[pianotech] Steinway parts list

[David Love]

Sorry hit send too soon.

The real question is for those who use the mark-up model and how they should structure their pricing when dealing with suppliers who walk both sides of the line with structures that suggest a confidential and restricted wholesale policy but really aren't.

David Love
www.davidlovepianos.com
(sent from bb)

-----Original Message-----
From: "David Love" <davidlovepianos at comcast.net>
Date: Sun, 27 Mar 2011 14:36:00 
To: <pianotech at ptg.org>
Reply-To: davidlovepianos at comcast.net
Subject: Re: [pianotech] Steinway parts list

The problem is that Steinway's policy is vague as are their practices about who they sell to. This is true of some other manufacturers as well. I can think of two recent cases where non technicians (pianists) that I know bought sets of hammers. Looking at Steinway's price list at things like artist benches, they represent a price that is compatible with the retail price at which Jansen sells the bench (it's a Jansen bench with a Steinway Logo on it). Non technicians or account holders may also buy those as well as items from the Steinway boutique with a credit card in hand. The account requirements seem more aimed at setting up a billing policy than qualifying a potential and regular buyer.

While Steinway thankfully doesn't publish the price list on their website the information and items are clearly available with a phone call and so doesn't represent a wholesale price policy in the true sense like Jansen or Schaff, for example. It puts those of us who use the business model suggested in an awkward position and I, for one, wish they would either clarify or tighten up their policy.

That being said I agree that sending the price list out in a public forum was bad judgment whatever the copyright implications are. 

David Love
www.davidlovepianos.com
(sent from bb)

-----Original Message-----
From: Israel Stein <custos3 at comcast.net>
Sender: pianotech-bounces at ptg.org
Date: Sun, 27 Mar 2011 06:57:35 
To: <pianotech at ptg.org>
Reply-To: pianotech at ptg.org
Subject: Re: [pianotech] Steinway parts list

Wim,

Now that's as level-headed an approach 
as I have seen. Suppliers the bulk of 
whose business is to the trade have 
policies that favor this clientele, and 
allow them to make a profit on their 
products if they so choose. Some 
suppliers who do also sell to the public 
(for example, auto parts and building 
materials suppliers) have different 
price structures for the trade and for 
the public and make great efforts to 
keep the wholesale prices secret. We are 
all familiar with the Jansen catalog 
which quotes retail prices for your 
customer's benefit - but then gives you 
the price you pay in confidence.

Steinway? If they wanted their parts 
prices made public, they would post them 
on their website and save themselves a 
whole lot of trouble and cost. Do they 
care that if some ambitious amateur or 
do-it-yourselfer manages to buy some 
parts directly from them? Probably not. 
They do what any supplier who is focused 
primarily on selling to the trade - 
release the price lists to their clients 
and not to the public, basically to 
enable their clients to make a profit on 
the products if they so choose. Common 
business practice. Will they go after 
someone on copyright violation because 
they published their price list? I 
sincerely doubt it, there is no harm to 
Steinway here, though technically there 
might be a violation. The only harm is 
to those of us who might be negotiating 
a price on a rebuilding job - and the 
client comes armed with a parts list. 
And yes, as Wim writes, some clients 
will go to the ends of the earth to find 
out this information and come to the 
negotiation armed to the teeth. 
Fortunately for us - there aren't that 
many of them. So let's not make it easy 
for them by spreading this information 
around public lists. It only harms us. 
If a technician needs the information - 
send it privately, or refer them to 
Steinway.

Israel Stein


On 11:59 AM, tnrwim at aol.com wrote:
> Perhaps Steinway has a strict policy 
> on who may buy their parts, other 
> supply companies have very lax 
> policies, and allow the public to buy 
> parts over the counter. These supply 
> companies sell Steinway parts.
> I agree that we should be able to make 
> a profit off the parts we sell to our 
> customer, as I say in my 
> book. However, there are some 
> technicians who have opted not to do 
> that. A customer who wants to go to 
> the trouble of looking up wholesale 
> price lists, will also go to the 
> trouble of calling enough technicians 
> until he finds one that does the work 
> for the least amount of money.
> Wim
>


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