Suhr, Tyler, ect... $$$$$ Why?

[andersonguy]

Can anybody out there tell me why so many of the other quality luthiers charge so much more than Anderson for their product?
Im wondering what their justification is, or is simply that Tom really gives us a great fair price? I cant imagine these other guitar makers as having superior products.

AG

[Stan Malinowski]

Good question ag!

As I said in another post my Suhr Classic is a great guitar, luckily I found a used one that was exactly item for item what I wanted. If I design an Anderson with the same specs I find that the Suhr is about $400 more at the discounted price levels.

I have no experience with Tylers, sad to say, but his headstock design turns me off. I've seen that his selling price is close to Suhrs.

I really have no explanation why Suhrs and Tylers are substantially more expensive than Andersons other than that's the free trade system!

[dpeterson]

tom probably doesnt want to gouge. you can charge what people are willing to pay, and the market will bear.



Dave

[Stan Malinowski]

One other thing I noted on the pricing of Suhrs - the LIST price between equivalent Suhr Classics and Anderson Classics are very close. It is the discount a dealer is willing to give that accounts for the price difference to the consumer. Suhrs are typically discounted less than 20% off list. I don't know whether this is by agreement between JS and his dealers or just based on supply v. demand dynamics.

[Rick]

I think there's some variation between dealers' discounts for both Andersons & Suhrs (don't know about Tylers), but I think they average out pretty close. In their list prices, various features cost more or less on an Anderson vs. a Suhr, so it seems like which new guitar would cost more can really depend on which add-ons you order from whom.

[pluto]

Hmmmm. My experience with Suhr and Anderson has been different than you guys (except Rick, whose opinion I agree with). The Suhr standard I bought earlier this year from my local dealer was on par price wise with the Anderson Hollow Drop Top I bought last year. I think there was a difference of about 75 dollars (the Suhr was more), but the Suhr has a brazilian rosewood fretboard and abalone logo and fretmarkers, which is a 300-350 dollar upcharge (I think-can't remember the option prices). Just looking at the internet, you will find that new Suhr classics (no maple cap, no options) are at the 2000-2100 range which is about the same as a new Anderson classic. Suhr standards (with maple cap) usually go for around 2400-2700 depending on the options with the list prices at about 3300-3500 which are definitely on par with the going prices and list prices of drop tops. Lastly, Suhr does make limited edition guitars which are $$$. I'm not sure if those are the guitars you guys are looking at. In any case, I've found Suhrs and Andersons to be virtually equal in pricing.

[John C]

I have to agree with pluto on this one. I had a Suhr Classic and it was priced within $50 of a similar Anderson - and I had the same dealer quote me both guitars.

I would also agree that most dealers don't discount Suhrs as much as Andersons. I don't know if it's because Suhr makes fewer guitars per year than Anderson (500 versus 800). However, some big Suhr dealers who also have Anderson, like Make'n Music in Chicago or Indoor Storm, typically price them very similarly on a feature-by-feature basis.

Tyler only makes about 150 guitars per year, and also sells direct to players as well as through their dealer network. I found that, again, the list prices were somewhat similar but you could only get a 5% or so discount. It seems like Tyler is ramping up production and has doubled their number of dealers since the first of the year, so a change may be in the works with them.

John C.

[andersonguy]

I have found Suhrs to be a little more expensive than Andies and Tylers are quit a bit higher. Are Tylers so much better or does it cost more to make that ugly headstock.:eek:

AG