latest journal

[Brian Henselman]

Don,

Who do I contact at Kawai to see about ordering "gray-market" Japanese
trade-ins that Kawai ships to the USA?  I'm especially interested in any
good Yamaha's that you have.  I love Kawai too, but I don't want to take
business directly away from Kawai.  As you put it so well,"used pianos
brought over from Japan are competition for the new pianos of the same
manufacturer."  That kinda sums up Yamaha's position don't you think?

Yamaha is a great company, and yes a LOT of the older gray-market Japanese
pianos are now junk.  However, I've seen several beautiful nearly new (10
years or less) used Yamahas and Kawai's here in Austin, TX that I'm almost
sure were gray-market, that I cannot dismiss as junk.

Does Kawai still rebuild some of these pianos before shipping them over
here?  Or does Kawai prefer to ship only the nicer newer used Japanese
trade-in Kawai and Yamaha pianos to the USA?

Thanks for your input.  You made a lot of good points about Yamaha's
position.  And yes Steinway's parts support is a huge disappointment.
However, I cannot see that Yamaha's decision is only in the best interest of
consumers.  I will still continue to admire Yamaha and their commitment to
quality, however, I just do not believe that this latest tactic is actually
going to help technicians serve their customers.  Forcing us to rely on
deception (ie supplying Yamaha with false serial numbers), or to rely soly
on Schaff for parts isn't going to help our industry.

Currently, now that Yamaha no longer produces 2 pedal grands, most piano
technicians would be hard-pressed to positively identify most used Yamaha
pianos as truly USA products or graymarkets without seeing the original new
sale paperwork.  This now hurts legitimate used Yamaha owner's resale value
by sowing seeds of doubt in the potential used Yamaha buyer.  This is wrong.
Yamaha's 7th "key" is "Value".  I believe that this latest campaign serves
to hurt current used Yamaha owners the most (gray-market or not).

Also, it's worth noting that this campaign will also probably help Kawai.
If Yamaha can smear the name of the used Yamaha's enough by making everyone
doubt the viability of their used Yamaha, then it's Yamaha who hurts
themselves most in the end.  I have never purchased a "gray-market" piano,
but this latest policy has stirred my interest in this market.  Hey, if
Kawai is willing to offer parts support for "gray-market" Kawai's, then
maybe I should recommend them a little more often.

Cheers,

Brian Henselman, RPT
MusicMasters Piano Service
musicmasters@att.net



-----Original Message-----
From: Don Mannino <donmannino@mediaone.net>
To: pianotech@ptg.org <pianotech@ptg.org>
Date: Sunday, September 12, 1999 6:17 PM
Subject: RE: latest journal


>Hi folks,
>
>I haven't gotten the new journal yet, but I am aware of Yamaha's policy.
I'd like to comment a little, first by replying to a few of Wallace's
rhetorical questions:
>
>> 1. Have they thought about the marketing impact on the
>> general public?
>
>You can be sure that this is the main reason for the policy.
>
>> 2. Speaking of the average person, has Yamaha informated the
>> unsuspecting public?  Made *any* effort to educate the buying public?
>
>That is what the advertisement on the back page of the Journal is for. They
know that piano technicians are frequently asked for advice  about used
piano purchases, and they are hoping that technicians will help spread the
word.
>
>> 3. What would it really cost to provide parts backup
>> from Japan?
>
>Maintaining a large inventory of parts is EXTREMELY expensive.  Purchasing,
storing, and keeping track of piano parts inventories when the pianos are
built in another country is very difficult. Increasing that stock of parts
to cover piano models with which the US office is unfamiliar is much more
difficult.  Keeping case parts scratch and dent free is another problem.
>
>> To me, it sounds like Steinway refusing to supply parts for
>> pianos made in Hamburg
>
>Have you ever tried ordering, say, a replacement fallboard for a Hamburg C
by calling Steinway in NY? Or maybe a replacement sostenuto hangar for a 10
year old Hamburg B?  I haven't - but I think I know what their answer would
be.
>
>> or a car mfg refusing support to a car made overseas rather
>> than in the USA factory.
>
>Go to your Ford dealer and ask for a set of spark plug wires for a German
'Ka.' See what they say.
>
>The bottom line is that the used pianos brought over from Japan are
competition for the new pianos of the same manufacturer. American consumers
have been taught that a 20 year old used piano is essentially the same as
buying a new one (especially after we regulate and voice it, right?).
Personally I feel that this is rarely true, but technicians optimistically
hope that the used piano will have been lightly used and treated well, so
that with only minor work it will be "as good as a new one."
>
>There is something to be said for supporting your company's core business -
making and selling new pianos.
>
>Don Mannino RPT
>(Kawai America)
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