This sounds to me like a "grey market" piano. As I understand it, people who are who are not authorized dealers buy quantities of used pianos, then hold a big sale, often at a university. This practice is perfectly legal, and the pianos are most likely the genuine article. However, since the seller is not an authorized dealer, the manufacturer will not honor the original warranty, nor will they provide replacement parts when necessary. I'm told Yamaha is especially strict, which makes sense to me, as they must protect the legitimate dealers. --Paul Mulik ----- Original Message ----- From: "Elwood Doss" <edoss at utm.edu> To: "Pianotech" <pianotech at ptg.org> Sent: Saturday, March 04, 2006 10:31 AM Subject: Black Market Pianos Hey Guys, Can you tell me something about black market pianos? There is a Kawai piano for sale by a church who was told it was a black market piano and Kawai would not do warranty service on-obviously. I was wondering who manufactures them, do they just put a Kawai name on the piano? What kind of piano are they? To my knowlege I've never had any dealings with these before and am curious about the instruments. Joy! Elwood Elwood Doss, Jr., RPT Piano Technician/Technical Director Department of Music 145 Fine Arts Building The University of Tennessee at Martin Martin, TN 38238 731/881-1852 FAX: 731/881-7415 HOME: 731/587-5700 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ---- > _______________________________________________ > Pianotech list info: https://www.moypiano.com/resources/#archives > ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ---- No virus found in this incoming message. Checked by AVG Free Edition. Version: 7.1.375 / Virus Database: 268.1.2/274 - Release Date: 3/3/06
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