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The price of strings!!!!!

#81
kumimajava said:
Switch to flats. Revisit this thread 10 years from now while still playing that same set - and rejoice in what wise a decision you made ;)
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I've been thinking about that a lot lately. I have two jazz basses and two sterling stingrays, maybe it's time to throw flats on one of each and never worry about it again. I've already got a flat/tort p bass so you don't have to tell me to get one of those :P
 
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#82
ThrashingFury said:
Taxes and shipping. Government need their share too.
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Well let's do the maths cos EB regular slinkys are actually $27.29 CAD so your before tax price is $81.87 significantly less than the $120 quoted and your after tax price is $92.50 (cos we round down pennies). No shipping as they are stocked locally at every store I've ever been in.
For some extra pedantry they were $26.50 in 2020 Acoustic & Electric Bass Strings - Long & McQuade so yes they have gone up 79c per set.

For our US friends he's complaining that strings have gone up from roughly $22.37 to $22.97 USD.

Honestly if this is sending you to the poorhouse maybe don't own 3 basses?
 
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#86
Waltsdog said:
Honestly if this is sending you to the poorhouse maybe don't own 3 basses?
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This. It's like any hobby or craft, whether for fun or for making a living. There are always incremental costs beyond the "thing" itself. When I was young and naive, I bought a motorcycle. I forgot about sales tax, more insurance, and like half the gear. And that before accessorizing the stupid thing. Same thing with golf. And bass guitars. There are incremental costs involved beyond the bass guitar. Amps, cabs, pedals, software, cables (don't get cheap cables, and don't ask me how I know that...), strings, etc. etc.

Then again, I'm not a "do it half-ass" kind of person. I do the few things I'm "into" completely whole-assing it.
 
#88
According to ChatGPT, which apparently knows everything except when it doesn't:

Why are bass guitar strings so expensive in Canada?

There are several factors that can contribute to the high cost of bass guitar strings in Canada. Here are a few possible reasons:

  1. Import costs: Many of the top bass guitar string brands are manufactured in the United States, Europe, or other countries outside of Canada. Importing these strings into Canada can be costly due to tariffs, customs fees, and shipping expenses, which can drive up the overall price of the strings.

  2. Exchange rates: The value of the Canadian dollar compared to other currencies can also affect the cost of bass guitar strings. If the Canadian dollar is weak relative to the currency of the country where the strings are manufactured, then the cost of importing those strings will be higher.

  3. Limited market: Compared to the United States, Canada has a smaller population and a more limited market for musical instruments and accessories. This can make it more difficult for retailers to achieve economies of scale, which can result in higher prices for consumers.

  4. Retail markup: Finally, it's possible that some retailers in Canada may be charging higher prices for bass guitar strings simply because they can. If there is limited competition in a particular market, retailers may have more power to set prices at a level that maximizes their profits.
 
#93
ThrashingFury said:
Just wondering if everyone else here finds the price of a pack of strings are getting a little out of hand? In canada for Ernie Ball Regular slinky it's 30 dollars. While that's still relatively cheap, for 3 basses it's $120. Is there somewhere else than Amazon to get cheap strings?
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But, my strings are 45 bucks + tax. Elixir nickel rounds. I leave them on for 6 - 8 months.
 
#94
I think for sure flatwounds have gone up, but for some rounds, I do see a slight price uprise which is annoying, Bass strings have always been annoying and some branders were cheaper like Fender strings, but for me they are a higher, Ebay there's some cheaper strings but I'm also positive those are fake...
 
#96
moreblues said:
I see you are in Canada so I have no idea what they cost there...but here in the USA I have not seen any huge string price increases...mainly HUGE FOOD price increases!
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I haven't seen huge price increases for strings here in Canada - but I buy DR which are a bit more expensive than most other brands, anyway. Food prices, yes... sadly, we're being ripped off here quite badly by the grocery chains and they've all had many record quarters.
 
#97
I used the Internet Archive's Wayback Machine to get prices of bass strings (4 string sets) from 2007 (the earliest available data). I compared prices with today and calculated the % change of price. The average price for a pack of strings has increased 28% or about $5 since 2007.
Bass Guitar Strings | Sweetwater
Bass Guitar Strings | Sweetwater.com (wayback machine archived page)
string_price_change.jpg
 
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#99
Code Brown said:
I used the Internet Archive's Wayback Machine to get a sample of Sweetwater bass string prices from 2007 (the earliest available data). I compared prices with today and calculated the % change of price. The average price for a 4 pack of strings has increased 28% or about $5 since 2007.
Bass Guitar Strings | Sweetwater
Bass Guitar Strings | Sweetwater.com (wayback machine archived page)
View attachment 4969865
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That is a great analysis - much more scientific than what I was about to say: "Everything is more expensive now"..

But to that point - if you go back 10 years, EBMM Stingrays were $1,200-$1,500 new. Now they are $2,499-$2,799. USA Fenders were $1,200 - now they are $1,800-$2,000. A mid-size SUV was $30-40K - now they are $50K+. A 600cc motorcycle was $8K-9K, now they are $12K-$13K. You get the idea.

IMO, $20-$30 for a good set of strings that last for months (don't know about you all, but I rarely change strings more often than every 3-4 months), is still a pretty good deal.
 

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