Grey Market Pianos/Dealers

[Bradley M. Snook]

While it might be true that a manufacture will slightly alter specifications
for different regions of the world, there is no such thing as a piano that
is design to work for an entire geographic region in terms of climate; the
US for example has almost every extreme possible. Besides, these pianos are
located in homes that are in very similar climate controlled environments.
The reason that this is such a concern for the manufacturer is that the
prices are set differently in each region: a C5 in Japan sells for about
$18,000, while in the US the same piano costs more like $31,000. If there is
too much cross contamination, the price structure here in the US would begin
to destabilize.

Bradley M. Snook
Rice University, Shepherd School of Music