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build vs shop in stock from warmoth

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1960es

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I have done about 5 Warmoth builds but everyone of the bodies and necks I have bought out of "shop in stock" rather than custom build. I have just always been able to find something I liked. However, I want to build a Mooncaster and they have not added any in forever! None in stock have appealed to me so I figured I would just wait until they add some. Well, I think I have been waiting for months.

So, I am now thinking about custom build but when I go through it, the build seems to always be more expensive. My stupid question is this...am I doing something wrong or it that just how they price the in stock items? Suggestion?

Thanks!
Eddie
 
Based on my experience, the in stock stuff is always cheaper than a custom build. It also arrives much faster.
 
I just went to the builder and duplicated one of the in-stock Mooncaster bodies to see how it would price out. It was more than the one from the showcase. The one I chose to duplicate was maple/maple with a vintage tint finish. Plain maple wasn't available in the builder so it got a flame maple top. The in-stock one was $445 and the custom one was $645. In all, it was somewhat more expensive but not horrendously so, considering the nice figured top it would have.

Obviously, custom ordering one is best for times when you want something more unique. Of course, that way you get something you can call your own.
 
Well ... If you follow the logic ... Something built to order will always be more expensive then say an in stock batch.  So to answer your question nope your thoughts are normal nothing wrong. Suggestion is hold out as long as you can, save your money.  If see something when you got the dough you're good if not special order.  I've done special orders on necks and they've always come out great.
 
Thanks everyone for the comments and good to know I am not crazy. I am however cheap! I have had the money ready for months and guess I will keep waiting. I am not super picky or another way to say it is that a lot appeals to me which is why this is a unique experience for me. I basically want any color flame or quilted maple top mooncaster with cream or white binding. They had several of those except with black binding so I thought I would just wait. Well, they sold and now nothing new.....maybe I should build a mooncaster bass instead for now since there are several of those that fit the bill.
 
I'll tell you what, Brosemite Sam, if this was in the mooncaster bass area, I think I'd own it...

MP673a.jpg
 
Items in the in-stock showcase are discounted. If you spec out the same item in the custom builder it will be more expensive. This has not always been the case, and may not always be the case....but it is the case at the present time.


When you spec a one-off custom piece, it has to be built as a "run" of one. When we build things for the in-stock showcase we can do them in larger runs. Also, we want to encourage people to buy from the showcase as much as possible. That stuff is locked-up money sitting on shelves here, and we want to convert it to cash again ASAP.


Because we don't want it sitting around forever, we typically stick with tried-and-true products in the showcase. You won't often find oddball stuff there.




 
Thanks and it makes sense. I just wanted to make sure there wasn't some silly thing I was doing wrong. I will remain patient!!

I absolutely love my other 5 builds and am a big fan....I guess that is obvious since I come here all the time (mostly lurking).
 
It's funny. I find the dichotomy between the showcase and the build to order (BTO) sides of the site to be an interesting study in human psychology. People will wait for two years to see exactly what they want show up in the showcase when they could have had it in weeks via BTO.


I suppose it's the same thing that compels us to drive the long way around, when sitting through a short traffic jam would still get us to our destination much more quickly overall. Or, to watch a movie riddled with commercials on live TV - just because we stumbled across it, while the DVD we own sits dusty in the closet.


Humans are weird. (Not saying you're weird, 1960es. I'm saying we're all weird.)
 
Oh, I am weird! And cheap!

Ask my family on both accounts....and they would say I am guilty.  :icon_biggrin:
 
I've historically played on both sides of that net.  See a tasty something in the showcase, yes please. But I've even gone so far as to ask good old AA to find me a choice chunk of Pau ferro for a custom neck.
 
The Aaron said:
It's funny. I find the dichotomy between the showcase and the build to order (BTO) sides of the site to be an interesting study in human psychology. People will wait for two years to see exactly what they want show up in the showcase when they could have had it in weeks via BTO.
Click to expand...


Sometimes you just don't know what you want, but by watching the showcase you discover what you wanted.  My GOTY winner was a lucky grab when I saw a body come up on my RSS feed and it just looked to pretty to pass up.
 
The showcase is also ready made temptation for those who lack imagination. Like me.
 
I've also bought both customer made and from the showcase. Some things are so commonplace that they are bound to pop up in the showcase almost daily, while other builds of mine were so specific that nothing even coming close would ever be in the showcase. But it's always worthwhile to browse it regularly, sometimes real crazy stuff appears there which you would never have guessed would appeal to you.
 
The Aaron said:
It's funny. I find the dichotomy between the showcase and the build to order (BTO) sides of the site to be an interesting study in human psychology. People will wait for two years to see exactly what they want show up in the showcase when they could have had it in weeks via BTO.


I suppose it's the same thing that compels us to drive the long way around, when sitting through a short traffic jam would still get us to our destination much more quickly overall. Or, to watch a movie riddled with commercials on live TV - just because we stumbled across it, while the DVD we own sits dusty in the closet.


Humans are weird. (Not saying you're weird, 1960es. I'm saying we're all weird.)
Click to expand...

I know that feel. I've been watching the RSS feed for months for a regular Strat body in Graffiti Yellow. Months without the guitar I've wanted, all to save $75 and a few weeks of waiting. Well the wait time has obviously been a wash, and the $75 seems petty with a few months of hindsight behind it.
 
ByteFrenzy said:
...it's always worthwhile to browse it regularly, sometimes real crazy stuff appears there...
Click to expand...

Yes, this is true. The two things you will find in stock most often in the showcase are:

1) The most common/popular options from the custom builders
2) Crazy-go-nuts off-menu stuff that is impossible to order in the custom builders

What you typically don't see in the showcase are the less common options that are possible to order in the custom builders.
 
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