latest journal

[Brian Henselman]

I talked to Yamaha this week, and pointed out that I currently have several
ex-military and others who bought their Yamahas legitimately in Asia or
Japan, and then brought them here upon retiring.  These are technically
gray-market, but were bought new legitimately by loyal original Yamaha
customers.

Bill, the gentlemen quoted in the article assured me that if THIS were the
case, then they would definitely make the exception and send parts.

BTW, my experience in Austin, TX is that we have a very humid environment,
and provided the gray-market was nearly new when shipped here, (not a rusted
out/worn out junker), then they have survived beautifully here.

Here's my complaint about Yamaha's position:  Unless the piano is an older 2
pedal grand, or has a model number that is specifically a Japanese model (ie
only available in Japan), how are we supposed to know for sure that a used
piano isn't a graymarket.  Yeah, Yamaha is planning to put up a web-page
with serial number cross-references, but that would only work if you had
access to this information BEFORE you see the piano.

There have been cases where I was called to inspect a piano at a reseller,
and killed the deal because the initial piano that I was hired failed
inspection.  However, while I was there, the buyer then has me inspect a
couple of other pianos that would be a suitable substitute.  I could have
run a serial number check on the first piano, but am I expected to run a
serial number check on every potential piano in the store???  How many
dealerships do we know that will let me sit down, log-on on their computer,
and check to see if the piano was a container piano?  What if they got it as
a trade-in from a legitimate original Yamaha owner that brought it back to
the USA?

Yamaha is playing this really stupidly.  Kawai sells gray-market pianos all
of the time, and they profit from it.  I've been told that Kawai happens to
be one of the better sources of good used "gray-market" Yamaha pianos for
the USA.  Why does Kawai do this?  They're smart.  They know that the
gray-market is a reality, and every gray-market piano sold is a lost sale
for them or Yamaha. However, it's better to get a little of something than a
whole lot of nothing.  If Kawai sells a gray-market, especially a used
Yamaha, in the USA, they make at least half of what they would get for a new
unit sold, and that's infinitely more getting nothing.  Everytime someone
else other than Kawai sells a gray-market, Kawai gets nothing.

I think that Yamaha needs to educate the public better, and stop playing
police officer.  They can't win, SONY tried this same baloney with compact
discs resales about 5 years ago and lost.  If Yamaha were really smart,
they'd divorce themselves from gray-market pianos this way, and still make a
bundle of money:  Create a division of sales called "Yamaha: Certified
Pre-Owned Pianos" (sorta like Lexus' Certified program) where Yamaha
certifies only the highest quality traded-in Japanese pianos.  Now ship this
BEST used Yamaha pianos to USA Yamaha dealerships and stipulate that Yahama
has selected these for resale, however any and ALL warranty must be provided
by the dealership only.  This gives dealers additional quality Yamaha units
for resale, and the dealer knows where it came from.  Now the dealer can
choose whether to participate or not.  My belief is current Yamaha dealers
would KISS YAMAHA'S FEET for supplying a steady supply of highest quality
gray-market pianos.

Now Yamaha can still not be on the hook for warranty, and they can have some
control over the quality of the gray-market pianos that have their approval.
If a Japanese-market piano is junk, then don't certify it.  If it passes
quality control, the let your loyal dealers have them with the peace of mind
that it's not a worn out piece of junk.  Yamaha then protects itself by
offering NO warranty to the dealer or seller, while profiting twice from the
same piano (once with the original sale to a Japanese dealership, and once
with the new sale to a VERY willing American dealership).

Sincerely,
Brian Henselman, RPT
Austin, TX
e-mail: musicmasters@att.net


-----Original Message-----
From: Wallace Wilson <wilson53@MARSHALL.EDU>
To: PTG technical list <pianotech@ptg.org>
Date: Sunday, September 12, 1999 5:03 AM
Subject: latest journal


>It is with some really mixed feelings that I read and digested Yamaha's
>ad on the back page of this months's journal.  In this ad, Yamaha
>America completely divorces itself from the grey market Yamaha pianos.
> I think I understand and appreciate the dilemma Yamaha is in regarding
>these grey market pianos.  Yet I have some real regrets regarding their
>stated position of completely divorcing themselves from this segment.
> 1. Have they thought about the marketing impact on the general public?
>I'd say this would be a real deterrent to the average person.
> 2. Speaking of the average person, has Yamaha informated the
>unsuspecting public?  Made *any* effort to educate the buying public?
> 3. What would it really cost to provide parts backup from Japan? Surely
>they've heard of piano parts being listed on computers!  What would it
>really cost?  And could that cost not be passed on to those who find
>themselves stuck with one of these pianos, people who now need service?
>To me, it sounds like Steinway refusing to supply parts for pianos made
>in Hamburg, or a car mfg refusing support to a car made overseas rather
>than in the USA factory.
> I understand it's inconvenient, challenging, aggravating to them to be
>asked to provide parts & info re grey market Yamahas. I've not
>encountered them, though I've dealt with some interesting Chinese pianos
>which never should have left home.  In spite of that,
> I wish the ad on the back page would tell folks how to avoid these
>pianos, and that Yamaha could do a better job of educating the public.
>I realize that to do so would open a pandora'a box.  Yet, a pandora's
>box is exactly what Yamaha's got.  I would think a class act like Yamaha
>could do something better than leave people SOL because they lacked
>information in buying.
> Undoubtedly many of you will have other information to contribute,
>along with business insights, etc.  Maybe these pianos self-destruct so
>badly over here that no amount of fix is worth the bother.  In that
>case, what steps could Yamaha take to protect the public and their own
>great image?
>
>---Wally Wilson, RPT
>
>