I know times are tough for retail...but?!?!

[Woodinblack]

[quote name='Japhet' timestamp='1478542076' post='3169760']
I don't understand how Brexit (which is nowhere near happening) has devalued sterling so much and yet America is about to elect one of 2 shockingly bad candidates as President tomorrow and the $ isn't worth 10p.
[/quote]

Simple - the dollar underpins the world currency change and oil, and they still have quite a lot of manufacturing and development power. The UK was a business friendly offshore base for foreign companies to trade in Europe. Take that away and our lack of manufacturing really shows.
But if trump gets in, it will go down, just because of the uncertainty. If its Clinton it will be mostly business as usual.

[ColinB]

[quote name='Japhet' timestamp='1478542076' post='3169760']
I don't understand how Brexit (which is nowhere near happening) has devalued sterling so much and yet America is about to elect one of 2 shockingly bad candidates as President tomorrow and the $ isn't worth 10p.
[/quote]

mmm - HRC will be very much "business as usual" no matter what you think of her as a character - she's an able and experieced politician.

There may well be a "thank goodness it's not Trump" boost to the markets ..... or a long, drawn out noooooooooooooooooo, depending upon tomorrow's vote.

EDIT: looks like WinB and I think along the same lines!!

Edited November 7, 2016 by ColinB

[Chewie]

[quote name='Musicman20' timestamp='1478533071' post='3169658']
C'mon...what on EARTH is going on.

[url="https://www.gak.co.uk/en/music-man-stingray-classic-4-classic-natural/40030?gclid=CISQzp_8ltACFUS4Gwodkk8PrQ"]https://www.gak.co.u...CFUS4Gwodkk8PrQ[/url]

I've been looking at a Musicman guitar, and it's risen by £300 in a few weeks. It's now out of my range,

It isn't a dig at the manufacturer...it seems to be everywhere.

I know a big reason is the £, but this surely will just kill sales.
[/quote]Mate, I'm no micro economist so I can't comment on that........... I did want to say that you should look out for a second hand one.
I bought one last year. It was about this time too actually. You'll find one.
Bass Direct often have some in and out of their "Secondhand and EX-demo" section.
I'll look out for one for you too.
There is a stunning one on here actually. Inca silver or something. OHSC. Stunning it is. Can't remember the price.
Chewie

[JapanAxe]

Yup, had my eye on an Ampeg PF50T on GAK at a tempting £669, now £868. Forget that!

[3below]

[quote name='Twigman' timestamp='1478539451' post='3169727']
i was window shopping at Thomann yesterday...I had 3 items in my basket...I left it last night at £187...this moring I thought sod it I'll buy...went to checkout...price jumped to £232...

had to decide that was too much....so didn't bother...now frustrated
[/quote]

Might be worth trying again in a few days. Some businesses have demand / interest led pricing in which the price changes. A well known online bookseller (and everything else these days) is a particular proponent. I have seen the same with a tool supplier when I purchased a bandsaw, it went up by £5 overnight.

[MacDaddy]

Perfect opportunity to buy British!

Shuker; Iceni; ACG; Status; plus others I can't remember off the top of my head; all quality with[size=4] pretty much any type of bass covered [/size] [size=4] [/size]

[Luulox]

[quote name='Lw.' timestamp='1478540700' post='3169745']
Let's not even get started on the number of fish-fingers in a box!
[/quote]
I'm that old I can remember when wagon wheels were the size of a plate and snickers were marathons and three times as big!

[molan]

I'm pretty close to all the current market pricing issues and, from what I've seen, the latest batch of price rises are being affected by three principal elements:

Firstly there's the exchange rates. This is a really simple factor that has pushed prices of all imported goods up.

Secondly, and closely tied to the first point, many distributors have been trying to hold price increases off in the hope that the £ might recover. However, they can't afford to keep doing this and a swathe of increases kicked in over the last couple of weeks.

Lastly, and quite interestingly, a lot of retailers (aided by distributors) have had enough of heavy discounting. Margins in music retail have been screwed and ever decreasing over the last 3-4 years. I've seen 'everyday' items in the £400 - £600 bracket turning over at just £10 profit. Most extreme example was new basses that cost £3,200 to import being sold for just £3,250 - these were new stock, not sale items or things that had been sitting on the shelf for years.

A few people have simply either stopped selling things like this or just put them back up at margins that will allow them to operate at a basic working profit. There's a few specific brands that have been affected so far - I expect more to follow. . .

[Woodinblack]

Ultimately if the prices are dearer we will just have to get used to paying more. I mean the bass you are talking about there, now 2.5k, whereas it was 2.2k. For you looking at it you are thinking it is a lot because you knew it was £300 a few weeks ago, and now it is more, but if that was the normal price that you were used to seeing, you wouldn't think twice about it, a price is fairly arbitrary isn't it.

Its a plank of wood that costs 2.5k. Ultimately that isn't much difference to a plank of wood costing 2.2k is it? If you can justify one it isn't hard to justify another.

