*BREAKING NEWS* ishibashi to stop exporting...

[stars]

read on more.

i just emailed ishibashi to inquire about something. the nice lady, aiko (same name as the jap princess, it means love) something told me that

I'm afraid we cannot ship Fender Japan items overseas any more from this
April because of the regulation from Fender USA

context:
this is amazing, because the hidden story behind fender japan is that bulk of its production rights are owned by a certain company called fujigen. there are other smaller contract manufacturer's such as J-craft that do produce under fender japan's brand as well.

but fender japan mainly does contract work under FENDER USA. with in house design teams and etc.

what is the implication of this ?

are fender japan products going to become more and more rare ? are smaller shops and distributors going to stop shipping out injapan ? will big players like swee lee become complacent and allow the other range of fender products to appreciate in price ? how will smaller shops G77 and other shops that bring in fender japan survive ? will davis change tack to compensate for the loss of products in its range ?

fascinating questions, extremely destabilizing effects for local guitar scene. BAD times for local musicians. less variety = less competition =consumer suffers. which means we pay more.

the guitar shop's mushrooming in peninsular & excelsior was partially started off by the availability of cheap fender japan products as well as a host of newer products from various regional guitar makers. now with fender USA putting pressure on Fender japan to cut parallel imports will this mean bigger money for regional distributors (aka swee lee)

stay tuned to find out.

 

[Dime]

this sucks really.but there is always edwards who does strat copies which are as good or even better.

 

[kerplunk182]

what?!?! I still want an aerodyne in the future! Hmmpf!

 

[faizal_rocks]

Well, we have to scout around Ebay then for the Japan models. Was actually thinking of getting one to accompany my Squier Standard Strat, looks like gotta find another alternative..

 

[stars]

sadly so. but there are workarounds.

 

[PatheinRaindropMoe]

this news been circulating in various forum since early last year when some dudes from US tried to order thru ishibashi but gotten the same reply. Guess its only this april then they are really starting on it.

oh, if anyone interested enough, i believe theres a letter of some sort which explain the thing in better details. I remember seeing it last years in some forums. Might wanna google round for that

 

[Anteopiz]

man that sucks... i was saving up to buy a strat from them....
now this... tough luck.. haa

 

[marilyn]

aaaaaaaaaarrrrrrrrrrrrrgggggggggggggghhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

noooooooo i am saving up for a 62 tele man!

 

[dir]

damn, was saving for a jazzmaster from ishibashi!

 

[ahmadk]

fender japan is making more $$$,more sales than a US.
the price for a fender US is much more expensive than a japan.
and the workmanship,the quality,tone,feel,etc is comparable with a US.
even some of the Japan made fenders are even better than a US.
thats probably why fender japan are told to stop exporting products cos they are much more sellable than a US.
the only way u can buy a fender japan is from UBOX,second hand though.
theres a little link on the bottom corner of ishibashi's webbie.
yup check out UBOX!
2nd hand gears,effects,drums,bass,guitars. . . . .. . .

 

[kym]

does that mean i should start buying more fender japan now coz there may be a price inflation on fender japan in the near future? i reallie like their guitars, affordable and comparable to the US ones.

 

[fgl]

It was a matter of time B4 Fender got them just like how they got all the bootleg decal guys .... Its about $$$$ and protectionism I guess....

Well, I guess U gotta buy ticket to Japan now to purchase axe from there while on holiday..

Domo arigato everyone my ichibawa need scratching

 

[shinobi]

haha, some fender japan models are not even made by fender USA. take the bulk of the jaguars and aerodynes for instance

but as long as there is a will, there will be a way

maybe we will have to use vpost japan, which will bump up the prices considerably. if ishibashi ships to a japanese address they will have to charge japanese consumption tax. not to mention the added costs from vpost

 

[stars]

haha, some fender japan models are not even made by fender USA. take the bulk of the jaguars and aerodynes for instance

but as long as there is a will, there will be a way

maybe we will have to use vpost japan, which will bump up the prices considerably. if ishibashi ships to a japanese address they will have to charge japanese consumption tax. not to mention the added costs from vpost

yea +5% xan be like easilt $50 bucks more.

 

[shinobi]

not to mention that vpost is damn ex. dammit lah, i will fly to japan and get my stuff. i've never been there but it seems like a funky place. i've only ordered once from ishibashi

actually i think all along japanese shops weren't allowed to export lah. it even says so on the ishibashi site. its just that now ishibashi probably got busted. fender probably threatened to take away their distributorship

 

[stars]

not to mention that vpost is damn ex. dammit lah, i will fly to japan and get my stuff. i've never been there but it seems like a funky place. i've only ordered once from ishibashi

actually i think all along japanese shops weren't allowed to export lah. it even says so on the ishibashi site. its just that now ishibashi probably got busted. fender probably threatened to take away their distributorship

technically they cant do that.

was reading somewhere that fender japan was mainly produced under contract by fujigen

fujigen is in turned owned by the yodobashi family. and the yodobashi family expanded into two lines after the 80s, one into making contract instruments for alot of companies. the other, a network of retail shops spanning japan.

the latter sure sounds familiar right ? i guess it might be ishibashi.

 

[kym]

erm i got a question abt fender japan. y is mij or cij fender called fender japan, while mexican made fenders not called fender mexico? y is there this "japan" thinggie? is it some kind of exclusivity?

anyway, m i right to say that fender is like topman, while fujigen is like wing tai?