How much does it cost Gibson to make a Les Paul?

[swleary]

I just looked at the back of my Gibson Headstock and it said "Made in USA" hmmmm doesn't say assembled in USA.... There are laws for that kind of thing ......

[S t e v e]

I just looked at the back of my Gibson Headstock and it said "Made in USA" hmmmm doesn't say assembled in USA.... There are laws for that kind of thing ......

 

i bought 8 les pauls with "made in china" on the headstock for the price of one with "made in usa" on it...hows that for a deal?! gibson need to bring their prices in line with the chinese otherwise they will lose their fan base B)

[brundaddy]

In and of itself, making money is not a bad thing. It's the corporate greed that makes me refuse to buy a new Gibson --- Exploitation, price fixing designed to suppress competition, and gouging are some of Gibson's business practices that drive up the price point.

[Tim Plains]

i bought 8 les pauls with "made in china" on the headstock for the price of one with "made in usa" on it...hows that for a deal?! gibson need to bring their prices in line with the chinese otherwise they will lose their fan base B)

You're absolutely right. Now you go tell all those guys in Nashville & Memphis they'll be working for $2/hour.

[milod]

Mojo...

 

You're apparently not old enough to remember early postwar Japanese export products. It wasn't entirely a joke that one could scrape the paint to see what kind of beer can had been the metal used in the product.

 

Don't get me wrong, I'm not knocking Japanese manufacturing, just noting that as everything else, there tend to be high end and low-end products everywhere.

 

Korea used to have exceptionally inexpensive stuff prior to the '88 Olympics - and I would have been comfortable driving a car in Seoul. Today Korea produces high end as well as low end material that is comparable to anything in the world. The Korean worker also tends to refuse to accept third world paychecks and there are so many cars in Seoul that it makes even driving in Paris look as easy and empty as when I drove a tractor in Uncle Benny's north 40 pasture a long, long time ago.

 

There are a lot of costs beyond raw material and labor - and a lot of ways to handle the accounting. But anyone who has operated a business can tell you that it ain't as easy to maintain cash flow and pay the bills as many folks who have only cashed paychecks from somebody else might imagine.

 

m

[Riffster]

I said American BRAND not MADE. My Honda was built in Ohio. It's the Japanese engineering that I am a fan of. I had a Ford. It was crap. I had an Oldsmobile. It was crap. My Honda: Awesome. I'm definitely buying another after this car.

 

I drive a BMW, German engineering, German made. I also own a Chevy Cavlier Convertible with 175,000 and still running fine. The point I was trying to make initally (read between the lines) is that those things are are still made in America and are well made deserve our support. The deficit trade with China is going to crush us one day.

 

"mental dump" made me laugh out loud.

 

I have never heard of Gibsons being only assembled in USA form parts made in China. That would be a waste of money and time.

 

It is a rumour that started when somebody found an official Gibson shipping receipt from China to America on the web, what these fu*ktards fail to realize is that Gibson has the Epiphone plant in China and Epiphones are sent to the Epiphone building on Massman Drive in Nashville (right next to the Gibson factory) for inspection, as seen on the little stickers on the back of the headstock on Epis, which is BS, Gibson found a way to add an "Inspected and setup in America" Epi owners rarely remove that sticker if you notice as if the inspections were rigorous. BS I say.

 

Gibson says Made in the USA and although we all know Mahogany and Rosewood do not grow in this country their guitar still have to conform with the laws that allow them to use a Made in USA label.

 

 

In and of itself, making money is not a bad thing. It's the corporate greed that makes me refuse to buy a new Gibson --- Exploitation, price fixing designed to suppress competition, and gouging are some of Gibson's business practices that drive up the price point.

 

Gibson does this? I thought it was GC and MF, they are the ones holding the pan by the handle really.

[MojoRedFoot]

Mojo...

 

You're apparently not old enough to remember early postwar Japanese export products. It wasn't entirely a joke that one could scrape the paint to see what kind of beer can had been the metal used in the product.

 

Don't get me wrong, I'm not knocking Japanese manufacturing, just noting that as everything else, there tend to be high end and low-end products everywhere.

 

Korea used to have exceptionally inexpensive stuff prior to the '88 Olympics - and I would have been comfortable driving a car in Seoul. Today Korea produces high end as well as low end material that is comparable to anything in the world. The Korean worker also tends to refuse to accept third world paychecks and there are so many cars in Seoul that it makes even driving in Paris look as easy and empty as when I drove a tractor in Uncle Benny's north 40 pasture a long, long time ago.

 

There are a lot of costs beyond raw material and labor - and a lot of ways to handle the accounting. But anyone who has operated a business can tell you that it ain't as easy to maintain cash flow and pay the bills as many folks who have only cashed paychecks from somebody else might imagine.

 

m

I was not around when they were made (born in 1981) but I own one (1973-4 Ibanez LP copy) and know all about them. Ibanez lawsuits, etc...most of the ones I have played and seen look and feel like toys. BUT the high end Ibanez (J craft, Prestige) are excellect guitars. That is the only Ibanez I will buy now that I own one (1999 MIJ RG7). The Korean made LTDs are another great example. Well priced, built like tanks, and most importantly, play great (at least for me they do). Since the early 2000s, those Koreans have really stepped up their game. LTD, Schecter, Hamer to name a few. Korean cars...I have no experience.

[Jayharr58]

Most of you are uneducated morons that take such a complex subject and simplify it to black and white!

You have no idea how much goes into R&D , manufacturing costs, building overhead, advertising. There’s to much to list but that’s a start.

Similar to those customers that think you as a contractor or attorney keep every cent of your hourly wage. The plumber that charges $120 per hour keeps all of it!!!

 

Get real guys, use your heads. Apply just a little critical thinking.