Why are new SG Standards up in price?

[ElChiguete]

So I've been looking around for an SG but the prices are higher that what I remember them being just a few years go and just to be sure I wasn't thinking wring I looked it up in an old Sweetwater catalog from 2016 and back then the price for a new Standard was $1,199.... now its $1,799!!! So how come Les Pauls stayed at $2,799 and the SGs went up?

 

[skelt101]

Probably because the bean counters calculated the company could get away with it.

 

[MR D]

So I've been looking around for an SG but the prices are higher that what I remember them being just a few years go and just to be sure I wasn't thinking wring I looked it up in an old Sweetwater catalog from 2016 and back then the price for a new Standard was $1,199.... now its $1,799!!! So how come Les Pauls stayed at $2,799 and the SGs went up?

On GIBSON USA's website right now.......a new SG Standard '61 w/Maestro Vibrola is $2,399 + TAX ! THATS INSANE ! I paid exactly that much , ALL-IN, for a Les Paul Standard in 2017 (NO TAX/Free Shipping), thats even nutsier !!

IDK, BUT A FEW GUESSES?
1)GIBSON USA knows people will pay for them......
2)GIBSON USA realizes the USDollar is worthless as the day is long and becoming more and more worthless as they get printed by the billions?
3)Your guesses are as good as mine....

BUT the fact remains: GIBSON Guitars are not cheap ! (Do you get what you pay for?)
"ONLY A GIBSON IS GOOD ENOUGH" ?

I paid $1299 ALL-IN in March 2017 for the best brand spankety new GIBSON SG Standard I ever played/touched/owned.......At the time, I considered buying a few of them and I did not.....NOW? LOL, I wish I had bought 3 of them. I still kick myself in the A$$ for that one !

 

[ElChiguete]

Yeha but my point is the the LPs are not going up, only the SGs and that sucks for me because I was in the hunt for one used and they are going for what a new one was a couple of years go

 

[Colnago]

It depends which Les Paul you’re looking at. Some of them changed name and changed features so they went down or up in price as well.
Les Pauls definitely went up in price along side the SG and the Explorers, Flying V, all of their acoustics, etc… nothing has remotely stayed the same price especially since Covid was a hey day for the guitar industry.

 

[Colnago]

Also the Les Paul Standard of 2016 is a very different guitar from the Standard of 2022. A more comparable model to the current Standard would be the Traditional. I’m betting the price for the current Standard is higher than the ‘16 Trad and more in line with the increase that you see in the SG.
It’s a bummer, but nothing ever goes down in price. Only up.

 

[MR D]

Yeha but my point is the the LPs are not going up, only the SGs and that sucks for me because I was in the hunt for one used and they are going for what a new one was a couple of years go

Yes, SG's/GIBSON's are unbelievably priced used...Actually 2017 SG Standards are going for MORE than they sold for NEW just 5 years ago....the Les Paul STANDARD I got in 2017 was $2500, ALL-IN....Today that guitar would be the equivalent of the new Les Paul Standard in the 'MODERN' collection (Debatable) and that guitar is $500 more POST 2018 BANKRUPTCY. The whole 'Collection' thang may have something to do with the price hikes? As might the BANKRUPTCY.... IDK ???? BUT I will say this for GIBSON: GIBSON does as GIBSON likes and always has......... and at least they are consistent like that ! The best part about GBSON Guitars is that they still, and always have, sound like GIBSON guitars....and should last a lifetime.

Just for laughs I went to REVERB and looked at the asking prices for the 2017 GIBSON SG STANDARDs and there is only one thats selling for less than what one cost new in 2017(March 2017=$1299, June 2017= $1399) ! Asking $1200 for a Guitar that was retailing on SWEETWATER in March, 2017 for $1299 seems reasonable and it is the one-off 'Cherry-Burst' model...if it were close by I would be tempted !

KEEP ROCKIN' !

 

[papagayo]

When you buy online and you have a nice surprise unboxing the SG it' s not expensive,

 

[Bob Womack]

The SG vs. Les Paul comparison brings on some very interesting facts: Just four years ago the LP Standards were priced at $3399. After Henry left, Mark Agnesi made a very public deal of reducing the Standard to $2399. They drastically changed the design when they did it, eliminating the compound radius fingerboard, asymmetrical neck, modern weight relief, and extra switching options. I think perhaps they did all this to make a point that there had been some excess in the prior administration. Perhaps it became a loss leader for them because it is now back up to $2799. I think that raising the price much more at this point would be a PR embarrassment.

Bob

 

[rabbit]

Pretty soon the standard production line is going to seem like the Epiphone line (no disrespect intended)... because the current image being promoted is "Only a Gibson Custom Shop is Good Enough"

If someone is willing to spend 7-10K on one model, then of course it makes sense to raise the lower tiered models a few hundred $,... you're saving 4-7K and it looks pretty close to the crown jewel right? The marketing plan is working and everyone wins as long as they get the name in the headstock.

And Gibson knows there are companies doing the same level of work making quality instruments at more affordable prices. They raise their prices because they can and because it is an elitist brand.

Side note: I've never purchased new Gibson guitars, only used. And I fell for it too thinking I had to have a Gibson,... but I tend to grab my Made in Japan; Greco, Aria Pro II, Edwards, Hondo Rev Series guitars more. You do know there are other fish in the sea?

