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Fender finally dropping silly MSRP (list) pricing?

#2
I never understood why any business would do this kind of thing, the automobile industry does the same. To me it's what my dad would have called "fly by night" business practice. Advertize the price as "Z" when it's value is only "X" so everyone can sell it for "Y" and make it look like they're giving you a deal...one word for this - SHADY! It's good to hear Fender are stepping away from this kind of ethically questionable business practice.
 
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#5
1) Less GC the better.

2) I don't see MSRP as shady because everyone knows about "street price" i.e. MAP. It's a basis for the distributer discount that's all. You have to have something to base the discount off of. They're still gonna do it , it'll be for internal use. Only the most ignorant consumer that doesn't bother to compare prices would pay MSRP.

3) If GC dropped Berhinger they're doing a horrible job at it. There's a ton of stuff available including new arrivals. Same for Musicians Friend.

I think dropping the MSRP is purely marketing because a lot of people see it as "shady".
 
#7
Flad said:
I never understood why any business would do this kind of thing, the automobile industry does the same.
Click to expand...

Actually, in the auto business selling for MSRP is the goal. Vehicles that are in demand often sell for MSRP or more. In the guitar business, however, there is zero intention to sell for MSRP. It's a meaningless number designed to give the consumer a false sense of getting a good deal.
 
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#9
Rickenbacker to me is even shadier, they won't even let them tell you the price you have to call and ask. I was taught if you have to ask the price you can't afford it. So I just never ask. Guess I will never have a brand new Ric, I doubt I'll ever be rich to buy thing without knowing how much the cost first. I'm also the type that won't put something in my cart at the store unless I know exactly how much it is supposed to cost, if the prices are missing then they've lost a sale. I just got back from surfing the fender.com site...they still have MSRP listed?!? Is it possible this article is wrong about "when" or even the whole nine here?
 
#11
Flad said:
I just got back from surfing the fender.com site...they still have MSRP listed?!? Is it possible this article is wrong about "when" or even the whole nine here?
Click to expand...

Looks like they've finally made the changes on their website, at least on the basses I checked. Instead of the ever-misleading "list" price they now show the "advertised" price - which appears to be MAP based on the retailers I checked.

Good work Fender!
 
#12
Got2SadowskyNYC said:
2) I don't see MSRP as shady because everyone knows about "street price" i.e. MAP. It's a basis for the distributer discount that's all. You have to have something to base the discount off of. They're still gonna do it , it'll be for internal use. Only the most ignorant consumer that doesn't bother to compare prices would pay MSRP.
Click to expand...

That's the problem though; if Grandma, or Aunt Ruth, or some other unwitting person tries to buy something for a musician, and they aren't pre-informed about MSRP vs. MAP on music instruments they'll get ripped off.

Pre-Internet I'm 99% sure this was a primary source of income for places like GC; musicians would pay street, Mom and Dad, unaccompanied, payed MSRP. My first few GC purchases in the early 90s were always fraught with a sense of "maybe I could have gotten a better deal". It's not the best feeling to save for months only to find out you could have talked your purchase down $50 with a less greedy sales person.

At the end of the day, why hide behind a fake price. Best case you rip off those few folks not knowledgeable enough to not be taken.

The converse effect, making folks feel like they got a "deal" happens very rarely under those circumstances, since both MSRP and MAP are pre-set and easy to determine with minimal investigation.

If you do not want folks to ever feel ripped off, make sure MSRP is MAP.
 
#17
An MSRP is actually required by the government. If the new slang is another word for the same thing - it's just that - another wording. MSRP's we developed as a max allowable price that can be charged for a product. It doesn't matter if it's guitars or automobiles. It's intent is to prevent charging one person one price and another a wildly higher price.
 
#20
tbz said:
That's the problem though; if Grandma, or Aunt Ruth, or some other unwitting person tries to buy something for a musician, and they aren't pre-informed about MSRP vs. MAP on music instruments they'll get ripped off.

Pre-Internet I'm 99% sure this was a primary source of income for places like GC; musicians would pay street, Mom and Dad, unaccompanied, payed MSRP. My first few GC purchases in the early 90s were always fraught with a sense of "maybe I could have gotten a better deal". It's not the best feeling to save for months only to find out you could have talked your purchase down $50 with a less greedy sales person.

At the end of the day, why hide behind a fake price. Best case you rip off those few folks not knowledgeable enough to not be taken.

The converse effect, making folks feel like they got a "deal" happens very rarely under those circumstances, since both MSRP and MAP are pre-set and easy to determine with minimal investigation.

If you do not want folks to ever feel ripped off, make sure MSRP is MAP.
Click to expand...


Selling something at full MSRP is not "ripping off" anyone. If I price something at MSRP and someone is willing to pay it, what's wrong with that. They may have paid more than they had to, but price comparison is the consumers job, not the sellers job. It's also not the sellers job to "give someone" a good deal.

When I sell something on Craigslist I price it high, intentionally, knowing that someone will try to talk me down. If someone doesn't it means I either had it priced to low or found that one person that was willing to pay what I asked.

Even charging MORE than MSRP is not "ripping off". This happens on top their sports cars all the time. It's not uncommon for a top of the line Vette to sell for $15,000 more than MSRP.

Selling a fake Gibson as a real one at the real price is ripping off. Lying about features is "ripping off" someone. Baiting and switching is "ripping off".
 
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