Taylor Martin Guild said:
I would think that it costs as much to build a Guild as it does to build a Martin or Taylor guitar.
So it just comes down to which guitar a buyer wants to get.
And I think that's the main problem... all three guitars (Guild, Martin, Taylor) probably costs around the same to build, but buyers seem more willing to pay a premium for the Martin or the Taylor, because they've either established themselves well or market themselves well. Martin... well, it's Martin. Even my friends who aren't guitarists have a respect for the Martin name. And Taylor - they've done a good job of billing themselves as a premium guitar maker, and even though I have always preferred a Guild over a Taylor, in my mind I always associate Taylor as the higher end brand. Guild.. I don't know how it ended up this way, but I've always associated Guild as the brand that is built well, and priced very well (for the buyer). So even as a Guild fanatic, my mind doesn't allow Guild as much room to mark up over the cost to build.
If I take the analogy farther.. it'd be like comparing Honda cars with Mercedes cars. I love Hondas, and I would prefer a Honda over a Mercedes anyday, even if money were not an issue, but in my mind, Honda is a value brand and Mercedes is a premium brand. I'd choke on my sausage cheese and egg McGriddle the day that Honda decides it will market its cars in a higher price range, just because Mercedes could do the same.
