Page 4 of 4
Re: The Rising Tide
Posted: Wed Mar 19, 2008 1:18 am
by johnallg
I've got no sympathy for them - they all made loans for stupid amounts on over-assessed properties that should never have had approvals. We've all seen the ads on tv with sayings like "Use the equity in your house for that dream (you fill the blank)."
Re: The Rising Tide
Posted: Wed Mar 19, 2008 1:54 am
by antipodean
johnallg wrote:I've got no sympathy for them - they all made loans for stupid amounts on over-assessed properties that should never have had approvals. We've all seen the ads on tv with sayings like "Use the equity in your house for that dream (you fill the blank)."
No sympathy from me either - the merchants (that's cockney rhyming slang - explanation available on demand) at these places like Bear made mega huge bonuses in the good years. Problem is, when the chickens come home to roost, they get bailed out, rather than take the flogging they deserve, because we all depend upon the banking system. Basically, the current status quo rewards reckless investing and ensures the reckless don't end up taking the hit when it comes. It makes me ever so angry!
Re: The Rising Tide
Posted: Wed Mar 19, 2008 2:08 am
by 1965
johnallg wrote:
That would have been Bear Stearns. 4 days before being sold for $2 USD a share they traded for around $63 a share.
On the bright side, Ricks now come with full width inlays!
Re: The Rising Tide
Posted: Wed Mar 19, 2008 1:22 pm
by deaconblues
Depends on the bottle size, of course...
Re: The Rising Tide
Posted: Thu Mar 20, 2008 12:52 am
by dean712
I am so happy that Rickenbacker continues to make their guitars to the same high quality as always. They've resisted the temptation to water down the brand with lesser quality models. I hope that quality-based approach doesn't ever change.
Re: The Rising Tide
Posted: Thu Mar 20, 2008 10:04 am
by firstbassman
OK, I’ll jump in.
As is common, I feel there are different issues being discussed and I’m not certain to what extent they’re actually truly connected.
RIC’s Higher Retail Pricelist. JH made (as he said) a one-time re-appearance and itemized the reasons behind the price increase. Ya want my opinion? Though what JH said is probably all true (the price of doo-hickey raw materials went up 200% last year!) I always felt it was inevitable that RIC guitar prices were due to go up to “Gibson levels” in the very near future.
If I was the owner of RIC and I looked around and saw what American-made premier electric guitars were going for, I would immediately start selling mine for $2000 no questions asked.
RIC’s Backlog. The causes of the backlog have been well documented many times. Personally, would I wait two to three years for a guitar? No, sorry, never. I hate the few days wait for in-stock ordered items let alone two to three years! As one disgruntled RIC dealer put it to me: “Ya gonna lose your ‘arousal’ for the guitar waiting that long.”
RIC Guitars Are On Dealers’ Shelves. Yes, somewhat. As I’ve said before on this and on the corporate forum, if someone wants a RIC guitar I think they can find them but very possibly not the exact model or color they were hoping for. I don’t think they’re all hanging there for the picking and we’re just too dumb to find them.
Increased Price of Used RICs. Yes, I think we’ll agree that we’ve all noticed that. Is it a direct result of the increased retail price? Result of backlog? Price of oil? Paul’s divorce? Probably a combination of all of those things. (Well, not all.)
But, hey, that’s life, right? We’ll just deal with it the best we can.