I’m stunned at the price of some amps nowadays! Walmart!

[olddawg]

A new 2 X EL84 compo amp with a spring reverb and a 12”Celestian for $160... Why bother to build?
https://www.walmart.com/ip/Open-Box-...e-08526b74a901

[Gregg]

The price is simply ...inconceivable. If you consider that it contains shipping from China, tiny profit for the manufacturer, tariffs, taxes, dealers' fees, state tax, tiny profit for Walmart etc this price is just impossible.

[Justin Thomas]

And I wonder how much punishment it will take...
I'll stick with my homebrews & old Fenders.

Justin

[olddawg]

It is an “open box” special.. but still. Honestly though.. I’ve been playing a Bugera V22 for years in clubs. I just have to tighten the screws occasionally, lol. It was $249 no tax, free shipping from Sweetwater. But.. the digital reverb is nothing to write home about.

[Randall]

Celestion in name only I'd venture.

[The Dude]

Actually the Celestion logo just means it has a Celestion speaker. The brand is Monoprice. They have been all over eBay for quite some time.

[olddawg]

Actually the Celestion logo just means it has a Celestion speaker. The brand is Monoprice. They have been all over eBay for quite some time.

I guess it can be a huge difference to some people.. but the Chinese “licensed” Eminence I use seem to be fine once broken in.

[g1]

Their single 6V6 amp goes for $90. https://www.monoprice.com/product?p_id=611705
How much do you think people will expect to pay for a repair on one of these?

[nickb]

Their single 6V6 amp goes for $90. https://www.monoprice.com/product?p_id=611705
How much do you think people will expect to pay for a repair on one of these?

...and the 40W is $99.99!

Not entirely unrelated, I can buy single parts from China inc shipping for much less than the just the domestic shipping cost.

[Enzo]

And cheap amps like this come into the USA by the containerload. On a per-piece basis that costs FAR less than shipping an individual amp.



And people have no idea what repairs cost. SOme thing all repairs are $200, and others think the repair should reflect what they paid for an amp. "You charged me $60 to replace this control and a diode? But I only paid $20 for the amp." They think it should cost like $10.

[nickb]

And cheap amps like this come into the USA by the containerload. On a per-piece basis that costs FAR less than shipping an individual amp.

True, but they still have to ship domestically and do it for far less.

[Chuck H]

Not sure why I'm troubling to post. Just insert my "Chinese manufacturing machine", "can't buy the parts to build here for the price of the finished product" and "disposable culture" rants here.

It was just a matter of time before a box store like Walmart (or Musicians Friend or Guitar Center) started shipping direct from China and bypass the middle man. Which was just another US corporate glutton who postured to sell the US economy to China and take their cut adding one more price flip. Even then the crap was still dirt cheap. Now that China basically has cart blanch on any design there's no need to pay a parent company. The real problem is that people won't stop eating from the airplane spoon.

I don't like seeing what we old timers perceived as a tooled shop industry serving the artistic community turned into a Croissan'wich any more than the rest of us. But the real problem isn't the evil doers making the stuff or the greedy pigs commissioning it. It's the people buying it. My wife sometimes buys a cheap appliance when the one we had can no longer be repaired. She actually hates that I keep dated, sometimes antiquated stuff in operation. But then I hate $20 toasters and 5/pack for $5 night lights and crap like that. I'm in favor of a conservative life with more high quality, serviceable domestic product that is kept and cared for and a lot less shiny, new do dad stuff that is built and treated like it can be easily replaced because it can. And if you ask around it sure looks like a lot of people agree with that sentiment. So who's buying this stuff!?! We've been relying on too many import goods for so long now that we don't even have domestic sources for some really basic needs. Guess where that ends up.

"Here comes the yummy cheap stuff. Open wide. Brrrrrrrrrr. Yummy! Yay! Who's a big boy!"

I gotta stop now and go hit myself in the head with something big and hard before I pop a temple vein.

[nosaj]

Not sure why I'm troubling to post. Just insert my "Chinese manufacturing machine", "can't buy the parts to build here for the price of the finished product" and "disposable culture" rants here.

It was just a matter of time before a box store like Walmart (or Musicians Friend or Guitar Center) started shipping direct from China and bypass the middle man. Which was just another US corporate glutton who postured to sell the US economy to China and take their cut adding one more price flip. Even then the crap was still dirt cheap. Now that China basically has cart blanch on any design there's no need to pay a parent company. The real problem is that people won't stop eating from the airplane spoon.

I don't like seeing what we old timers perceived as a tooled shop industry serving the artistic community turned into a Croissan'wich any more than the rest of us. But the real problem isn't the evil doers making the stuff or the greedy pigs commissioning it. It's the people buying it. My wife sometimes buys a cheap appliance when the one we had can no longer be repaired. She actually hates that I keep dated, sometimes antiquated stuff in operation. But then I hate $20 toasters and 5/pack for $5 night lights and crap like that. I'm in favor of a conservative life with more high quality, serviceable domestic product that is kept and cared for and a lot less shiny, new do dad stuff that is built and treated like it can be easily replaced because it can. And if you ask around it sure looks like a lot of people agree with that sentiment. So who's buying this stuff!?! We've been relying on too many import goods for so long now that we don't even have domestic sources for some really basic needs. Guess where that ends up.

"Here comes the yummy cheap stuff. Open wide. Brrrrrrrrrr. Yummy! Yay! Who's a big boy!"

I gotta stop now and go hit myself in the head with something big and hard before I pop a temple vein.

Yea China is not the problem. It's the cheap-ass american consumer who doesn't get paid a decent wage.

nosaj

[HaroldBrooks]

And I wonder how much punishment it will take...
I'll stick with my homebrews & old Fenders.

Justin

Glad you brought that up justin. Often overlooked, but shouldn't be !

Some recent amps with PC mounted sockets and other cost cutting components / assembly have had some serious popping and crackling issues, right out of the box.

Quality is important, and I know for one if I bought a "Brand New" amp and it started acting up like that soon after the purchase or even a year later, I would consider it junk, move on, and never be stung again.

Besides it's generally easier to diagnose something you built yourself. It has a map already in your head. To me, you really can't compare the two things.

You mostly get what you pay for in this world.

[HaroldBrooks]

Their single 6V6 amp goes for $90. https://www.monoprice.com/product?p_id=611705
How much do you think people will expect to pay for a repair on one of these?

I would buffer their expectations and start at $89

Same thing happened to TV and radios years ago when transistors stepped in, unfortunately.