A taste of prices down under

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cm01cm01 Frets: 448
edited February 2021 in Guitar
Given the discussions recently about second hand prices and how they seem to be rising, I thought it might be interesting to give a flavour of what gear is available second hand on Australia.  

Both second hand and new prices seemed much higher than the UK when I arrived 5 years ago and the range of gear was much more limited, which pretty much cured my GAS!   

These are all available within a 100km radius of the Sunshine Coast in QLD where I’m living (just did a quick current conversion based on today’s exchange rate);

Marshall Satriani JVM - £925
Hi watt 1970 DR103 - £2350
2003 Les Paul Std - £2150
Orange TH30 - £665
Laney Ironheart 120H - £385
Kustom Coupe 72 - £500
Prs Se Soapbar - £475
1988 ‘52 RI Tele - £1660
Taylor GS Mini Koa - £700
Fender MIM Strat - £665
Mesa Express 5:50 combo - £775
Boss RE20 Space Echo - £200
Line 6 DT50 head - £610
Peavey 6505 - £415
Hardwired Super Reverb clone in 2x12 cab, plus 4x10 cab with WGS Veteran speakers - £500

The Laney looks like it might be a bit of a bargain... I actually snagged the last one on the list last weekend - it sounds mega and is much more portable than a 4x10 combo.
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Comments

  • SassafrasSassafras Frets: 30273
    Doesn't mean much unless we know how much your average Aussie earns.
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  • SkippedSkipped Frets: 2371
    edited February 2021
    Very interesting.

    I am still puzzled about this. Another poster recently said "what if this is the new normal?" and cited the price surge in the 1990s. I found this evidence  impressive but I keep returning to the numbers.
    Fender MIM guitars are good quality instruments. Only 0.0000001% of these guitars are in landfill. All of the others (millions of guitars) are somewhere right now.
    If every Laptop computer made (during the Windows era) was still functioning perfectly, and without limitations, I would expect the street price S/H  to be £25 becasue the numbers would be freaking huge.
    At some point, all of those guitars will emerge.

    When I first realised that there are Gumtree sellers, who have 50 guitars, but don't play the guitar, I wondered how that started. And I now wonder when those guitars will emerge into the market.

    The other argument is that new prices will dictate s/h prices. But if Fender move the Player series to Indonesia (with flawless fretwork....see PRS), and they are £399, what does that do to the market?

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  • TanninTannin Frets: 5268
    edited February 2021
    It is the UK which mostly gets the rough end of the pineapple. At least in acoustics it does, I don't buy anything else.

    I compared some three-different-country prices a few months ago. These are in Australian dollars and include local taxes in Australia (10%) and the UK (20%) but not the USA 'coz who knows how much sales tax is charged in any particular US state? These are commonly advertised prices, not the absolute lowest you can negotiate. Note that you can ship a guitar from anywhere in the developed world *to* anywhere in the developed world for less than $200. Ship in commercial quantities and it's cheaper again.

    Best price in bold type.

    Maton SRS-60C London $2355. USA $2480. Perth: $1575.
    Maton Messiah: London: $6730. North Carolina: $5695. Hobart: $3500.
    Cole Clark Angel 2, Bunya & Blackwood: London: $2990. USA: $2620. Melbourne: $1950.

    Martin D-18: London: $4300. North Carolina: $3500. Hobart: $4000.
    Taylor 314ce London $3350. USA $2750. Hobart: $2900.

    Yamaha A5S: London  $2050. USA $1790. Melbourne $1795.
    Takamine LTD 2020: London: $4525. USA $3995. Mooloolaba $4600.
    Ibanez ADV60 NT: London $1230. New York $1170. Melbourne $1500.

    Remember that the US prices need to be adjusted for local taxes. Average income in Australia is slightly higher than in the UK, but will vary a lot depending on your profession. For practical purposes, call it the same. Average yearly income of professional musicians averages about minus $5000 a year, which is probably the same everywhere.  

    PS: I spent ages trying to nail down prices for a made-in-Europe guitar in the same three areas, but failed. Furch is probably the most widely available European guitar make, but they are very hard to find in Oz, and rare as hen's teeth in the USA. After an hour or more of trying to find a single model in stock somewhere in all three continents, I gave up.
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  • SassafrasSassafras Frets: 30273
    Isn't accommodation a lot cheaper in Australia?
    The cost of living figures in any price comparisons.
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  • TanninTannin Frets: 5268
    An ordinary suburban house costs around $1,000,000. I hate to think what rents are like now. But the UK is probably even worse.
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  • FunkfingersFunkfingers Frets: 14323
    Tannin said:
    the rough end of the pineapple.
    One of my former work colleagues used to go on about pineapple insertion. Strange chap. We always wondered whether he was trying to tell the rest of us something. ;)


    When I was regularly on the Seymour Duncan forum, there was an Australian youth, griping about the prices of brand new Gibson SG guitars and Marshall half stacks. He did not seem to understand that international shipping costs money and distributors take a generous cut on top.


