The Collings Forum

"I suspect Collings may be catching up with economic reality." Absolutely, the prices of many commodities have gone up in the past 10 years

i've always thought, at least for the last 5 years, that Collings instruments were a bargain. had no idea how they could do what they do for the price. just look at the cases. speaking of which, my guess is that they will be significantly higher in price. Collings is still figuring out final pricing. stay tuned. but, for me, more power to them. they are unique.

All MAP prices on brand new instruments will go to list price.

not sure what this really means. how does it impact Collings. the dealer?

Does that simply mean that dealers can only post a "minimum advertised price" which has to be Collings list price?
.....or something else. Does this affect the known !0% off list?

I read it to mean that Dealers will no longer be able to offer that 10% off the list price we have gotten used to.

Face it if everybody offers the same 10% off is that really a deal? It's actually just a lower "list" price.

that's the way i read it. the only reason Raymond's phrasing jumped out is that i thought Collings was making the June 1 changes in an effort to better "monetize what we do" (phrase richard hoover used in a conversation a few years ago.) so, if THAT'S the reason, i don't understand how collings benefits dollar-wise, assuming the same discounts-to-dealer remain. probably pure business stuff that's over my head, anyway (that ought to be clear to anyone reading my post:)) back to playing.

I wish all guitar makers would kill MAP and just provide a List Price with a contractual agreement with it’s dealers to assure an expressed warranty. I don’t think the pricing games are helpful to consumers. A straight-up price sheet would be much more helpful. I read the never-ending posts on AGF about the Martin MSRP, MAP, and what you can really buy a new Martin (or others) for if you call a dealer. This gets folded into what you’ll be able to sell a Martin on the Used Market as a % of MSRP, MAP or purchase price. It’s nonsensical IMO.

i remember that martin thread, i think. i was a long'n.