Source for Bridge Pickup parts

[Gilmourisgod]

The Rickenbacker parts page no longer stocks just the chrome ring around the bridge pickup as a separate part. I spoke to their service guy, and apparently Rick will only sell complete bridge pickup assemblies now. Pick of the Ricks had the entire assembly advertised for $150 on their website, but have been out of stock. People are re-selling them on E-Bay for $300! What gives? Anybody know another source for parts? The market price for anything associated with Rick is already grossly inflated, sooner or later this trend is going to price most people (to the extent it hasn't already) out of the market for Rick products. I understand supply and demand and market forces, but it seems like things have tipped over the line into blatant price gouging and artificial "shortages". This has the look and feel of a "bubble" that may pop in Ricks face when people decide that too much is just too much. So much for my rant.

[Kopfjaeger]

Wow, that stinks!! I see them on ebay from time to time. You can try putting an ad in the wanted section here as well.

sepp

[Captain Bob]

You may wish to check and see if Mike Parks has anything over at the Rickenbacker Page.

[Ashgray]

Rosetti in the UK can supply:

http://www.rosetti.co.uk/Product/Ricken ... urround-Ch

Ash

[Gilmourisgod]

The Rosetti UK price is 43 pounds, or $73.19 US! Plus the postage to US, of course, which would put it up to around $100 US. The Rickenbacker Parts page still shows the part on their website, but I called them and they said that Rickenbacker is no longer distributing ANY of the pickup parts as separate items, they will only sell the whole assembly. He said no explanation was given. Anybody else looking for pickup parts would be advised to buy them wherever they can find them now while some stock is still available. I may as well buy the whole assembly for $150 and have done with it, although I don't really want the pickup. I had hoped to use Classic Amplification pickups for my restoration project. Any other leads appreciated.

[Ashgray]

Anybody know another source for parts?

It's a pleasure Alex, don't mention it! Sheesh!

Ash

[Gilmourisgod]

Ash
No offense intended, guess I'm just flabbergasted that a piece of chromed sheetmetal that probably costs $1.50 to fabricate is being sold for $75-$150 on e-bay and some other sites. Why would anyone pay that when they can buy the whole pickup assembly for the same price? That just feels like a blatant rip off , and now Rick has compounded the price gouging opportunities by discontinuing individual parts sales. Shame on me if I was stupid enough to pay that kind of money for what the Rick parts page was selling at a profit for $36 until Rick cut them off. If someone can explain how this kind of pricing is justified, by all means educate me.