SR&D Rockman Products Price Check Post-COVID

[LLL]

COVID somehow magically jacked the prices up on everything (yes, what BS).

I keep an eye on these things from time to time just in case one of mine goes kaput.

Prices are at least 50% and in some cases 100%+ higher than pre-COVID. Some are around 300% higher.

(Ebay approximate or average prices to buy at this date)

SR&D Sustainor 100 - $425
SR&D Sustainor 200 - $1000
SR&D Stereo Chorus / Delay - $425
SR&D Distortion Generator - $550
SR&D Stereo Chorus - $500
SR&D Stereo Echo - $750
SR&D Rockman x100 - $900
SR&D MIDI Octopus - $325

What I was seeing maybe 5 years ago;

SR&D Sustainor 100 - $150
SR&D Sustainor 200 - $400
SR&D Stereo Chorus / Delay - $150
SR&D Distortion Generator - $150
SR&D Stereo Chorus - $300
SR&D Stereo Echo - $500
SR&D Rockman x100 - $300
SR&D MIDI Octopus - $150

[jeremy]

i wouldnt say its magic. people were stuck at home. its only worth what someone is willing to pay for it

[Bogner]

I was looking at a Kahayan amp/cab switcher only to find it retailed one day for $999.00 and the next day $1299.00.

[LLL]

I was looking at a Kahayan amp/cab switcher only to find it retailed one day for $999.00 and the next day $1299.00.

Yeah, people are using COVID as an excuse to jack prices through the roof (hence the sarcastic "magically" statement in my OP).

All it takes is a handful doing it and then everyone else follows suit.

[Bogner]

Yeah, people are using COVID as an excuse to jack prices through the roof (hence the sarcastic "magically" statement in my OP).

All it takes is a handful doing it and then everyone else follows suit.

GC is selling pedals used for more than they retail new for as well. Seems like 75% of Reverb ads are people hoping to retire off selling one item. New and used listings are ridiculous. EVH jumped its amp pricing as did Friedman.

[LLL]

GC is selling pedals used for more than they retail new for as well. Seems like 75% of Reverb ads are people hoping to retire off selling one item. New and used listings are ridiculous. EVH jumped its amp pricing as did Friedman.

I don't see it getting any better, ever - the bar has been raised again (and again... and again). Unless of course, demand drops (which could be artificially induced if enough people were to just stop paying exorbitant prices... but yeah good luck with that).

I know many don't see it or agree, but I'm positive the last few years has been the very start of the death throes of guitar and guitar gear (for various reasons).

It will be a very slow decline which will probably take decades, but prices will continue to go up up up and at some point, new product will get sparser and sparser because demand will eventually drop. We've already seen some huge shifts in the business.

The biggest point being that the generations after the boomers and gen-x just aren't that into it. the music of those generations will eventually be forgotten somewhat as said generations pass away, and the gear and companies who make said gear will follow.

[Bogner]

I have a feeling that not too far down the road things are going to shift and things will begin to fall into alignment and the currency/exchange rates, etc will be balanced and evened out and that will sway things back to a more normal level. What exactly that will be, I don't know. I do believe it will shift pricing in most cases for the better.

[beaubrummels]

Other than the x100, I was seeing those kinds of prices just before the pandemic. just be patient. they'll fall out of favor again and someone somewhere will look to unload what they have.

[Sirion]

Yeah, I think the prices here have been rising steadily, rather than it specifically being a Covid thing. The same thing happened to Kramer. I only got into the fandom again about five years ago, at which point the more coveted models were already selling for stupid money, but deals could be had on some of the great-but-less-unique (Pacers and even some late-era Barettas) models. Since then, everything has become expensive enough that I can't really justify getting any more.

Other than that, I think LLL is on the money. I don't see the prices going back down, since these are now being sought by collectors who are in their late 40s or older, and are thus hitting the top of their income curve. We might see the market loosen once they, as a generation, start off-loading their stuff, but this is less applicable to electronics than to guitars, since so many things can happen to cut short the lifespan of these units.

As far as Kramers go, what finally made Gibson get off their arse wasn't so much the new leadership, I suspect, but that some older models were now so expensive that replica could be produced for a significantly lower price than the originals were going for used. With Rockmn gear, I sadly doubt that is going to happen, since the patents apparently have been split between different entities, and mass producing electronics is something else than slapping some guitars together.

[Adieu]

GC is selling pedals used for more than they retail new for as well. Seems like 75% of Reverb ads are people hoping to retire off selling one item. New and used listings are ridiculous. EVH jumped its amp pricing as did Friedman.

That might actually make sense

GC had some serious supply chain issues in the COVID era. "In stock available now" may well be far more meaningful than MSRP

I remember calling two counties' worth of stores trying to track down any basic audio interface last year.... that's two counties that were Los Angeles and Orange County CA, which are utterly infested by GCs everywhere.