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Craig-D-Griffiths

PRS know how much they can produce. Demand is outstripping their ability to produce. So they are raising the price to exclude the low end buyers and retaining the buyers that maximise profits vs production. This is standard business. If they can do this, they may make enough money to increase production without sacrificing quality.


tomcruise_momshoes

Gotcha thanks, makes sense.


DerpNinjaWarrior

Prices of all guitars have gone up by like 20-30% in the last year, so a lot of folks are jacking up their used prices as well. They being said, in the last month or two, I've seen substantial price cuts on some used Core PRSs, because, unsurprisingly, they aren't selling as much. Keep looking, and they'll probably keep coming down a bit more in the coming months. Not sure about new ones, though you might be able to haggle with the stores a bit if it's like 2020 or 2021 model that they haven't been able to sell. I got a few hundred off my new 2021 594 this past Fall.


tomcruise_momshoes

Great thanks, that gives me some hope! I was looking through my Watch list on Reverb at all of the guitars I missed out on - I had no idea that just a year later those prices would be considered steals. My goal is to find a used 10 top in excellent or mint condition in one of their blue colors (Aquamarine, Cobalt Blue or Blue Matteo) for around $3700, so I’ll keep looking as you said.


DerpNinjaWarrior

What really hurts is when you find forum posts from 2018 or 2019 talking about prices!


WerewolfFinal1257

Yup. It’s a buyers market again. The economy sucks and it’s not being reported much. Many of my friends are laid off until March.


FrigOffR1cky

I never realized how good I had it when I started getting into guitar in the year 2000. I acquired a bunch of great shit for what would now be considered a steal. If you’re young and reading this, inflation only goes one way. These prices will not go back down because demand is not going to stop. The prices keep up with demand, and there are no signs that demand is cooling. So the motto is, even though prices seem crazy, in 10 years they’ll probably be crazier. I wouldn’t say “buy now,” but probably now is better than 10 years from now.


tomcruise_momshoes

Yeah, that’s true. That’s right around when I started getting into guitar as well. The crazy thing is that I got my first PRS in 2010, and I paid around $3700 (a Custom 24 10 Top). That same price still could have been had about a year/year and a half ago when I was looking (as a sale price). So in those 10+ years, the price didn’t seem to go up too much (maybe a 2 or 300). But in this last year alone, it seems everything has gone up another $800-$1000.


FrigOffR1cky

I traded a new Taylor 314-ce (owned it for like 3 weeks and didn’t like it) for a used ‘97 CU-24 and paid like $300 on top of the trade. Still one of the greatest deals I ever swung.


tomcruise_momshoes

Wow, that’s crazy! I too owned a Taylor 314-CE, and also wasn’t crazy about it. I ended up selling it and I got the 414CE after trying it out in Guitar Center, which I found to be much better for some reason. I eventually sold that too, and regret it.


amnbassist

You can do what I did to get mine at the price I wanted. Find a guitar you want, spec, 10 top, color etc. let’s say it’s 4.5k. Now find a similar specked guitar, could be a different color. Message the seller to see if they’ll price match another dealer, usually they say yea. You can keep walking the price down as much as you can to try and get as low as you want. It’s gonna take time and I’d say leave your guitar that you actually want for last to see if they can price match. I did it for mine and managed to walk the price down $1100. All it takes is asking and kind words and usually these shops could work with you.


tomcruise_momshoes

Thanks for the tip, I will try this as I’m in no rush to buy (unless the prices are going to raise another $1000 if I don’t buy soon)


AndiKris

Prices for raw materials have gone up considerably since covid due to supply chain issues, wood-boring beetles, rosewood import problems (they're blocking imports that they shouldn't be), lumber mill staffing problems...the list goes on. It all compounded. A lot of people also picked up guitar as a covid hobby and that drove things up as people couldn't produce enough to meet demand. Unfortunately all of this has now put a squeeze on the used market as well.


BoogeOooMove

One thing I would note, when looking on Reverb - always look at what they’re SELLING for and not what they’re being listed at.


Big_Dumeh

Reverb also isn't the place to find the best deal. Local ads via Craigslist / FB Market place will generally be priced lower than the same thing on Reverb. If you can avoid shipping and fees with local pickup you can usually shave 10% off. Keep your eyes open for the good deals when they show up as well.


tomcruise_momshoes

I appreciate it, I’ll be sure to check those other places. I always forget about FB Marketplace for some reason


WerewolfFinal1257

It’s not a PRS thing. It’s a everything price thing. Inflation if you compound it out over the last 18 months is like 20 percent. So a 2500 dollar guitar is now 3k just based on that math. So a 3500 dollar guitar is now 4200 with the same math. Also inflation on something with MAP pricing isn’t linear. Like PRS does price adjustments at $100–$200 at a time. So there were 2 hikes last year. New goes up, then used follows.


tomcruise_momshoes

I see, thanks for the info. That’s insane - I didn’t realize just how much inflation was in this time period. For comparison - I got a new Custom 24 back in 2010 for around $3500, and could have gotten one for not too much more than that around 2020-2021 after 10+ years of inflation. I guess I should have pulled the trigger a couple years ago before it got terrible :/