WOW! Is it just me or have prices sky rocketed on gear?

Yea it's a strange set of standards. Taking about inflation is fine, just don't dare mention what causes it. Talking about covid is fine, as long as you tow the party line of vaccine good wear your mask.
Personally I think it either needs to be wide open for discussion, or THE ENTIRE Topic needs to be unallowed. But this habit of letting one viewpoint through but removing the other is pretty shitty. Leaves a bad taste in my mouth at least.

Has no one has ever written a history book, or done political science without being a partisan of
some sort?

Trust me. It's possible. Maybe not for you, though. :)
 
Best of luck Man. I keep thinking about this article, which just gave me permanent indigestion. It's pretty long, but it goes in detail about the reasons behind the housing insanity. I hate the idea of a bidding war with someone who doesn't want a piece of the American Dream, but is just looking for a good return on an investment. I'm just keeping my fingers crossed.

Duuuude!! We got sniped by cash buyers at least a dozen times. I learned not to get my hopes up, because
the first few times I was so excited about a new house, and then BAM!

It was exhausting, and borderline depressing at times. Not to sway you. Just that it takes a sort of mental
toughness and some detachment to get through the process.

And keeping your fingers crossed is always worth it!!! :)
 
Duuuude!! We got sniped by cash buyers at least a dozen times. I learned not to get my hopes up, because
the first few times I was so excited about a new house, and then BAM!

It was exhausting, and borderline depressing at times. Not to sway you. Just that it takes a sort of mental
toughness and some detachment to get through the process.

And keeping your fingers crossed is always worth it!!! :)

Thanks for that; I'm steeling myself for the possibility. It sounds like you landed okay in the end, hopefully.
 
That's the plan man. The Great Reset is among us. Stock up in food, meds, and ammo now.
You nailed it. Ive known about covid-19 since 1997. Watching it roll has been crazy over the years, the organisation and lies. The Invasion of Ukraine is only taking place as a smoke screen, an excuse to begin the worldwide internet hack and reset (something that russia has stated it will do for years and years). Its all Part of the world economic forums next phase of the new world order rollout (social credit system) - you will own nothing and be happy about it - but only if you take the magic injections we are offering. The Sanctions on Russia is simply designed to create the fake backlash by Russia via hacking the world wide web and resetting it - as if Putin is getting back at the countries that put sanctions on him. hahaha Klaus Schwabs plan is so open and obvious. They are so arrogant, they never actually keep it a secrete. Some people simply dont want to look.
 
Just like your pets, your houses-to-be-home will pick you. Just keep following the path and all will be fine. Things happen for reasons.

Beautiful words. I absolutely believe that about pets. Pets are one reason we're doing this, so we can adopt breeds that apts think are terrible. My son was a Rottie / German Shepard mix, and there could not have been a sweeter more gentle boy. And I've felt that when we find the right home, we'll know it. Thanks for the kind thought.
 
I design and test computer chips for a large semiconductor company. I haven't got a cost of living increase in 4 years. At some point I will be making the same as the "you want fries with that" guy.
 
I design and test computer chips for a large semiconductor company. I haven't got a cost of living increase in 4 years. At some point I will be making the same as the "you want fries with that" guy.
I'm in nearly the same boat. One raise in something like 8 years. First it was, "benefit costs keep going up and we cover them so you don't have to." Then it was, "well, if we raise your base wage you won't get as much bonus because certain benefits' cost is based on base wages." Well, now our deductibles doubled. And the bonus is the same year to year (or nothing at all during a bad year). So I go further behind year after year. Fortunately, and am (or was) within a few years of retirement.
 
The reasons for inflation are many and varied and complex. We're seeing a bit of a perfect storm today, and it's gonna hurt.

An overpriced used Axe Fx 3 is a red herring.
 
I design and test computer chips for a large semiconductor company. I haven't got a cost of living increase in 4 years. At some point I will be making the same as the "you want fries with that" guy.
Web dev here. Stayed at my previous job way too long, raises at the beginning, then nothing for years.

But that's not why I left. Straw for my camel was the guy in charge. Was planning my escape, but before I got off my duff and actually did it, one day it was just too much and I quit on the spot, sans parachute.

Now I'm at an awesome nonprofit. Less pay, small raises, but something I'm really grateful to be doing, every day.

I'm probably being short-sighted, but it's not only about the money.
 
I'm in nearly the same boat. One raise in something like 8 years. First it was, "benefit costs keep going up and we cover them so you don't have to." Then it was, "well, if we raise your base wage you won't get as much bonus because certain benefits' cost is based on base wages." Well, now our deductibles doubled. And the bonus is the same year to year (or nothing at all during a bad year). So I go further behind year after year. Fortunately, and am (or was) within a few years of retirement.
Yeah, this year is going to be brutal. They state that inflation is 7% so far, but it is much higher than that. It is likely going to closer to about 18-20% easily. With WW3 looming in Europe it will only go up from there.
 
Web dev here. Stayed at my previous job way too long, raises at the beginning, then nothing for years.

