<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN">
<HTML><HEAD>
<META http-equiv=Content-Type content="text/html; =
charset=iso-8859-1">
<META content="MSHTML 5.50.4522.1800" name=GENERATOR>
<STYLE></STYLE>
</HEAD>
<BODY bgColor=#ffffff>
<DIV>Sorry to have to correct you Wim, but this is important: when =
referring to
a particular marketing technique of a well known North American piano
manufacturer, i.e. "crock or doo doo", get your facts straight! It is =
not a
crock OR doo doo, but rather it is a crock AND it is doo doo - or as =
perhaps one
might say: "a crock of doo doo". Let's not have another slip like
that! ;-)</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>Terry Farrell</DIV>
<DIV> <SPAN id=__#Ath#SignaturePos__></SPAN> </DIV>
<BLOCKQUOTE
style="PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 5px; MARGIN-LEFT: 5px; =
BORDER-LEFT: #000000 2px solid; MARGIN-RIGHT: 0px">
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial">----- Original Message ----- </DIV>
<DIV
style="BACKGROUND: #e4e4e4; FONT: 10pt arial; font-color: =
black"><B>From:</B>
<A title=Wimblees@AOL.COM =
href="mailto:Wimblees@AOL.COM">Wimblees@AOL.COM</A>
</DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>To:</B> <A =
title=pianotech@ptg.org
href="mailto:pianotech@ptg.org">pianotech@ptg.org</A> </DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Sent:</B> Monday, September 24, =
2001 6:23
PM</DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Subject:</B> Re: Cheap vs =
costly</DIV>
<DIV><BR></DIV><FONT face=arial,helvetica><FONT size=2>In a =
message dated
9/24/01 2:16:34 PM Central Daylight Time, <A
href="mailto:pianobuilders@olynet.com">pianobuilders@olynet.com</A> =
writes:
<BR><BR><BR></FONT><FONT lang=0 face=Arial color=#000080 =
size=2
FAMILY="SANSSERIF">
<BLOCKQUOTE
style="PADDING-LEFT: 5px; MARGIN-LEFT: 5px; BORDER-LEFT: #0000ff 2px =
solid; MARGIN-RIGHT: 0px"
TYPE="CITE">I guess my question are these: </FONT><FONT lang=0 =
face=Arial
color=#000000 size=2 FAMILY="SANSSERIF"><BR></FONT><FONT =
lang=0 face=Arial
color=#000080 size=2 FAMILY="SANSSERIF">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?</FONT><FONT lang=0 =
face=Arial
color=#000000 size=2 FAMILY="SANSSERIF"> <BR><BR></FONT><FONT =
lang=0
face=Arial color=#000080 size=2 =
FAMILY="SANSSERIF">Del</FONT><FONT lang=0
face=Arial color=#000080 size=3
FAMILY="SANSSERIF"></BLOCKQUOTE><BR></FONT><FONT lang=0 =
face=Arial
color=#000000 size=3 FAMILY="SANSSERIF"><BR></FONT><FONT =
lang=0 face=Arial
color=#000000 size=2 FAMILY="SANSSERIF">"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.
</FONT><FONT lang=0 face=Arial color=#000000 size=3
FAMILY="SANSSERIF"><BR><BR>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 </FONT><FONT lang=0 face=Arial color=#000000 size=2
FAMILY="SANSSERIF">it is supposed to </FONT><FONT lang=0 =
face=Arial
color=#000000 size=3 FAMILY="SANSSERIF">sound and play the way =
it does. After
all, it's a Steinway. And aren't S&S's the best there is? =
<BR><BR>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 1</FONT><FONT lang=0 face=Arial =
color=#000000 size=2
FAMILY="SANSSERIF">0 years from now</FONT><FONT lang=0 =
face=Arial
color=#000000 size=3 FAMILY="SANSSERIF"> 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. <BR><BR>Just my 2.5 =
cents
worth. <BR><BR>Wim <BR></BLOCKQUOTE></FONT></FONT></BODY></HTML>