Leasing used pianos

[Dean May]

>>It wasn't until the contract period was up that I could grab the piano.

 

 

 I always rented month to month, no long term lease. That way you can pick
it up anytime they stop paying.

 

You don't need to rent expensive pianos. I could pick up 5 or 6 pianos a
year at very little cost if I wanted to, and that is without trying very
hard. I got a free story and clark console a couple of months ago, tuned it
up and sold it for $600. All you have to do is start answering yes to the
phone calls, "do you buy pianos?" If they are old uprights you might even be
able to get them to pay you to "haul it off."

 

Use low cost pianos like these and then you aren't crying if they get
destroyed; consider them disposable. I even rented ugly uprights for $25 a
month. Have some ugly pianos and some nicer ones in a price range of
$25-$50/month or so, or whatever your market will bear. Charge a set up fee
of $75-150, whatever you want, to cover delivery, pickup, and pre-delivery
tuning plus the first months rent. People will pay the set up fee because
they know it ain't free to move the pianos. Usually your costs can be pretty
much covered with that first check, anything else then is gravy. Plus then
you've automatically got another tuning client. You can offer a discount in
the contract if they have it tuned every 6 months. 

 

Consider an old upright you get for free. 

Prep- work: 2-4 hours of repair/adjusting + pitch raise tuning (if it needs
more, consider the dumpster)

Set up fee: $125

6 months of rent payments: $150 

6 month tuning: $85

 

Total 6 month return for one free piano: $360 

 

All for a little shop time, a delivery, and an in-home tuning. For me the
shop work and delivery can be done by my sons for a fraction of my normal
rates. If I had 10 of these pianos out that's an extra $600/month and that's
at the very bottom end of $25/month.

 

I should get back into this..    ;-)

 

Dean

Dean May             cell 812.239.3359 

PianoRebuilders.com   812.235.5272 

Terre Haute IN  47802

  _____  

From: pianotech-bounces at ptg.org [mailto:pianotech-bounces at ptg.org] On Behalf
Of Jon Page
Sent: Wednesday, August 01, 2007 4:03 PM
To: pianotech at ptg.org
Subject: Leasing used pianos

 

I agree, it is bred and butter money just like: tuning, light repair,

cleaning ... and it all adds up in the end.

 

You guys have better luck than I do. I've rented a few out and the payments
stopped.

It wasn't until the contract period was up that I could grab the piano
without getting

the courts involved.

 

One M&H upright was for two years, it's been four and the guy won't return
my calls and is

mostly out of state (summer house) but he's in Scotland now.  What do ya do?

Break the door down?

 

Another rental the piano came back with case damage and the renters moved
out of state.

 

I hate to be the only one not drawing a rosey picture but there is a
downside to renting.

It's too easy to be left in the lurch.  I have a deal with the bank... they
don't sell pianos

and I don't make loans.

-- 


Regards,

Jon Page

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