 

[MR D]

Pretty soon the standard production line is going to seem like the Epiphone line (no disrespect intended)... because the current image being promoted is "Only a Gibson Custom Shop is Good Enough"

If someone is willing to spend 7-10K on one model, then of course it makes sense to raise the lower tiered models a few hundred $,... you're saving 4-7K and it looks pretty close to the crown jewel right? The marketing plan is working and everyone wins as long as they get the name in the headstock.

And Gibson knows there are companies doing the same level of work making quality instruments at more affordable prices. They raise their prices because they can and because it is an elitist brand.

Side note: I've never purchased new Gibson guitars, only used. And I fell for it too thinking I had to have a Gibson,... but I tend to grab my Made in Japan; Greco, Aria Pro II, Edwards, Hondo Rev Series guitars more. You do know there are other fish in the sea?


View attachment 48730

There sure are other fish in the sea, that is why I throw them back and play GIBSON's.

 

[smitty_p]

Why are SGs going up in price?

I can't speak to the specific dynamics of their pricing, but literally everything is going up in price.

Vendors are starting to send me quarterly price sheets with updated prices. I used to get them annually. Delivery and lead times are very long, too.

 

[SGBreadfan]

When you buy online and you have a nice surprise unboxing the SG it' s not expensive,

View attachment 48728

Had the same nice surprise unboxing my Iommi, highly figured like that one…front, back and sides. That one’s a beauty!

 

[PermissionToLand]

Generally speaking, if you simply adjust for inflation, the price of Gibsons has historically been pretty consistent. There are some upticks and lows here and there, and you happened to pick one of those aberrational lows in 2016. Seeing as that was the first year they split the lineup into HP and T models, I think they may have dropped it to make room for the HP models in the lineup.

But I had the same reaction at face value; they just bumped the price from $1,499 (2019-2021) to $1,699 in 2022. Now, halfway through the year they're bumping it again? Well, inflation is up, so let's see if that accounts for it. Let's start with the price increase from January 2022: plug $1499 into an inflation calculator for 2019, and in January 2022 that came to $1,674. So they were basically adjusting for inflation then. Now bring $1699 in January 2022 to June 2022 (the most recent month available) and we get $1790.

So when you hear people saying "It's just because Gibson knows they can get away with it!", they really don't know what they're talking about. Every year that they keep the price unchanged while the value of a dollar decreases, they are slowly losing their margin. And they've gone half a decade, at times, without changing prices.

 

[skelt101]

Generally speaking, if you simply adjust for inflation, the price of Gibsons has historically been pretty consistent. There are some upticks and lows here and there, and you happened to pick one of those aberrational lows in 2016. Seeing as that was the first year they split the lineup into HP and T models, I think they may have dropped it to make room for the HP models in the lineup.

But I had the same reaction at face value; they just bumped the price from $1,499 (2019-2021) to $1,699 in 2022. Now, halfway through the year they're bumping it again? Well, inflation is up, so let's see if that accounts for it. Let's start with the price increase from January 2022: plug $1499 into an inflation calculator for 2019, and in January 2022 that came to $1,674. So they were basically adjusting for inflation then. Now bring $1699 in January 2022 to June 2022 (the most recent month available) and we get $1790.

So when you hear people saying "It's just because Gibson knows they can get away with it!", they really don't know what they're talking about. Every year that they keep the price unchanged while the value of a dollar decreases, they are slowly losing their margin. And they've gone half a decade, at times, without changing prices.

Very well said, PTL. Unless I'm mistaken though, the OP's confusion (and frankly mine) stems from the fact that some models are given a price increase while others are not. If inflation was the sole reason, wouldn't the price increase(s) be consistent across the board? Is it just a matter of time before all the other models "catch up"? Not trying to start a fight here, just sayin'...

 

[PermissionToLand]

Very well said, PTL. Unless I'm mistaken though, the OP's confusion (and frankly mine) stems from the fact that some models are given a price increase while others are not. If inflation was the sole reason, wouldn't the price increase(s) be consistent across the board? Is it just a matter of time before all the other models "catch up"? Not trying to start a fight here, just sayin'...

Generally, increases hit the lower priced models more. Higher priced models have a bigger profit margin to absorb increases in costs. But it can also be a factor of different materials needed to build one model versus another. If Maple costs more, but Mahogany stays the same, it would make only the models with a Maple body or neck more expensive.

Sorry if I was a bit testy there, I've been arguing with conspiracy theorists too much lately...

 

[ElChiguete]

Looks like the only way I'll be able to get one is waiting for a good used oportunity... and even thoses are selling high too now

 

[Decadent Dan]

I’d like to get a 50% raise every 6 yrs.
At this rate they’ll be $2,700 by 2028.

 

[3bolt79]

Back in February, I bought a Marshall Origin head for 550 and an origin 2x12 cab for 450. Both were brand new.

Now,the same head costs 200 bucks more, and they raised the price of the cab by 100 dollars. I am surely glad that I was able to buy when I did.

I still want to get a 4x12 Marshall cab. I wish I just would have got it when I had the chance.

 

[zebra]

It really sucks but everything is getting way more expensive, not just Gibsons.