm on about the next year. We can't just keep paying more and more.

Edited August 3, 2016 by Musicman20

[Dad3353]

The solution is blindingly obvious, of course. If employed, either ask for (and obtain...) a pay rise, or bid for (and obtain...) a higher-paid job. Those self-employed have only to raise their tarifs by an equivalent amount. Those with fixed income just stop spending (and therefore gain with no effort at all...). What's not to like..? The majority of the British populace are apparently happy enough to accept this modest price for having taken back control again, and have even dodged the 'Blond Bombshell for PM' bullet..! It's all good, surely..?

[Musicman20]

What's not to like? Far too much to discuss and it becomes far too political, so I'll leave it for now. Needless to say I did not want to leave. It's not so simple as getting more money or raising what you charge. People will stop spending, shops will struggle, it's just a constant knock on effect that we could do without.