edstraker123 Posted October 28, 2008 Share Posted October 28, 2008 I've just received Overwater's newsletter which details the basses in stock and there are 2 Progress 3's (absolutely gorgeous they are too) one for £3000+ and the other not far behind. I'm not sure if the woods these are made from are more exotic or they are a special spec but they do seem a bit pricier than usual. Has anybody noticed the price of customs increasing ? I suppose if makers are being hit by increased costs they will need to pass this on to the customer to stay in business, as I imagine the profit margin on customs in not very high. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
peted Posted October 28, 2008 Share Posted October 28, 2008 [quote name='edstraker123' post='316626' date='Oct 28 2008, 12:37 PM']I've just received Overwater's newsletter which details the basses in stock and there are 2 Progress 3's (absolutely gorgeous they are too) one for £3000+ and the other not far behind. I'm not sure if the woods these are made from are more exotic or they are a special spec but they do seem a bit pricier than usual. Has anybody noticed the price of customs increasing ? I suppose if makers are being hit by increased costs they will need to pass this on to the customer to stay in business, as I imagine the profit margin on customs in not very high.[/quote] I believe that Sei increased their prices not too long ago. Everyone has increased costs now with the increased cost of utilities, borrowing, and travel. Luthiers will price their basses at a point where supply meets demand. If people wouldn't pay £3000 for an Overwater, the prices would come down, but people do as they are amazingly well crafted instruments. I too think that luthiers put a huge number of hours into building each bass, which translates into a very small hourly wage for the quality work they do. If you think of it as paying £2-3000 for a luthier to spend 6-8 months building your bass, it seems a tiny amount of money. I would be surprised if bulk-produced basses with CNC and foreign/cheap labour take more than a couple of days to produce, and they retail for £2-300. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dood Posted October 28, 2008 Share Posted October 28, 2008 Yes, I seem to remember some posts earlier in the year warning that a good few luthiers have or will be putting up their prices. I think you are spot on, increased costs are inevitable and in order to cover those costs, indeed they have to be passed on to the customer. It is pretty much across the board I think.. though some companies have maybe enjoyed a much higher price hike than others. I'm sure they have their reasons, whether or not it's down to higher costs in different geographic areas or the mysterious 'boutique tax' Hmmmmmm... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yorks5stringer Posted October 29, 2008 Share Posted October 29, 2008 Having seen at first hand the skills utilised by a luthier, I worked out for some of his low end(!) basses he was charging £20 a hour. Out of that comes all his running costs, materials and him working around a 70 hour week. I get paid the same to spend time on here! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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