Piano Fiasco

[Dave Bunch]

You know.....I would never come right out and say this to a customer in this
situation since they are sure to be kicking themselves as it is, but.... why
would anyone pay this kind of money for a used anything, without having it
checked out by an impartial professional?

I have never purchased a used vehical in my life without having a mechanic
look at it to make sure it was not only OK, but was worth the asking price.

A deal may be a deal, but I would like to think these people have some
recourse on a 16 year old piano with a tag on it representing double the
retail of new.

Dave Bunch

----- Original Message -----
From: "Farrell" <mfarrel2@tampabay.rr.com>
To: <pianotech@ptg.org>
Sent: Wednesday, October 10, 2001 7:53 PM
Subject: Piano Fiasco


> Tuned for a new client this evening. They just bought their first piano a
> couple months ago. First tuning. The lady asked me what I thought the
piano
> was worth. 1985 Yamaha C3. Very good condition. Sounds real nice. Real
> clean. I told her you could figure somewhere around a 25% loss in value
> every five or ten years. A C3 now costs about $20,000. So figure hers
might
> be worth somewhere between $10,000 to $13,000 at a dealer, and perhaps
> $8,000 to $11,000 in a private sale.
>
> She looked at me in horror and told me that she had just paid $19,000 for
> the piano. She bought it at a dealer blowout - 50% off -
> going-out-of-business sale. Now perhaps it is not good to mention names
> here, so I won't. I'll just call the dealer (which I understand is the
> largest dealer chain in the US) Mr. B. Now you may ask why the subject of
> this post has the word "Fiasco". Maybe there was a reason. She said the
> piano had a sign on it (as did all the pianos in the store) that said
> "Originally $38,000". And at 50% off, that is where the $19,000 came from.
>
> When I got home I typed her serial number into the Yamaha web site. Grey
> market (it had three working pedals).
>
> So, tell me, does anyone have any experience with a similar situation? Is
> there any recourse this woman might have? I know that when two parties
agree
> on a price for an item, that's it - it's a deal. But I suspect one could
> argue a pretty clear case of fraud here. This is not stretching things a
> bit, this is total misrepresentation, lying, etc. Any thoughts?
>
> The poor woman was beside herself. Half way through the tuning she said
her
> husband would be coming home soon and asked if I would please not say
> anything about the piano value issue. I just hope the purchase was a
mutual
> decision, and not one that she had pushed for.   :-(
>
> She thought she had made such a good deal (hey, 50% off) that even if she
> did not end up playing it much, they could sell it at a profit and pay off
> some of their student loans (they are both mid-20s, just out of graduate
> school, just bought their first house). Not bloody likely.
>
> There are a few people in this business that are just plain garbage. I
> really have quite a few more colorful words at the tip of my tongue, but
> I'll leave it at that.
>
> Terry Farrell
>
>