Pretty much everyone raised prices this year, as well as late last year. If you think Ibanez price increases are bad, look at Fender and Jackson.

Basically, in order to meet the same monetary goals, they have to compensate for less units sold. Let's use the RG1570 as an example. For instance, say at the older price ever individual RG1570 represented .1% of the cost to make the RG1570 a successful guitar that year and reach their sales goal. After all they are ordered in runs, just very large ones from an independent factory. If they raise the price by about 15% (which in the history of price changes is not that much) that means every about 7 or 8 units have paid for an extra. When you sell thousands of guitars, that makes a HUGE impact. So instead of needing 1000 units to make bank, only around 850 need to be purchased. Also, remember, this is world wide. To be honest, $100 has never really stopped me from buying a guitar I've really wanted, especially in the price range those guitars go for.

Another thing to consider as well, and Rich states this on the NAMM 2009 section of Ibanez Rules, is the weakness of the dollar.

Of course the above scenario isn't perfect, thus they needed to issue rebates, free cases etc, if you notice that's only in the US and not world wide. If it's the real price or a rebate means nothing, you pay what you pay. I have a feeling that the "rebates" will disappear the second the economy picks up.

---

Current "Heard":
UV777PBK - UV7PWH - UV7BK "Green Dot" - UV7BK "Green Silver Dot" - RG7620VK - RG7420BK - RG1527RB

GUITAR SET-UP AND MAINTENANCE
Ibanez Catalogs---Megatron's Trem Guide
Need replacement parts? Go here.
Want to talk to Ibanez USA (Hoshino USA)? Then call this number (PA area code): (215)245-1648.
OFFICIAL IBANEZ PARTS & APPAREL STORE!!!

Rebates are basically a gamble for the manufacturer. I'll explain. I read about this awhile ago.
A company offers mail-in/online rebates on whatever they may have that is not selling up to their satisfaction.It brings the said object to the attention of more people and what the manufacturer relies on "the gamble part" is let say 500 more units sell and out of those 500, 100 people actually turn in their rebates on time. so In the end they sell 500 more units and only 100 of them actually get the rebate, so 400 units still sell for full price. but if they lowered the price then the 500 units sold would all be at the lower price and they would not have the 400 that they made more of a profit on.
I hope that makes sense.
They depend on the people who either forget about the rebate, or don't want to do all the extra work to get it, or as I am guilty of doing, putting it off til I realize the time limit has expired to send in for it.
Of course that only applies for mail in/online Fill out and wait ones not any "instant rebates" those they have a whole diffrent scenario which is kinda weird too

I have often wondered why on earth in the middle of a global economic downturn..Ibanez and other guitar manufacturers would RAISE their prices...who on earth is going to buy them? Sure there will be folks who can afford them...but now its even more difficult to buy guitars that were once affordable for the average joe.... Now its virtually impossible for me to buy a guitar where I live. Lets say I were to buy an RG350EX, it cost roughly 399.99 online. After converting that to my currency its $1087.00. Add shipping and customs charges and we arrive at nearly 1900 dollars ( could be more ) So does it make any sense even trying to buy a guitar like the 1570 or a JS or JEM which cost 1000s? why not make more economic guitars?

Oh I do....but the rise in prices doesn't help either...I will have to save for alot longer now.

I agree with you...this isn't the fault of ibanez...but I am sure prices can be lower...I guess some of us feel that way because we are/were not aware of the reason behind the price change..after all not every guitar maker raised their prices and as you rightly mentioned the RG350 hasn't changed at all, I was just using one of their cheaper models as an example...my conversion rate is 2.7169 to be exact. I hope the models that come out next year will offer us all something that is of good quality for a good price.

A rebate is lowering the price of a guitar and it's the only practical way for a manufacturer to directly offer an incentive to the customer. To get the same result by lowering prices, the money would have to pass through the retailer's hands. This is an accounting hassle relative to the ease of simply validating a receipt and cutting a check to the consumer.

And I agree with Max regarding Fender's example. The price increase for 2009 was huge, American Strats went from $1000 to $1200-1300. But I was just in Guitar Center this weekend and they were selling the new 2009 American Strats and Teles for $994, hard case included. So obviously they're not moving as many as they had forecast.