    Another Strayan SD forum contact personally imported one of the John Beer WEM Dominator re-issue amplifiers at considerable expense … and with a lengthy delay while the amp was hand built.


    Not to worry. Judging by McArthur's Universal Corrective Map, you are on top of the world.
    Be seeing you.
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  • PabcranePabcrane Frets: 489
    Sassafras said:
    Isn't accommodation a lot cheaper in Australia?
    The cost of living figures in any price comparisons.
    Not in the major cities, particularly Sydney, Melbourne and apparently now (though god knows why) Canberra
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  • PabcranePabcrane Frets: 489
    My friend in Sydney just bought a modern AC30 with two Blues for the equivalent of £553. Which surprised me greatly as I thought it would have been more based on when I lived there.
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  • BabonesBabones Frets: 1204
    Skipped said:
    But if Fender move the Player series to Indonesia (with flawless fretwork....see PRS), and they are £399, what does that do to the market?
    Pre-Indonesia MIM RARE Fender **L@@K**  ...is what happens.
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  • DrJazzTapDrJazzTap Frets: 2158
    Those Line6 DT amps never seem to sell, I would have thought you'd be lucky to get £300 for one let alone £600.
    I would love to change my username, but I fully understand the T&C's (it was an old band nickname). So please feel free to call me Dave.
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  • octatonicoctatonic Frets: 33725
    Australia has always been more expensive.
    Smaller population spread over a larger area.
    Also the distributor network is very tight.

    When I moved here in '01 I couldn't believe how much cheaper things were here.
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  • octatonicoctatonic Frets: 33725
    edited February 2021

    Sassafras said:
    Isn't accommodation a lot cheaper in Australia?
    The cost of living figures in any price comparisons.
    Accommodation in Australia is usually more expensive unless you want to compare living in the sticks to living in London.
    Sydney is especially.
    Melbourne and Brisbane are pretty expensive too.
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  • zepp76zepp76 Frets: 2534
    cm01 said:
    Given the discussions recently about second hand prices and how they seem to be rising, I thought it might be interesting to give a flavour of what gear is available second hand on Australia.  

    Both second hand and new prices seemed much higher than the UK when I arrived 5 years ago and the range of gear was much more limited, which pretty much cured my GAS!   

    These are all available within a 100km radius of the Sunshine Coast in QLD where I’m living (just did a quick current conversion based on today’s exchange rate);

    Marshall Satriani JVM - £925
    Hi watt 1970 DR103 - £2350
    2003 Les Paul Std - £2150
    Orange TH30 - £665
    Laney Ironheart 120H - £385
    Kustom Coupe 72 - £500
    Prs Se Soapbar - £475
    1988 ‘52 RI Tele - £1660
    Taylor GS Mini Koa - £700
    Fender MIM Strat - £665
    Mesa Express 5:50 combo - £775
    Boss RE20 Space Echo - £200
    Line 6 DT50 head - £610
    Peavey 6505 - £415
    Hardwired Super Reverb clone in 2x12 cab, plus 4x10 cab with WGS Veteran speakers - £500

    The Laney looks like it might be a bit of a bargain... I actually snagged the last one on the list last weekend - it sounds mega and is much more portable than a 4x10 combo.
    Can I get my ‘04 Les Paul standard shipped over to you cheaply but safely somehow please! I could do with that kind of money.
    Tomorrow will be a good day.
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  • octatonicoctatonic Frets: 33725
    Tannin said:
    An ordinary suburban house costs around $1,000,000. I hate to think what rents are like now. But the UK is probably even worse.
    UK rents are usually higher than the UK
    This is $650 a week, walking distance to Bondi Junction and Bondi Beach- works out around £1500 pcm.

     https://www.domain.com.au/2-44a-allens-parade-bondi-junction-nsw-2022-14909863?topspot=1

    FWIW I used to rent a similar property in the same street- in '95 I was paying £100 a week.
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  • SassafrasSassafras Frets: 30273
    Had a girlfriend in the Perth suburbs and her rent was bugger all, especially for the size of house she was renting.
    Made a mockery of the prices in Brighton.
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  • NiteflyNitefly Frets: 4902
    edited February 2021
    Do you have flippers down under?   ;)

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  • octatonicoctatonic Frets: 33725
    Nitefly said:
    Do you have flippers down under?   ;)

    Only for snorkelling.
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  • I used to watch a program called heartbreak high in the 90s it was great and Sidney which I think it was looked awesome 
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  • TanninTannin Frets: 5268
    For those things which cost more in Oz, shipping is often blamed. But shipping is cheap - you can send a guitar from anywhere to anywhere for less than $200 USD - it is the markup local distributors add that makes things cost more. Having said all that, for the same money I can buy a better guitar here in Oz than I can in the UK. However I don't have the same huge range to choose from.
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