EVH striped series prices

[rurbaniak]

I ordered a Striped 5150 back in October, still waiting and probably won't see it until June or July. No problem, I understand the circumstances of everything and it's my 50th birthday present so my wife agreed.

Anyways, so I noticed a few new striped series, not 5150 on Reverb but for several hundred dollars more. Then I checked Sweetwater and guitar center websites, and all EVH Striped series have gone up at least $100 on the B/W, and $200 on everything else. Yikes. Glad I got in early, and won't be cancelling my order if some come available somewhere else.

[Brett]

Yep the demand for EVH guitars just went kind of nuts after he passed away. Not sure why considering they’re just mass produced guitars that will continue to be mass produced.

[rurbaniak]

Yep the demand for EVH guitars just went kind of nuts after he passed away. Not sure why considering they’re just mass produced guitars that will continue to be mass produced.

No doubt. I guess it's a bunch of guys like me who always wanted one, but didn't pull the trigger until recently. Also, good to know my investment went up $200 before I got it. Is it like Gamestop, should I hold or sell!!? Lol

[KS 5150]

I noticed as well that all of the EVH prices increased last week. I guess they must be close to having product available again, so the prices went up . For example, here in Canada, the Frankie Relic was $2349, and now its $2499. I've had one pre-ordered since late November, and the store assured me they would honor the lower price when mine arrives. The Striped Series prices are crazy now! I bought one of the original R/B/W back in 2013, and it was $899 CAD. Now the price list has them at $1599...nuts!

[edwardv]

Inflation supposed to be under 2%

[nobozos]

I'm not sure the price of the guitars have went up, but the price of what dealers are asking may have. A manufacturer usually advertises an MSRP for an instrument, and usually that MSRP is above what the MAP is for the guitar. For instance, manufacturer MSRP on their website may be $1899, but the MAP to the dealers may be $1699. Basically this just means that the manufacturer is saying that someone would be justified to charge $1899 for the guitar, but they are telling the dealers that they cannot advertise a price lower than $1699 for it.

In normal times, dealers are in competition with each other for your business, so MAP is usually what dealers ask for. This is actually something that we have just grown to expect since the age of online sales. So now we have a situation where demand is high and supply is low. For the time being, dealers are in the driver's seat, and don't have to worry so much about being the most competitive on price.

In a way, you can't really blame them. If I were a dealer and saw someone I just sold a guitar to for $1699 turn around and sell it on Ebay for $2800, I would probably figure out pretty quick that I'm leaving a lot of money on the table. If I started seeing other dealers advertising their guitars for $1899 instead of MAP of $1699 and selling them, I would probably raise my prices to the MSRP too. I think dealers right now are just feeling each other out to see how much they can charge before one of the dealers decides they aren't going to play along.

Right now, availability and certainty are king. The best case scenario is an instrument in-hand. Second best case is knowing that your order is placed and will be fulfilled. I think the uncertainty of the future of the EVH brand, or at least specific models is fueling it all. I mean, we really don't know how long the striped Frankies and 5150 models are going to be produced. We don't know if they are going to continue to make a bunch of them, or if they are going to be limited runs like the Star guitar or Shark. I think people are just paying for the certainty at this point, and dealers are pricing proportionately.