Korg Forums

[tonyman]

Has the price gone rocketing upwards? I've noticed prices increase by up 30%

so we are apparently in a recession and retailers must assume we all have more money.. I guess it's the weak pound causing the increase, but even so..

[Xenomorph]

Where are you located and which retailers do you speak of?

I can't speak for other brands as I only surround myself with Korg products but with that said, their prices haven't gone up(atleast not on any workstations/synths I've looked at).
_________________
Life is short, play a KORG!

Current: Pa5X, Nautilus
Past: M1, X5D, N364, Karma, X50, TR61, M50, micro-Korg, Triton Extreme, Pa3x, Roland Fantom 06, Akai mpc key61

[xmlguy]

No, the prices have been falling like a rock. Not of new keyboards, that is, but of used ones. There's lots of bargains to be had.

Pretend you have a time machine. All those great keyboards that were being sold for top dollar several years ago are now being dumped for a small fraction of their price. Most of them still sound great to an audience. But yeah, if you want the latest greatest *whatever* flagship workstation, you'll pay top dollar, and I may buy it from you when you dump it to get then next one.

Most of the time the newest keyboards only offer marginally better features - a lot of nice to haves - but not a lot of really needed stuff. And sometimes the manufacturers take a big step backwards with the new model. The Roland SP-555 comes to mind vs the SP-606.

There's plenty of cool, cheap, and useful things that are around too, like the Kaossilator and DS-10.

[tonyman]

I've been think about getting a Roland Juno G or a korg m50 61. the price for the m50 has gone up from £725 to £869. The Roland Juno G £618 to £809. Bear in mind we just had a 2.5% vat reduction.. that's a steep rise.

[Synthoid]

[xmlguy]

[tonyman]

err yeah, thanks XMLGUY.. not too sure what you on about with the "stealing wallets" and "time machines".

Those second hand "Juno G" on ebay still have some time to run and it's my guess they'll be a whole lot more expensive by the time the hammer falls.. And, personally I'd rather not buy a keyb secondhand over the internet with no protection for my hard earned cash (my choice). There is actually a "new" one on there for £525.

Who is complaining? I was simply pointing out a fact. In a recession one would hope to find a price drop, whereas, here in the UK we have the opposite. I wonder how those retailers will be able to survive, and, in turn, the manufacturers will be suffering too.

[ellll]

Speaking of pricing...

I notice O1Wfd ...and the two larger..., are going for $400 tp $1200 so they are holding on well for their age...

Same seems to be happening with Triton, tho' not the level (yet!) of the O1W series.... When compared with age....

Yet all of these older Korg's remain a great buy for the cash strapped, recession hit...., musician....

John (ellll)

[xmlguy]

Manufacturers and retailers can't just lower the prices because the economy goes bad. They still have to make a profit on everything they sell, and if fewer people are buying, or if currency fluctuations affect how much they get, then often they _have_ to raise prices to stay in business. It takes a long time to design, build, ship, and sell a keyboard. If the economy stays bad for a long time, then they will naturally have to cut features and manufacturing cost on new models to get them at a more affordable price point.

I was just pointing out that if you can't afford the pricing of the new keyboards, that other options are available that are affordable and still have very good sounds and features, if you don't eliminate those options.

You also don't have to take all that much risk when buying a used keyboard if you take a cautious approach. You can buy only when there is a reliable guarantee that you can return the keyboard it is defective, and then check it out thoroughly when you get it. For used keyboards that are only a few years old, you might find that they are still under warantee and extended warantees are available from the manufacturer. Korg now has a 3 year warantee, and you can check in advance what other warantee options that might be available to cover you for hardware failure.

When the economy is bad, there's lots of perfectly good keyboards that musicians need to sell at a bargain price because they only need the cash.

[Kontrol49]

Plus when buying secondhand hardware you will almost certainly get your moneyback should you sell it on,(Providing you don't undercut yourself for the sake of selling)Secondhand Older Hardware instruments tend to have a better resale value and your buying something that should you not get on or like it,you've not spent thousands that your gonna lose if you want to sell it on.

I've always bought loads of secondhand synths to try out,and those I've not liked,sold and always got my moneyback and in some cases,made money on the deal,this way you get to try out stuff you never would have probably bothered with for a fraction of the price,there have been loads of stuff I was impressed with and found some real gems I never even thought were any good,makes it all the more special when you get them for silly money.

[tonyman]

lol .. thanks guys.. but I really do not need advice on buying second hand musical equipment or on how to use ebay and that is really not the point I am trying to make here..

Having lived thru several recessions .. I've always noticed in the past that retail price of luxury good often decreases.. even retailers are not dumb enough to increase prices when there is less money around.. Smart operators reduce prices to maintain market share.


The point is prices have rocketed by over 30%, now is does not take genius to work out that if sales were depressed before this prices increase, then now they will be non-existant..
I can see this having a disastrous effect on the British music industry (IMBY).. If Korg/Roland/yam, etc are not selling units they will have to reduce their running costs, and drop less profitable lines.. EG Radias?.. now looking back at what makes certain devices "sought after" is when they manufacturer has stopped a good line.


PS please.. no need to explain any further that I can get one cheaper on ebay, gumtree, record and tape exchange, etc..

[Kontrol49]

[tonyman]

[Kontrol49]

[xmlguy]

To some people, keyboards are a luxury good. To others, it is a tool of the trade. During an economic downturn, the luxury good customers stop buying, leaving those who can justify the cost as part of the trade.

To use economics terminology, the demand curve becomes more relatively inelastic during a recession, which is known as the Price elasticity of demand. Therefore, manufacturers can raise their prices, knowing full well that the current customers left in the market will usually still pay it, up to a certain point.

Since one of the determinants for elasticity is the availability of substitutes, then your willingness to buy other products, new or used, becomes a key factor in the price the manufacturer can set and that you'll pay.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Price_elasticity_of_demand

Yea Korg! Squeeze every last shilling out of those Brits who insist on buying new. Hip Hip Huzzah! Korg, you can probably charge these Brits even more because they're only squealing at this point and are still planning to buy regardless of your increase. We in the USA are buying used gear, so you'll need to lower your price here, which you can do when you charge the Brits more.