It's a great time to buy a guitar, assuming you have any money. I was also this weekend in another store where a salesman offered 20% off on a Martin D-28 early in our conversation, without my asking. I'd imagine that if it were a less popular guitar or if you negotiated a little, you'd be able to get it for not much above cost.

---

Henceforth I ask not good-fortune, I myself am good-fortune.

--Walt Whitman, "Song of the Open Road"

You have to remember that Ibanez don't make their guitars, other companies do. I suspect Ibanez had no choice in raising their prices if the various companies who make the guitars for them jacked up their prices. Their only recourse would be to take their business elsewhere, which probably explains their canceling their contract with the Korean Cort company and giving their business to the cheaper Chinese and Indonesian plants. This would help keep the cost of the standard models down (like the RG350), but not the Prestige models, which are still made by the Fujigen company, who no doubt jacked their prices up inline with much of the rest of the guitar manufacturing businesses.

What could Ibanez do? Cancel their contract with Fujigen also and find some other (cheaper) company to make their Prestige range. I don't think most people would like that much.

---

Beginners Guide to Chord Theory
Beginners Guide to Scales

I was using the RG1570 as an example only, as the numbers were smaller and more round for me to work with on the top of my head.

Weather a guitar seems like it's worth something to you, has ZERO bearing on what Ibanez CAN, WILL, and DO charge for THEIR product. If you think it's not worth $2400 (or even it's "real" price of $2600) then don't buy it. I don't think the JS20th is worth $6000 or the SPL100 is worth $10,000 so I didn't take out a loan to buy them.

Though the primary reasons in my RG1570 example still apply. They want product "X" to make profit "A".

As for the JS and JEM7V (the trem equipped one) how are they so amazingly overpriced? The JS1200 goes for $1800, and when you take into consideration it's unique body, unique neck profile, matched headstock, Edge Pro trem, and DiMarzio pickups, it's not too far off from many of the higher end MIJ RGs, such as the RG3570 which goes for $1500. As for the JEM7V, it's priced close to the highest end RGs such as the RGT320. Are they more expensive because of the artist's name on the headstock, of course. Though, they aren't disgustingly overpriced once you compare them to the upper echelon of the current RG Prestige guitars.

---

Current "Heard":
UV777PBK - UV7PWH - UV7BK "Green Dot" - UV7BK "Green Silver Dot" - RG7620VK - RG7420BK - RG1527RB

GUITAR SET-UP AND MAINTENANCE
Ibanez Catalogs---Megatron's Trem Guide
Need replacement parts? Go here.
Want to talk to Ibanez USA (Hoshino USA)? Then call this number (PA area code): (215)245-1648.
OFFICIAL IBANEZ PARTS & APPAREL STORE!!!

Another thing to keep in mind is that, after all, it's a Japanese brand. The rest of the world is export. Everybody living in Europe knows what US export guitars cost, for example. The same is true in the US and Europe for Japanese guitars.

Salaries in Japan are also different, as the costs of living are pretty steep.
They import American wood for some of their guitar parts, so you factually pay twice to ship the wood over the Pacific when you finally buy a guitar in the US.
Plus, the dollar sucks in economic terms right now.
Then you need a distributor in the US, who wants to get a share of the profit.

This all adds a long trail of money onto the base price.

Altogether, we are export market customers who get a product that could (as I think) be produced the same way in our respective own economies - but then it would be missing the "Japanese" touch, which seems the big factor with Ibanez. But that adds the whole tail of costs mentioned above.

Or bluntly speaking - if you want one, you pay what they ask for, or look for another guitar brand. It's as simple as that. Luckily, they have not started to detach themselves entirely from any price reference like certain F and G brands out there...

Still don't think these guitars are expensive.

I mean, if you look on musicians friend and sort the Solid Body Electric Guitars, from most expensive to least expensive, you don't get a production Ibanez until page 15.

Are they cheap? No where near it. Though, in the great scheme of things, concerning guitars. They are priced relatively low.

---

Current "Heard":
UV777PBK - UV7PWH - UV7BK "Green Dot" - UV7BK "Green Silver Dot" - RG7620VK - RG7420BK - RG1527RB

GUITAR SET-UP AND MAINTENANCE
Ibanez Catalogs---Megatron's Trem Guide
Need replacement parts? Go here.
Want to talk to Ibanez USA (Hoshino USA)? Then call this number (PA area code): (215)245-1648.
OFFICIAL IBANEZ PARTS & APPAREL STORE!!!