Klima Pianos

[Kristinn Leifsson]

Dear Larry,

This is a small world.  

Your dad talked to my dad!  

My father deals in (among other things) Steinway & sons and Klima.  
I believe your metric conception is a bit off (since a piano 1172 cm would
be roughly 11 meters tall, kind of a restricted market for that one I´m
afraid:))
We´ve just been importing the Klima for roughly a year and they have a
quota of 200 pianos annually  (they manufacture only one grand a year!)  

We´ve managed to get 10 a year and they´re usually sold before they get here.
We haven´t yet gotten a KOM120 (probably 120 cm high) but I´m told it´s a
very good solution for old instruments with beautiful cabinets and getting
quite popular all around Europe.

Regarding Steinway prices; 

a (Hamburg) Steinway B costs about 4.300.000 Icelandic krona, which is
about $58.900. ($1 equals 73 ISK) 

This is the best price of a Hamburg Steinway we know of! 

In Germany we believe the price is about the same, but for a person that
wishes to buy an instrument straight from another country it would probably
prove to be a better deal to buy it from us than straight from Germany.

1.  There are no import duties on instruments in Iceland.

2.  The prices are about the same, our commission is lower but sales tax is
24.5%.
    In Germany there is a higher commission but their sales tax is lower (17%)

3.  Sales tax is deducted from the instrument if you take it out of the
country and since ours is higher you get more money deducted.

4.  We´re half as close, so the cost of moving is less.

There was about a 5% increase in prices of Steinway instruments in Europe
on Jan 1. so your prices are a little bit outdated.

I hope your father liked it here, you should come over! Everyone for that
matter! 
We´ll give you good food! (and a complimentary trip to the Blue Lagoon with
every Steinway purchase :)

Best regards,

Kristinn Leifsson
Reykjavík, Iceland




  


At 14:07 9.4.2000 -0700, you wrote:
>I have a jet setting dad, who regularly visits friends in Europe, and
>when possible visits piano stores and gets me brochures.  One of the
>latest is from Klima in East Bohemia which I believe is in the Czech
>Republic.
>
>What really got me musing was that they sell a KOM120 model which is a
>piano without cabinet.  I am presuming that it is 1172 cm tall, 1388 wide
>and 538 deep.  I was wondering if this would be an answer to some of
>those old art case uprights that are too worn out on the inside to
>rebuild.  Putting a new piano in an old case.  (Or is this as bad an idea
>as putting new wine in an old wineskin?)
>
>This information came with a price list from a technician in Reykjavik,
>Iceland (Steinway B price is 4.125.000.  Anyone know what that is in
>American?
>
>Larry Messerly, RPT
>Phoenix/Prescott
>
>