To be fair i do think that prices in Europe are going up for a while now. I’ve seen guitar models that are even 100 euros more since last year. It could also be the case of resources are getting more scarce/expensive?
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i really love kevin.
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Back in the 1960s or so, our neighborhood civic association published a yearly (printed, of course) directory. Included were names of the parents and their occupations, kid’s names and either ages or birth years, and family address. Obviously, you would NOT do anything like that nowadays!
My mother (Mom of 6 rowdy kids) got tired of having herself described as a “housewife,” so one year she put her occupation as “domestic engineer.” 
They published it that way, at least that year. Everyone knew she was not any kind of engineer, and most of the women didn’t have jobs outside the home.
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I’d believe them given current events. We saw 5% across the board dealer cost price increases on pro audio electronics in June. Lead times on equipment for installations are increasing each week.
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Yeah, I have used that term quite frequently. I never felt that it implied the person had a degree of any sort, and never meant it to be a slur upon those who had worked hard to obtain their engineering degree. My oldest son has a Masters in electrical engineering, and I know how hard he worked to earn that.
I think the term “engineer” can be used loosely in conversation without offending anyone, as long as you don’t make false claims or put it on your resume.
AFAIK, there’s no university in existence that offers a “Sales Engineer” degree program 
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Agreed. My husband is an engineer, now retired. And I think my late father could have been one, if he had had the patience and means to wait until he could take classes under the GI Bill after WWII. But there were just too many GIs entering college at the time, and he turned to other work.
Anyway, back to the topic: I also agree it’s best to just wait for sales, and I appreciate the tip by JT about the sales at the end of financial quarters. I think Guitar Center’s sales are usually in Dec., but haven’t noted when they do one at the halfway mark. I’ve probably already missed it! 
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My sales dude hasn’t notified me for what its worth. I also agree that with the disruption to supply chains, we can expect higher prices as product is constrained. And I think that would be everywhere
As far as “engineer”, I have worked in IT for some time. Titles are titles. I was a VP of Networks at one consulting firm so my business card would be impressive in meetings.
Some South Asian cultures put a lot of emphasis on a title. If a guy wanted a raise, we would give him a new title and he would be happy. I have been a software engineer and a network engineer in my time. I put no stock in titles.
And I realize that totally sucks for actual engineers who have degrees and certifications. I would change it if I could.
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I used to think I was an engineer until someone with a Professional Engineer license pointed out I only got the degree.
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Used to be in New York State you couldn’t call yourself an engineer legally without the PE licence, which I never got (really only needed in the civil/gov’t worlds), and is a big scary test and I hated tests.
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I just got an email from my SW sales engineer today 6-17-21 as follows:
“I wanted to personally let you know that we are expecting price increases on many of our brands in the coming weeks. These increases are due to shipping, production, and supply chain issues in the music retail and manufacturing industries. If there is a piece of gear you are on the fence about, now is the time to buy! Even if the gear isn’t in stock, we can lock in the current lower pricing and make sure you are taken care of. Don’t hesitate to reach out if you have any further questions!”
Cheers
Joe
Not impressed at all with Sweetwater!! I bought a bass a while back from them. It was a cheaper bass I wanted for a project. Since it was under the cost amount for their 55 point inspection I paid then to have it looked at prior to shipping so I would be sure I would get a bass that didn’t have significant build issues. No one looked at that bass at all. There was marks all in the finish from bad prep below the final clear. The edges of the frets were like razors. I’m not talking a bit of fret sprout. It appeared the frets were never final finished after being cut. When I contacted my sales rep he responded with “It’s not like this is an expensive bass” So I responded back so if it’s an $800 bass and its like this do you tell the customer well it’s not the $1500 bass and if the $1500 bass is like this do you respond well its not the $3000 bass. He set up a return but refused to sell me another bass of that model. I contacted my sales guy at Musician’s Friend and got one that was mint. I contacted Fender and was told no matter what the price point is of the product they expect the customer to get a defect free instrument. I was also told they have little control over quality control at the factory that makes them. I was also told the factory has a 100% no questions asked replacement policy. Sweetwater handled my purchase fine but they lost me as a customer who will purchase an instrument from them. I do purchase other items like pedals and have not seen issues with those.
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