Originally Posted by: PonyOnehonestly the overall price to make a higher-end mexican strat is substantially less than the selling price... think about it. a pot switch costs, what $2.50, maybe $4 if you're getting gouged. They order thousands upon thousands of the things; it probably costs them a few cents to make.
they own their own factory for stamping the metals to make trems, tuners, etc. so they cut out the middle man; it also probably only costs them a buck or so to make a trem, if that.
the other miscellaneous materials probably amount to no more than another five or six bucks. then there's the wood, which is CNC machined; you've got the blades and upkeep for the machines, but otherwise, they've been long amortized (paid off). so you have the cost of the wood, which they buy in huge numbers.... i'd doubt if they paid more than $10 a body.
Then you have the cost of paying the workers; in Mexico, that isn't much. Overall, I'd guess the cost for each guitar is maybe $35, depending on finish and electronics, and other miscellaneous gizmos from guitar to guitar.
When a company buys bulk, they get a pretty good deal on the guitars too. I remember back in '01, my friend and I stumbled upon the Fender Japan's "secure" dealer ordering site, and you could buy a dozen '52 Reissue Teles for $750 each; 100 for $550. If a company like guitar center buys them, how much do you think they'll sell them for?
yes, but keep in mind, with guitars like gibsons, they undergo a full inspection for intonation, action, truss rod... etc. before they ship out, so people need to be paid to do that... also, with gibson guitars, they are half machine built (with things that are better done by machine, such as cutting out the body shape) and half hand built (with things better done by hand, such as fret filing) so they gotta pay for all that, plus, expensive guitars usually have paint jobs that take lots of time and money to put on. plus the company needs to make a profit... now, in my opinion, does a $3000 guitar sound better then a $1000 guitar? not usually, at least not enough to make a noticable difference.