Cheap vs costly

[Ron Nossaman]

>
> 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. 


I find this to be the case too. People who buy Steinways most often went
shopping for Steinways, looked only at Steinways, and picked out the Steinway
they felt most met their desires. Those that went shopping for a performance
piano sometimes come home with a Steinway, but often as not, something else -
or nothing at all if they didn't find anything that met their desires. I've
spent a lot of time talking to this faction after the shopping trips.



>
> 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 


This may be a factor, but I really don't hear it from the new owners of
Steinways. It is, however, apparently a factor when the current owners of a
long dead piano they no longer want for whatever reason is being priced for
sale. Maybe they're just worth more dead than alive - like Rasputin or Custer.
The pianos, that is, not the owners.

Ron N