This makes me angry

[2ricks]

I'm still waiting fo rmy c63. The store said I would get it in November. I called the store. They said May. It's may
I called the store yesterday. Now they're telling me December '08 or January '09

[tennis_nick]

The best they can do is guess.

The best you can do is ignore them completely.

To think positively, they build guitars every day. yours is bound to show up eventually!

[rikk]

There seems to be long waits for all new RICs. There is probably no way for sure to know when it will ship.

[beatlefreak]

I'm coming up on two years waiting for my C63 - From a store which already had the guitar on order, but was not spoken for. You're going to have to face the fact that there is going to be a long wait for an ordered Rick, and nobody can predict when that wait will end.

[JakeK]

Just be paitent, play what you got, and do NOT think about it. That just makes the wait longer.

[1965]

Haven't been any C63's rolling off the line for a while. If you really can't wait, there are other ways of getting one of course. With the internets at your disposal one can surely be located.

[beatlefreak]

Actually, a batch of them shipped earlier this month. My dealer got two of them - Unfortunately, I was #4 in line. I have a feeling that Japan got most of that batch.

[bails]

There have been discussions on this very forum in the past where the wait has been considered one of the most exciting aspects of buying a Rickenbacker. People have said it makes them appear more like a custom-made guitar, and makes finally owning one all the more special.

Although I am sure JH is working flat-out to meet demand, if he did ever catch up, I'm sure some people would strongly suggest that from a marketing point of view, making people wait has the potential to increase the appeal and therefore the demand for any product.

I'm sure that's what Michealangelo kept saying when they tried to hurry him...

[1965]

Actually, a batch of them shipped earlier this month. My dealer got two of them - Unfortunately, I was #4 in line. I have a feeling that Japan got most of that batch.

You're right, I accidently mixed up the C63 & C64 for a second there.

[simer4001]

There have been discussions on this very forum in the past where the wait has been considered one of the most exciting aspects of buying a Rickenbacker.

I don't remember these threads. While I am aware and comfortable with the timeframes, exciting wouldn't be a word I would use to describe the wait. I would probably describe it as a necessary evil.

Currently I have a 4003 and a 5002V58 on order. tick, tick, tick...

[bails]

The excitement value probably decreases with each subsequent Rickenbacker purchase... My first was definitely the best!

That said, it's fairly well established that "lining up" can psychologically increase the appeal for a product.

Ever lined-up for a night club, only to find it's not even full once you get inside?

At uni we did study into ticket sales for a dance party. We sold tickets in a busy public area, and found that there was either a massive queue or no queue at all, but never anything in between. When a queue formed, everyone joined it, when there was no queue, there remained no queue for the whole selling session, and sales remained low. We determined that it was not related to external variables because we could repeatably manipulate it ourselves by creating artificial queues. First got the dance party organisers to line up, and immediately the queue multiplied, regardless of whether it had been a slow day prior to the queue forming. Then we found we could achieve the same result simply by slowing the sales process at the start of a selling session until a suitable queue formed, then selling at a normal speed from then on. I am in no way suggesting RIC has ever, or would ever use this as a marketing tactic, (especially because it generally relies on the 'queue' being overt to all potential consumers, which RIC's is not) but I, for one know it can work because I've seen the results first hand.

[beatlefreak]

Although I am sure JH is working flat-out to meet demand, if he did ever catch up, I'm sure some people would strongly suggest that from a marketing point of view, making people wait has the potential to increase the appeal and therefore the demand for any product.

Having people wait months is one thing - Having them wait years is quite another.

[simer4001]

The excitement value probably decreases with each subsequent Rickenbacker purchase... My first was definitely the best!

That said, it's fairly well established that "lining up" can psychologically increase the appeal for a product.

Ever lined-up for a night club, only to find it's not even full once you get inside?

I understand what you are trying to say, but i've never waited 4 years to get into a club. I have, however, waited 4 years for a Rickenbacker. I'm not complaining. Like I said I understand that there will be a wait. But I just can't get my head around the comment that it is exciting to wait. I'm excited when it arrives. But honestly I am no more excited than if I walked into a dealer and pulled one off the wall and went home with it. After waiting for years for my 360C63/12 I was excited for the guitar, but relieved the wait was over.

[beefandbones]

I ordered a 1996 when they were first announced in January 2006, because I could afford the deposit, and then I used the wait time to actually save up the money. For me, it was an exciting wait, and really satisfying when it finally arrived. Admittedly, it only took nine months. And then I discovered that, although I got it in September, it has a May serial number. I've always wondered what happened to it in the intervening four months... I'm happy to have it though - it's a beautiful guitar, and my favorite every day player. I don't understand the production schedule at Rickenbacker, and I'm not sure anyone outside the factory does. The wait is certainly a mystery, and just seems to come with the territory. I'd imagine that your dealer probably doesn't understand it any more that we do, and is essentially guessing when it will arrive. I think I remember reading (and hearing from dealers) that 18 months is often given as 'the wait time' for standard order Rickenbackers. Anyone else heard that?

[teeder]

This makes me think I should put my order in for a 4001V68 now!