Price Drop

[Denandannie]

Has anyone noticed at Sweetwater a price drop of $500 on the Gibson J45 walnut? It’s on my wish list and am tempted to jump on it. I just wonder, why the huge price drop?
Can anyone speculate?

[LAPlayer]

They've got what looks like a Gibson sale going on. I was looking at the Keb' Mo' 3.0 J45 and see that it is currently $600 off. That is a surprising price for that wonderful guitar.

[rllink]

Maybe competition?

[Mr. Paul]

Dealer inventories of new guitars are going up. Demand is down, way down.

[TheGITM]

Usually it's general overstock or specific items that have been in inventory too long and they need to move them.

Often the supplier offers incentives to move inventory more quickly, so they will pass along dealer rebates or new purchase incentives to get the dealers to sell-thru more onhand inventory so they can then restock and move product out of the suppliers warehouse(s).

[abn556]

Looked like the ones on sale were all Demo models that had some scratches and dings. At least the ones I looked at did.

[Lillis]

Back in December I bought a J185 for $1000 off. They had four in stock at the time-not demos. After they sold out it shows they’re not stocking them but they can get them. So I’m guessing they’re just blowing out slow moving stock. I couldn’t be happier with mine.

[Tunesalot]

I’ve seen tons of new Gibsons around lately. Maybe they’ve stepped up production since the restructuring and also covid uptick in demand, and now face a demand downturn?

[Rudy4]

Originally Posted by Denandannie

Has anyone noticed at Sweetwater a price drop of $500 on the Gibson J45 walnut? It’s on my wish list and am tempted to jump on it. I just wonder, why the huge price drop?
Can anyone speculate?

If there's another retailer who has lower pricing then Sweetwater often lowers their advertised price to be in line with a lower price offered elsewhere.
Why not simply ask your Sweetwater contact? Then you'll know the answer to your question. Regardless of the listed price they can often do better if you're serious about purchasing.

[abn556]

Originally Posted by Tunesalot

I’ve seen tons of new Gibsons around lately. Maybe they’ve stepped up production since the restructuring and also covid uptick in demand, and now face a demand downturn?

I have been seeing that as well. It seems that the Gibson acoustic shop is really putting out a lot of guitars now. Fullers in Houston has LOTS of nice Gibsons. As an example, they had 10 Southern Jumbos the other day. Standards, Banners, and Custom Shops. They also had 5-6 Custom Shop J-45s and 5 Custom Koa Hummingbirds. Lots of Murphy acoustics as well.

[Luckymud]

Banner J45 is currently -$1100 at $3900 instead of $5K

[Br1ck]

The market is very different these days, so having walnut J 45s stacking up is not a good thing. Inventory costs money. If it is what you want, go for it. Sweetwater gets a fair amount of returns. In this internet age, people may not like a walnut guitar and return it for a mahogany guitar. Nothing against walnut, just saying.

Remember all those trucks with an additional $10,000 tacked on? Now they have a 180 day supply and $8000 discounts. Things change. Same with any market.

[mrjop1975]

It could also be that perhaps there is a newer version of that model that Gibson will be rolling out, much like how I got my 110 e Taylor with the walnut layered back and sides for about 100 or so off the normal price while they were phasing in the new cutaway sapele version of the 110. Just a thought to throw into the mix of answers.

[Lillis]

I noticed they have the J185 1952 for $1200 off. Serial numbers show they were just made in January. They have three. It’ll be interesting to see if they restock them.

[stephenT]

Originally Posted by Mr. Paul

Dealer inventories of new guitars are going up. Demand is down, way down.

"The Global Acoustic Guitar market is anticipated to rise at a considerable rate during the forecast period, between 2024 and 2031. In 2021, the market is growing at a steady rate and with the rising adoption of strategies by key players, the market is expected to rise over the projected horizon."

https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/acous...utionary-9nrxf