ebay piano story..OT

[Phil Bondi]

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Folks,

A couple of years ago now, a woman from NJ called me asking me to go 
take a look at a piano in Naples currently being auctioned on ebay. She 
gave me the name, number, and address of the seller..and she said the 
item up for bid was a M&H C - she thought she could get it for 5K. She 
also had the serial number.

I call the seller and make an appointment pronto. What I observed was a 
M&H C with the correct serial number that played really well. Outside of 
the action needing regulation and the hammers re-shaping, it played well 
above the asking price..the finish was walnut and it was 'ok' - nothing 
that would deter from the potential buyer buying it.

I called back the woman in NJ and told her to jump on it..it is way 
undervalued in my opinion. Now, this woman doesn't know me from Adam, 
and is putting her trust in me to give her the correct information and 
my honest opinion, which I did. I also told her that if I had the money 
at the time, I would have put a bid in on it.

The woman from NJ wins the auction, and has the piano shipped to her. 
When she sat down at the piano, she called me from the piano in 
tears..thanking me profusly for being honest with her and that she has 
never felt like she 'stole' something in her life, but this piano, to 
her, was the exception(it was a nice M&H). When my appraisal fee 
arrived, I was pleasantly surprised to find a little extra in there. I 
called her and told her there was a mistake made..she assured me there 
was no mistake..I was worth that and more to her. I also gave her the 
names of some technicians in the area who would bring back the touch and 
the tone for her. She had placed her confidence in a technician that she 
was familiar with. It turns out her technician felt the same way I did - 
regulate and re-shape the hammers, and away you go.

For about a year, we occasionally exchanged email with her 'little gem' 
as the subject line.

I don't mean to sound like a back-patter here, but every once in awhile, 
there is a little gem out there to be found. You need to be ready for it 
when it's there.

Phil Bondi(FL)

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