steinway consignment

[A440A at aol.com]

David  writes:

<< There are different types of fees for different situations.  Finding a 
buyer
when you don't actually take a piano in will be different than taking the
piano in, cleaning it up, making repairs, etc..  On the other side is simply
making a referral to a seller who then closes the deal.   >>

I agree.  I charge my 10% as a broker.  That means that if a customer wants 
to sell a piano, and asks for my help, the first sentence out of my mouth is 
that I do act as a broker for a 10% commission.  It is important that that 
figure get out there on the table before ANYTHING else is considered.  After that, 
we can talk about what I think is a reasonable price, how long I think it will 
take to sell, and what should be the lowest that I would recommend that they 
go.  This is valuable information for the seller, so I get a commitment from 
them to use my services before I give it up.  
   I don't confuse piano repair and brokering.  If the piano needs work 
before I can recommend it for sale, then the owner needs to pay me for that repair. 
 It keeps things much more easily understood all around.   
   This is not free money.  My reputation is on the line when I recommend 
that a buyer purchase a piano I am representing, so I cannot risk that for 
nothing.  Some pianos I refuse to broker, since the public's trust in me is far more 
valuable than anything I can make on a given sale.   
   I once helped a recording studio replace their really nice Steinway B with 
one of my customer's Yamaha C7,(which I thought was a step down, but they 
preferred the dry, brittle sound of the C).  The customer sold it to them for 
$17,000, and I also brokered the B to one of my other customers in another city 
for $25,000.
That makes $4,200 for the afternoon's work. Everybody knew what my commission 
was beforehand and everybody was happy to pay for the assurance I was able to 
give them.   
      Once again, the customer's trust is the biggest asset we can have in 
this business. There is no reason not to get paid for being trusted. 
Regards,   



Ed Foote RPT 
http://www.uk-piano.org/edfoote/index.html
www.uk-piano.org/edfoote/well_tempered_piano.html
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