[Grangur]

[quote name='BassBus' timestamp='1478536212' post='3169685']
People like to blame the B****t nonsense for everything but I don't think that has a lot to do with American instruments. The pound has been widely reported as being artificially high in value for too long. Just resetting everything and it means lots of things will cost more.
[/quote]

Yes, I've heard this too. Funny thing is the £ has been about the same against to $ for about the last 64 years. So when exactly did this "over-pricing" of the £ actually start?

What is good, of course is that as we live in a world economy, the value of your second-hand instruments will have also changed. So if the value of a bass was 1000Euro/$ then this is now worth about £900 where before is would have been £750 because the value in Euro/$ won't have changed, so it must follow that the value in £ must have changed.

Looking at this another way; if the "Used" value was about 50% of the "New" value, and the cost new has gone up 20% then the used price must also be up 20%, surely?

Oh I do so Love Mr Farage! (not)

[Chewie]

[quote name='Musicman20' timestamp='1478533071' post='3169658']
C'mon...what on EARTH is going on.

[url="https://www.gak.co.uk/en/music-man-stingray-classic-4-classic-natural/40030?gclid=CISQzp_8ltACFUS4Gwodkk8PrQ"]https://www.gak.co.u...CFUS4Gwodkk8PrQ[/url]

I've been looking at a Musicman guitar, and it's risen by £300 in a few weeks. It's now out of my range,

It isn't a dig at the manufacturer...it seems to be everywhere.

I know a big reason is the £, but this surely will just kill sales.
[/quote]Check this one out on here..........
http://basschat.co.uk/topic/294753-musicman-stingray-4h-3eq-black-maple/
You could mod. it by having the body taken back to natural.

[thodrik]

Wow, two and a half grand for a Musicman? Still, that is (as far as I am aware) one of the more premium versions of the Musicman range. I have no doubts that it is an absolutely cracking bass, but for me it is about £500 over what I consider to be what I would be willing to pay. Probably just a sign of the times though I guess.

Mind you, I see that Bass Direct have a used 2009 Fender Jazz for sale for £999, which is more than the basses cost when new in 2009. That to me is even more crazy! [url="http://www.bassdirect.co.uk/bass_guitar_specialists/Jazz_USA_std_4.html"]http://www.bassdirect.co.uk/bass_guitar_specialists/Jazz_USA_std_4.html[/url]

[Woodinblack]

[quote name='Grangur' timestamp='1478556901' post='3169940']
Oh I do so Love Mr Farage! (not)
[/quote]

He can afford the basses - his salary has gone up 15% with the exchange rate!

[BassBus]

I wish everyone would stop the panic about Brexit. It is in Europe's interest as well as ours to do a good deal. Take the motor car industry for example. Mercedes Benz, BMW and VW have a vested interest in there being a good deal. VW in particular has more to loose than most. Not only are jobs in Germany under threat but also those at Seat in Spain and Skoda in the Czech Republic. As I understand it Volvo's biggest single market is the UK. That's Sweden as well.

Apply the Dad's Army Principle. There are so many Private Frasers around saying "Wur doomed, doomed". But look, here's Corpral Jones; "Don't panic, don't panic. When you stuck you've got to show them the cold steel".

In threatening a hard Brexit Theresa May might be seen as showing them the cold steel. When it comes down to it you know what Corpral Jones said about showing the cold steel.

Indeed the pound dropping has actually benefited the UK economy. Our goods are now more competitive.

Stop pinicing, that's what causes the problems.

Edited November 7, 2016 by BassBus

[Cat Burrito]

Well at least I managed to save a few hundred on a brand new Gibson Thunderbird over the weekend. I had sensed the market was shifting so figured it was now or never (is that reason no.6 for justifying GAS!?!).

[Maude]

Glass half full and all that.
This could be the cure for GAS we've all been looking for. We've probably all got enough gear to last out our playing days (consumables aside), so let's stop grumbling about new gear costing to much and concentrate on playing the gear we have to the best of our abilities.

[Grangur]

But don't forget to review your insurance policy to make sure they're aware of the rise in the replacement value of your equipment.

[Woodinblack]

[quote name='BassBus' timestamp='1478557181' post='3169948']
I wish everyone would stop the panic about Brexit. It is in Europe's interest as well as ours to do a good deal.
[/quote]

I find it truly amazing that people who disliked the EU so much still fail to understand how it works so much. Europe is 26 countries, it isn't one thing, it isn't in 26 countries interest to do a deal with us. You can go on about the german car industry as much as you want, but 25 countries really don't care about it, and several would view it as a bonus. Any one of those countries will block any deal they want.

[Cato]

[quote name='BassBus' timestamp='1478557181' post='3169948']
I wish everyone would stop the panic about Brexit. It is in Europe's interest as well as ours to do a good deal. Take the motor car industry for example. Mercedes Benz, BMW and VW have a vested interest in there being a good deal. VW in particular has more to loose than most. Not only are jobs in Germany under threat but also those at Seat in Spain and Skoda in the Czech Republic. As I understand it Volvo's biggest single market is the UK. That's Sweden as well.