But that's not why I left. Straw for my camel was the guy in charge. Was planning my escape, but before I got off my duff and actually did it, one day it was just too much and I quit on the spot, sans parachute.

Now I'm at an awesome nonprofit. Less pay, small raises, but something I'm really grateful to be doing, every day.

I'm probably being short-sighted, but it's not only about the money.
Don’t tell my boss, but I’m thinking the same type of thing. Back to Plan A where the career has something to do with music and gear, like tech director at church if the job opens up again. I could do several years of that and feel a sense of purpose in work other than supporting my family. My wife is afraid I would never retire…
 
Toward the end of this week I was ready to relapse out of my GAS recovery program, and the prices really prohibited me from doing so. A Mesa Boogie amp I sold 5 months ago or so is now selling for $500 more. It’s wild. Kinda irritates me, but I guess it’s the same for any gear I have as far as I an tell. Thing is, I don’t want to sell it, and I don’t make much more money than I did a few months ago.. no new used toys for me. :(
 
WOW! I did not know I would start a conversation on inflation, housing and everything in between. I found it very interesting some of the responses on here. But it seems like my question has been answered and explained.....No, I am NOT alone thinking the price of gear (and everything else it seems) has exploded! I just find it crazy when they have used axe fx III units that are selling for WAYYY more than a new unit.! I never thought I would have seen that! But because of inflation, the chip shortage, Russia Invading Ukraine and a laundry list of other factors, prices are wayy up and may not come down anytime soon....if ever....at least from what I read on the posts they are not. I was hoping to get a used axe fx 3 to replace my aging axe fx II when I got my tax return money, but with these prices....I think I will wait and see what happens! On the bright side...I can sell my axe fx II unit for way more than I could pre pandemic....but that is offset by how much the axe fx III units went up.!
 
As of today I've just sold my FM3 to buy a FM9. Turns out that the money I was saving to pay for the FM9's difference now allows me to get a second Axe-FX III instead (woot!!!).

I'm in Mexico, and even we're neighbours with USA, FAS' prices are pretty premium, much like those in the EU. So, my fear is once there are new units in stock, my dealer's prices will go beyond what I'm willing to pay for. That sucks, because that's something beyond FAS or my dealer to control and as much as I love FAS gear, there's a ceiling for premium music gear prices that I can justify and "skyrocket" is an accurate and dreadful term to deal with in this moment.
 
Oil is $116/BBL.

JP Morgan setting a target at $185 a barrel

Energy goes into every single product and service

Wages unchanged
 
Web dev here. Stayed at my previous job way too long, raises at the beginning, then nothing for years.

But that's not why I left. Straw for my camel was the guy in charge. Was planning my escape, but before I got off my duff and actually did it, one day it was just too much and I quit on the spot, sans parachute.

Now I'm at an awesome nonprofit. Less pay, small raises, but something I'm really grateful to be doing, every day.

I'm probably being short-sighted, but it's not only about the money.

I got nothing but respect for this.

Two decade engineer here (mainly in Web Dev) as well. I literally just quit working for Big Bad Company™ (rhymes with PlaceLook/Schmeta) and took an almost 50% pay cut because I couldn't stomach working there. It was by far the most money I've ever made in my life, and the team was great. It's just... it ate at my soul.

I'm moving away from social media now because fuck working for companies who make money by manipulating their users (which is what every single advertising funded company ends up doing). I still like writing code, but I'm gonna make sure it's for products I actually believe in and can get behind.

There absolutely is such a thing as selling your soul, and it's never worth it.
 
We're all kinda screwed with the extraction/industrialization/urbanization/housing/tech/... mega-bubble of modernity/postmodernity. It's fundamentally unsustainable but we will keep booming-busting until we can't any more. We simply have no "ecological" (systems-level) awareness or understanding of short/long term cycles and "externalities" that will always come to bite us (hopefully NIMBY).

To keep it all afloat requires a massive population of consumers to buy/own/consume stuff, people and organizations and $ to extract or make stuff, and millions of middle-men to take their cuts along the way. This doesn't even include legal/illegal gaming the system on multiple levels, gullibility (and FOMO) on a massive scale, or unscrupulous folks taking advantage of every opportunity.

"It's the economy stupid", but how did the economy become everything to us?

Sorry to go all dark...
 
"It's the economy stupid", but how did the economy become everything to us?

Sorry to go all dark...
Not sure who says it, but the last track on Architects "All Our Gods Have Abandoned Us" has this sound clip that has stuck with me for years now:

’As a great, uh psychologist James Hillman wrote, "The only thing that grows in the human body after a certain age is Cancer" and I think that, that's clearly what we're seeing at the end of human industrial civilization with the population approaching seven billion.’

We neurotically avoid contraction. The economy must grow at all costs. The population must grow at all costs. Unless we get a handle on it as a species, it will eventually destroy us. We must somehow comes to terms with death as a part of life, not just physical death, but the idea of death. All things die. People, animals, plants, sure... but also ideas, organizations, companies, economies, and even countries and governments and nations. The harder we fight against it, the harder nature will retaliate, and nature always wins.

(Talk about gettin' all dark)
 
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