[S Clark]

I was looking at the price of cartridges and was  at what they were.   Cartridges I bought 5 years ago have doubled.  Most of my cartridges are worth more now than what I paid for them... after a couple of hundred hours of play.  It's completely nuts.   Has labor doubled?  Have material cost increase 400%?   Or are they simply figuring that the audiophile clientele is more affluent? 

[rollo]

Manufacturing costs are up for every thing. Inflation, Energy costs, rent, insurance and food. All the products we sell have gone up.

charles

[S Clark]

Those factors would account for possibly a 25-30% increase.  A barrel spot market oil is $60 higher than a 10 year low and $40 lower than a ten year high.  Wages have been close to flat.  Materials have gone up, but they account for a small % of the overall cost of a cartridge.   Eggs were $4 a dozen a year ago; they're $1.35 a dozen now- individual stuff goes up and down.   Other manufactured goods haven't doubled.  A basic dishwasher was $400 five years ago and is $500 today.  A basic 2016 Toyota Camry was $24K and a 2023 is $30K.   Inflation last year was about 9%; this year will be less than 5%.   
Labor and materials don't account for prices doubling or more. 

[rollo]

  5 years ago everything was cheaper than now, especially 3 years ago.  Color it anyway you want. Paid $4/gallon for reg gas yesterday. $82/B. Rare earth magnets up as well. Recessions suck.

charles

[/mp]

Are materials and labor on a $10,000 cartridge really 100 times the cost of those on a $100 cartridge?

I recently flipped through a 10ish year old Stereophile stats issue. Where there are direct comparables, some MSRPs are up a bit. Some are up a great deal.  Why the large range of increase is a more interesting question.

As always, YMMV.

[qdrone]

I was looking at the price of cartridges and was  at what they were.   Cartridges I bought 5 years ago have doubled.  Most of my cartridges are worth more now than what I paid for them... after a couple of hundred hours of play.  It's completely nuts.   Has labor doubled?  Have material cost increase 400%?   Or are they simply figuring that the audiophile clientele is more affluent?

When looking for a cartridge factor in if they re tip the stylus  when it's needed? It's alot cheaper than buying a new one. Also factor in if there is a trade in program if you want to move up their chain of products.

[S Clark]

When looking for a cartridge factor in if they re tip the stylus  when it's needed? It's alot cheaper than buying a new one. Also factor in if there is a trade in program if you want to move up their chain of products.

My last two cartridges were bought with broken cantilevers at low prices.  After sending off for retips, the prices are still half of new and I know the stylus is pristine and usually upgraded. 
So the massive increase in prices will have little effect on me, but they are shocking non the less.

[toocool4]

Some things have gone up, so a little price increase is justifiable. This big price hikes have happened because they can charge that and they know most audiophiles will pay the money, even some audiophiles turn up their noses if they think the price of something is too low.

Talking about cartridges, if you buy MC’s you pretty much know you are paying for a new one when it wears out. If you want a cheap way to sort out your cartridge when it wears out, buy an MM cartridge.

If you want to see a cartridge with an eye watering price tag, checkout the top of the line DartZeel cartridge + phonostage at CHF 1000000.01 that is 1Million Swiss Frac’s. 

https://neverheardbefore.com/founderseries/nfs-00/

[FullRangeMan]

I could say that the carttridges price gone up along with the price of eggs, if you know what I mean. Around 2002/3 I had the opportunity to buy a White Ritchie Blackmore Strato Made in USA, that with the excavated frets, but I didnot buy it for the WAF factor, today it is worthing 10 to 30 times as much. 

[S Clark]

If you want to see a cartridge with an eye watering price tag, checkout the top of the line DartZeel cartridge + phonostage at CHF 1000000.01 that is 1Million Swiss Frac’s. 

https://neverheardbefore.com/founderseries/nfs-00/

Well, there's askin' an there's gettin"

But at that price, you make one as you sell one.   

[Letitroll98]

In America wages have been going up faster than inflation, but both are single digit percentages.  For those making $35k or less real income, adjusted for inflation, wages have gone up 7% this year.  For higher income workers it's about flat, nothing over a 1% wage increase.  None of that accounts for the high prices for some carts.

Phono cartridges are a supply and demand market.  When a hundred dollar cart suddenly becomes a darling of the hifi press it instantly jumps to $250.  When a few million millennials discover vinyl both record prices and phono equipment jump in price.  It's all profit taking, it doesn't respond to inflation or wages or material costs.

[veloceleste]

A long time ago when I worked in audio, cartridges had the highest mark-up of any component. The mark-up could be several hundred percent regardless if it was a low cost or high cost item. A cartridge is one item to negotiate the price and both the retailer and customer can feel they did ok.

[dolsey01]

This is why I decided to downgrade a year or two back, I just couldn't justify spending 2k for a new cartridge.  Happy with my Grados at reasonable prices.   

[nlitworld]

The other part of this is clearly supply and demand. Right now with the big vinyl resurgence there is huge demand on product. Granted there are lots of good options but the demand is there to ask these prices. But I totally agree, some of the prices for these cartridges are just asinine.

Also, the thread title sounds like the start of a Seinfeld bit and it made me giggle. 

[S Clark]

The other part of this is clearly supply and demand. Right now with the big vinyl resurgence there is huge demand on product. Granted there are lots of good options but the demand is there to ask these prices. But I totally agree, some of the prices for these cartridges are just asinine.

Also, the thread title sounds like the start of a Seinfeld bit and it made me giggle. 

I can see the Seinfeld.....  and the answer to the question is--

[levvel]

The right vintage cart can bring substantial value.  One has to be willing to deal with the potential for retention and retipping, but I have had much many more positive experiences than negative.

[twitch54]

with inflation comes gouging, it's the 'American Way' !   

[daveyf]

A lot of cartridges are marked up thousands of percentage points by the national distributor. This is where the vast inflation comes from....not necessarily open market forces.
Now, whether one chooses to buy from these professional gouge experts, that is another question?

[FullRangeMan]

A lot of cartridges are marked up thousands of percentage points by the national distributor. This is where the vast inflation comes from....not necessarily open market forces.
Now, whether one chooses to buy from these professional gouge experts, that is another question?

+1 
If vinyl didnot wear with every listen I could go back to this format.

[charmerci]

Andrew Jones said pre-inflation, about even building mass production speakers at the $200+ level that after costs and markups, that a $400 speaker would be bumped up to the next price level for just a $5 increase in better parts for the crossover. So it must be worse for expensive, not mass produced items.