Fender raised prices

Yes I cannot understand this logic by Fender at all.  People at home have less money, so you price gouge them?  I would think you would simply build less guitars to prevent flooding the market with guitars that nobody is buying.  I fear that the other guitar companies have already followed suit with PRS jacking up their prices and now even Gibson has increased it's prices.  I just don't understand it, when demand goes down don't the prices too???  I'm no business/economic wizard but I am pretty sure I grasp the basics of supply and demand.  I think it's just greed.  Oh well I'm building my next guitar anyways I say good luck Fender, you are killing Leo's dream of affordable mass produced quality guitars.  BTW 4-5 years ago the Standard American Stratocaster was less than $800.  Food for thought...

On top of them jacking prices up a ridiculous amount; now, even if you buy an American Standard Strat for 1,300, you get a friggin GIG BAG!!!!!!!!!!

I've bought my last Fender

Prices will increase at the beginning of a decline in demand because a company will try to make the same amount it's always been making. Sometimes that works, but when it doesn't, that's when you see the prices come back down.

Manufacturing costs go up - so do the prices. Manufacturing costs go down - up go the prices.
"We can't sell our products" - "ok, charge more for them"

I just cannot believe that soon we will be seeing $1000 + guitars coming out of the Mexican factory.  I can't see how "production costs" could have spiked so quickly.  Gas is LESS than it was a year or two ago, wood (alder, ash, maple) is as available as it's ever been, and I can't see labor costs rising that much to justify a 30% across the board increase.  Also, if I was running a company I would much rather sell 1,000 guitars at $800 than 300 guitars at $1300.  American labor is NOT what it use to be and there have been some TRASH guitars built here by most of the major US builders.  I suspect that their sales on the USA Standard, USA Deluxe, USA Vintage series, and CS NOS/Relic/CC guitars will drop at least by half.  I was looking forward to getting the new EJ Rosewood model but for over $2k I'll buy another Gibson or PRS any day.  It would help if Fender could give a reason or explaination for the price jump so they don't look like every other greedy American corperation.  Oh well I guess this will help my AV '57 RI appreciate in value quicker!