Quote:
Originally Posted by Tele Fan
Is it the other way around too? I've never looked at any British guitars because I figured it would cost an arm and a leg to get one shipped to the states.
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You may have a point regarding a custom-built, one-off instrument but that would apply to anything of that nature shipped in from anywhere overseas.
However, when it comes to production items, I don't know about British-made instruments and amps in the USA but I do believe that, for example, Triumph motorcycles cost less over there than they do here on their home market...Rip-off Britain rides again. It's a matter of the price being pitched, not at a point reflective of actual cost of manufacture and marketing, but at what it is perceived that the market will stand.
When it comes to haggling, I tend to the view I inherited from my dear late mother... if you have to pay the right price for something, you're somehow being cheated
. Groceries and things from supermarkets are one thing, but it's a matter of supply and demand when it comes to musical instruments and even sundries, which are not mass-market goods. Up to a point, whatever his overheads, if it looks like resulting in a sale, in terms of a profit a shrewd businessman would sooner have 75% of something than 100% of nothing. That's the way I operate in my business and it works, generating happy customers who come back for more. So my advice is always to ask for a discount or make an offer - the very worst reply you can get is "No", and you then have the choice to cough up the full whack or walk away. But you'd be surprised how often that choice is unnecessary.