Cheap vs costly

[Wimblees@AOL.COM]

---------------------- multipart/alternative attachment
In a message dated 9/24/01 2:16:34 PM Central Daylight Time, 
pianobuilders@olynet.com writes:


> I guess my question are these: 
> Since it appears that Young Chang is now building a line of cheap(er) S&S 
> almost-clones, how do they compare with the original? What is the public's 
> perception of them? How are Y-C dealers accepting them and, more 
> importantly, how are they promoting and selling them? What is their 
> performance like really--in the home or studio with real people playing 
> them? And, the question I expect both S&S and Y-C are asking: If the public 
> was confused by the S&S/Kawai deal, what's it going to be like with the S&
> S/Y-C deal with the Y-C looking and feeling increasingly like the S&S?
>  
> Del

"Real" piano players will play both pianos, and pick out the one they like 
the best. Most will continue to lean towards the S&S, because historically, 
(at least up until the early '70), these were the piano of choice for the 
vast majority of "real" piano players. 

What makes S&S still a better seller is the name. I don't have a figure on 
this, but I wouldn't be surprised that a majority of S&S's are sold as a 
status symbol. Most people who can afford to buy a grand piano, regardless of 
their playing ability, are going to pay the little extra to buy a Steinway 
for two reasons. One, it makes them look good in front of their peers. It 
makes them look better than the people next door. These people, regardless of 
what the instrument sounds and plays like, presume it is supposed to sound 
and play the way it does. After all, it's a Steinway. And aren't S&S's the 
best there is? 

The other reason these people buy a S&S is the sales pitch they are given 
about the "investment" value of S&S. I've written about this crock or doo doo 
before, so I won't go into it too deep. But basically, if the public is led 
to believe that 10 years from now their S&S is going to be worth twice as 
much as what they paid for it, in light of the way the stock market has been 
behaving, why not "invest" in a Steinway.

Just my 2.5 cents worth.

Wim 


---------------------- multipart/alternative attachment
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: https://www.moypiano.com/ptg/pianotech.php/attachments/0a/33/38/71/attachment.htm

---------------------- multipart/alternative attachment--