Clunker pianos - what do you do?

[Steve Brooks]

Several years ago, I grubstaked a piano rebuilder who picked up pianos, 
not beaters, very cheaply, refurbed (not rebuilt) them to the point that 
they would make decent student pianos. He thought he could attract 
buyers and had a small, attractive showroom. The venture failed but part 
of the problem was that he was a small operation, maybe had thirty 
pianos for sale at a time, and was a poor marketer. His showroom 
overhead strangled him and he was unable to attract shoppers to his 
showroom. I didn't have the time to make up for his deficiencies so we 
liquidated the venture.

So I have a question. You all run across the occasional  bargain piano 
and with a small amount of capital could keep a small inventory. Unless 
you are booked solid, you could use down time to work on refurbishing. 
So, when the real beaters show up you could offer a reasonably priced 
alternative to wasting money on a "money pit" and perhaps retain a 
customer while providing yourself with a better piano to tune. You'd 
make a few bucks on the refurb.

I'm sure this is not a new idea, but I'd be interested in hearing 
opinions from this very experienced list.

Steve Brooks

-- 
"The whole aim of practical politics is to keep the populace alarmed (and hence clamorous to be led to safety) by menacing it with an endless series of hobgoblins, all of them imaginary."
-- H.L. Mencken