Would you spend $549 on an OD pedal?

[JRM]

The fact of the matter is, as alluded to in the post about Shipping Autopilots.  There is a type of shopper out there that equates quality to price.  The price is bumped up on certain 'premium' products/services/options where the extra cost of production is minimal.

What you generally get below that is the 'Goldilocks' price which is 'Just right' which is a more 'reasonable' price compared to the premium product/option, has 80-90% of the features, but usually ~100% of the features people generally want.

Comparing the Goldilocks price to the premium price makes the lower one seem really attractive; but the manufacturer's still making a decent mark up on the the one that sells more (the Goldilocks model).

But do that guys play the guitar? And are there that many that feed a production line? It allways makes me wonder. It's like audiophiiiiiile high end that sends hi-fi systems of hundreds of thousands of dollars, with "snake oil soaked" cables that are electrically speaking "pieces of scrap" but are sold more expensive than a family car! And if you just listen to some of that systems you'll find that they either suck or are easily beaten by a much cheaper system.

[askwho69]

Well if im a millionaire i'll buy that pedal,theres always someone will buy expensive its a system! money comes in and out! if no money out? economy drop! hehehehe

[runmikeyrun]

I keep thinking i gotta get out of the paramedic business and market my own penis enlargement pills... it doesn't matter if they're just flour and corn starch pills.  You can always sell something to a male if he thinks it's going to make his wang bigger.  I'll be able to retire in a couple years

[askwho69]

I keep thinking i gotta get out of the paramedic business and market my own penis enlargement pills... it doesn't matter if they're just flour and corn starch pills.  You can always sell something to a male if he thinks it's going to make his wang bigger.  I'll be able to retire in a couple years

hahahaha! thats good can i be your business partner?

[Johan]

someone used the phrase "luxury market" earlier..I think there is such a market and enyone exploiting it and market their product the right way could get rich fast..stupid is no problem if it appears exclusive enough...."yes it's stupid, but my neighbor cant aford it so I buy it just to show him how much money I have...."

I propose "bottled air"...sold at horrendous prices at exclusive stores...can't you see it?...

"Bottled Air from the worlds most exotic places. Dont circulate that inferior city air in your penthouse, get something customized just for your personality"

Alpine Fresh: the BEST air from the French alp's
Sahara Dry: for those days when the humidity is killing you
Bahama breezer:  the summer is never far away
Colored rockies: the fresh autumn air from the high mountains
Medeteranian nights : remember that summer in Greece?
Arctic blue: always a fresh breath of air

soon the Designers and brands join in
Guzzi, D&G....Adidas: for the Rapper in you..
J

[phector2004]

I keep thinking i gotta get out of the paramedic business and market my own penis enlargement pills... it doesn't matter if they're just flour and corn starch pills.  You can always sell something to a male if he thinks it's going to make his wang bigger.  I'll be able to retire in a couple years

The funny thing is, there was a recent study that found the more expensive the placebo, the better the results... If you make it expensive enough, it might add an extra inch!

Who needs a Ferrari when you can order a month's supply of Mikey's pills?

[MikeH]

Yeah, I suppose if I had the kind of walkin-around cash to drive a $600K car, live in a 5 million dollar house, and play a $50K guitar through a $10K amp... yeah I'd be in the market for a $549 OD too. Why?  Because @#$% it, that's why.  I'd buy one and use it as a paper-weight.

As it stands (and shall forever) I'll just keep rocking my $99 OD instead.

[Strategy]

Red Llama is my favorite OD and it clocked in somewhere around $18 incl. the enclosure. Probably my cheapest build ever so I like the "great sound to low cost ratio" of it.

Its insane to think that's a clone of the WH version which sells on ebay numbers in the mid-3 digits for used originals. Which is itself a clone of a long standing known other cheap to build circuit.

Strategy

[amptramp]

The fact of the matter is, as alluded to in the post about Shipping Autopilots.  There is a type of shopper out there that equates quality to price.  The price is bumped up on certain 'premium' products/services/options where the extra cost of production is minimal.

