It is a sign of the times in a few ways really.
My $1100 Gibson Les Paul is now magically $2500+. This is nothing but inflation.
The Epiphone that was $300 is now $1100. Surely this is another sign of the times as Asian manufacturers flood the market with cheaper knock offs, build some brand loyalty and up the quality through practice, then jack up the price.
I have a mexi Strat that is worth $1100. Back in the day, that is a $200 guitar but these days, it plays as nice and stays in tune like a USA model used to.
Times have changed for sure and I enjoy searching out the used ones for discount gems much more than visiting the rich mans store for ridiculously expensive new ones.
Oh, and tiktok can suck it.
You know... when I worked for Samash Music, we sold American strats, new with a hard shell case for 800 bucks.
That would get you a Squier today... it blows my fucking mind.
Btw, Im not sold on tiktok, but I'm trying to grow my guitar brand, so I'm testing it out... seems like it's gonna be a fail, I have to say.
You are talking to a marketing and brand growing guy here and TikTok has its place. That place is only branding and easy, trendy video content that is useless except when shared to Facebook and Instagram. Facebook can suck it too but is the best for clicks on calls to action and instagram is good for spamming brand messages. All works a little but you have to decide where to spend your money and time.
What you should also do is brand a hive account and link your website in every post, load it with key words for SEO. Not 100% sure if a dozen hive front ends with identical/duplicate content helps or hurts with google but we are testing to find out for sure.