Apply the Dad's Army Principle. There are so many Private Frasers around saying "Wur doomed, doomed". But look, here's Corpral Jones; "Don't panic, don't panic. When you stuck you've got to show them the cold steel".

In threatening a hard Brexit Theresa May might be seen as showing them the cold steel. When it comes down to it you know what Corpral Jones said about showing the cold steel.

Indeed the pound dropping has actually benefited the UK economy. Our goods are now more competitive.

Stop pinicing, that's what causes the problems.
[/quote]

So do you think the relatively large price rises in imported goods are strictly a temporary phenomenon, or that wages will quickly rise to match inflation so that in real terms we are not paying more?

Personally, I'm probably a bit more Private Fraser in that respect.

Edited November 7, 2016 by Cato

[project_c]

[quote name='BassBus' timestamp='1478557181' post='3169948']
I wish everyone would stop the panic about Brexit. It is in Europe's interest as well as ours to do a good deal. Take the motor car industry for example. Mercedes Benz, BMW and VW have a vested interest in there being a good deal. VW in particular has more to loose than most. Not only are jobs in Germany under threat but also those at Seat in Spain and Skoda in the Czech Republic. As I understand it Volvo's biggest single market is the UK. That's Sweden as well.

Apply the Dad's Army Principle. There are so many Private Frasers around saying "Wur doomed, doomed". But look, here's Corpral Jones; "Don't panic, don't panic. When you stuck you've got to show them the cold steel".

In threatening a hard Brexit Theresa May might be seen as showing them the cold steel. When it comes down to it you know what Corpral Jones said about showing the cold steel.

Indeed the pound dropping has actually benefited the UK economy. Our goods are now more competitive.

Stop pinicing, that's what causes the problems.
[/quote]

People are not panicking blindly, they are worried because their money is becoming worthless, and as a result they might lose their homes, and end up being governed by idiots who want to punch foreigners in the face and think climate change is a hoax. A stiff upper lip and a positive outlook is very noble but not much use when you're on the precipice of a waterfall in a deflating rubber dinghy.

[timmo]

[quote name='project_c' timestamp='1478559437' post='3169977']


People are not panicking blindly, they are worried because their money is becoming worthless, and as a result they might lose their homes, and end up being governed by idiots who want to punch foreigners in the face and think climate change is a hoax. A stiff upper lip and a positive outlook is very noble but not much use when you're on the precipice of a waterfall in a deflating rubber dinghy.
[/quote] Sounds like you are heading for health problems with such a bleak outlook on life. It might not happen yet

Edited November 7, 2016 by timmo

[BassBus]

[quote name='project_c' timestamp='1478559437' post='3169977']
People are not panicking blindly..
[/quote]

People always do panic blindly in these situations. Scotland has faced this twice in recent decades. Firstly with devolution and then the Independence Referendum. I saw with my own eyes the mini property boom that occurred in Berwick upon Tweed. A significant number of houses were bought by people from Scotland in Berwick in the lead up to both these issues as a bolt hole should things not work out. What changed after them? Nothing.

Edited November 7, 2016 by BassBus

[molan]

[quote name='BassBus' timestamp='1478557181' post='3169948']
I wish everyone would stop the panic about Brexit. It is in Europe's interest as well as ours to do a good deal. Take the motor car industry for example. Mercedes Benz, BMW and VW have a vested interest in there being a good deal. VW in particular has more to loose than most. Not only are jobs in Germany under threat but also those at Seat in Spain and Skoda in the Czech Republic. As I understand it Volvo's biggest single market is the UK. That's Sweden as well.

[/quote]

Volvo's largest market, by a fairly large margin is China.

Sweden is second largest followed by USA.

U.K. accounts for less than 10% of their volume sales.

Volvo itself accounts for onyl about 1.5% of total car sales in the UK so probably not all that important.

It's a global trend though. China is rapidly becoming the biggest market for many brands - even major high end 'esoteric' brands like Bentley sell more in China than any other country.

BMW is the same, over 20% of sales in China last year and growing rapidly. Britain is still a decent market for the big boys but it's certainly now what it was and we're way less important than we were even a few years ago.

Edit - forgot VW. There were some really recent figures for 2016 that showed China going over 50% of VW sales!

Edited November 7, 2016 by molan

[Twigman]

i hate brexit.

I want my EU citizenship.
I want a pound that's worth something.

[ambient]

[quote name='Twigman' timestamp='1478561902' post='3169993']
i hate brexit.

I want my EU citizenship.
I want a pound that's worth something.
[/quote]
[quote name='project_c' timestamp='1478559437' post='3169977']

People are not panicking blindly, they are worried because their money is becoming worthless, and as a result they might lose their homes, and end up being governed by idiots who want to punch foreigners in the face and think climate change is a hoax. A stiff upper lip and a positive outlook is very noble but not much use when you're on the precipice of a waterfall in a deflating rubber dinghy.
[/quote]

Where's the like button ?