What you generally get below that is the 'Goldilocks' price which is 'Just right' which is a more 'reasonable' price compared to the premium product/option, has 80-90% of the features, but usually ~100% of the features people generally want.

Comparing the Goldilocks price to the premium price makes the lower one seem really attractive; but the manufacturer's still making a decent mark up on the the one that sells more (the Goldilocks model).

The Goldilocks pricing scheme is often seen in caskets.  Some are purposely high, not to be sold, but so they can make their mid-line more expensive.  If you have a $549 OD pedal on the shelf, you can sell your overpriced $350 OD more easily.

[ayayay!]

People sell vials of water from the Ganges river as "holy and blessed" and, I sh*t you not, it's taken from water where a floating corpse is 10 feet away. 

Didn't R.G. use some economics quote to the effect of, "The buyer will dictate what the market will bear" or something like that?  Even paraphrased, it's true.

I mean, I see no value in gold whatsoever, except as a good conductor of electricity.  Vanity shmanity.  But the guy who buys it was the sucker, because he can do whatever he wants with his money.  No one's putting a gun to his head. 

[Krallum]

OF COURSE I WOULD

if inside this pedal was a Weber O100 kit

[nelson]

Why do people spend $549 on an OD pedal?

Because they have too much money, too little taxation and no perspective.

About 20 million people in the US live on less than that a month. They had to give the people who buy these pedals tax credits to make sure they got that measly sum.

In short, no I wouldn't. Because I have more sense than money.

[jefe]

Hell, I've never spent $549 on any one piece of my gear. I think my most expensive guitar was around $450. I could see myself spending $549 for another guitar or amp, but never for a single pedal!

[Kearns892]

But the guy who buys it was the sucker

I wouldn't call him a sucker considering gold has roughly quadrupled in price over the last 8 years...

But no, I get your point

[fpaul]

I wouldn't call him a sucker considering gold has roughly quadrupled in price over the last 8 years...

Gold HAD a use until the govt stole it.  It's actually still written in the constitution.  It was to keep the govt from spending us into the poor house and devaluing our lifes savings.

I got to the party late, I'm sitting on slightly less than a double.  Expect I'll get my double soon though.

[Hides-His-Eyes]

Americans convinced that gold is a great investment is pretty much why gold has gone up in value

[askwho69]

Americans convinced that gold is a great investment is pretty much why gold has gone up in value

yeah you're right but not just america heheheh i think all the countries believe that.. and that's how the start, money trade the gold spend or good trade for money.. hehehhe am i right or wrong?

A2

[Chrisq206]

You can still buy Nobles ODs. As I understand it they haven't changed significantly either. You could get between seven to 9 of them for $549.

As far as pedals go. I've built a few, so I'm getting a better idea of what goes into them, but most people aren't DIYers, so imaginations can run wild justifying a $549 OD box, even if it's just another version of a boring old Tube Screamer. I'd at least want to know it was something unique well thought out and executed. I'm obsessed w/ dist/od pedals, but I know it's a hobby beyond and sometime barely related to guitar playing. About five years ago I was determined to find the best box i could cost be damned. I ended up likeing my Turbo Rat better (one without the 308 chip in it, at that)  than anything I tried, and I was fully ready to buy into the hype.   

[JRM]

Why do people spend $549 on an OD pedal?

Because they have too much money, too little taxation and no perspective.

About 20 million people in the US live on less than that a month. They had to give the people who buy these pedals tax credits to make sure they got that measly sum.

In short, no I wouldn't. Because I have more sense than money.

just imagine how many people in the poorer countries live with that small amount of money! It's that kind of obscene price on gear and gadgets that sell a lot, that makes me agree with you and say that there are too many people paying too low taxes on the huge income they have.

[Hides-His-Eyes]

As money it's of no use to them. Better to use your money for microloans and keep lending it out to people trying to start businesses in africa.

There's a charity where you provide the capital for the loan, and if they pay it back you get it back; if they default it was a donation (generally happens due to natural disaster, death etc)

THAT helps.