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<TITLE>RE: Deceptive Advertising</TITLE>
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<DIV><FONT color=#0000ff face=Arial size=2><SPAN =
class=960040519-07062001>All
that you've said is true, but when I buy a DVD player, I care less that =
all or
part was made in China than I would if someone (the salesperson) led me =
to
believe I was buying a Baldwin (and all that the name has implied in =
many
people's minds for decades) when I'm essentially buying a cheap =
import.
"Craftsmanship" never enters the considerations/discussion when buying a =
toaster. Piano salesmen and dealers know what the customer finds =
(or
should find) important and I don't think they should be mislead as the =
ad we
were discussing earlier does. I am more upset that Masons can be =
junk than
that a chip in my computer is made in Mexico. Because it happened =
in the
20's/30's doesn't make it something that I will be a part of now and =
that is my
point for the current dealers. I believe that they are ultimately =
in
control. In reality, if they all cleaned up their act, the =
manufactures
would be forced to tone the B.S. down. Some consider this a gray =
area, I
do not. The other day I heard that car salesmen were held in lower =
regard
than lawyers now. This kind of thing lowers folks in the piano =
industry,
too and hurts us all. </SPAN></FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT color=#0000ff face=Arial size=2><SPAN
class=960040519-07062001><STRONG>P.S. </STRONG>Larry Fine's book =
(Fourth Edition
is out) and the surveys that cover these kinds of pianos (cheaply made =
imports)
are never good. Pg. 113, on Hallet & Davis - "At =
this
point, Chinese pianos are only marginally recommended. <STRONG>If
</STRONG>well prepared by the dealer, <STRONG>some </STRONG>are =
acceptable, but
they do not have much of a track record to provide assurance of =
satisfaction
over the long term." Shouldn't that tell us something? =
Dealers
seldom if ever prep these pianos. Satisfaction over the long term =
is what
I would expect from an "heirloom piano", one that uses words like =
"quality",
"perfection", "master-crafted", finest materials", "exhaustive =
testing",
in <STRONG>their </STRONG>description. <STRONG><U>Bottom
line:</U></STRONG> I just don't think we should rationalize =
this
practice, make excuses for it, or become a part of it in any way. =
IMHO
:~)</SPAN></FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT color=#0000ff face=Arial size=2><SPAN =
class=960040519-07062001>
<P><FONT size=2>Lance Lafargue, RPT<BR>Mandeville, LA<BR>New Orleans =
Chapter,
PTG<BR>lancelafargue@bellsouth.net</FONT> </P></SPAN></FONT></DIV>
<BLOCKQUOTE style="MARGIN-RIGHT: 0px">
<DIV align=left class=OutlookMessageHeader dir=ltr><FONT =
face=Tahoma
size=2>-----Original Message-----<BR><B>From:</B> =
owner-pianotech@ptg.org
[mailto:owner-pianotech@ptg.org]<B>On Behalf Of </B>J Patrick
Draine<BR><B>Sent:</B> Thursday, June 07, 2001 11:17 AM<BR><B>To:</B>
pianotech@ptg.org<BR><B>Subject:</B> RE: Deceptive
Advertising<BR><BR></DIV></FONT>
<BLOCKQUOTE cite type="cite"><FONT color=#0000ff face=Arial =
size=-1> I
hope that some day we will look back and be appalled that it went on =
as long
as it did. </FONT></BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE cite type="cite"><BR></BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE cite type="cite"><FONT color=#0000ff face=Arial =
size=-1>Lance
Lafargue, RPT</FONT></BLOCKQUOTE>
<DIV><FONT color=#0000ff face=Arial size=-1><BR></FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=+2>While I'm annoyed by it too, this =
didn't start
yesterday. Dozens of Boston and New York piano companies' name rights =
were
bought up by American-Aeolian in the 1920s and 1930s, and those labels =
were
placed on mediocre spinets and consoles which came out their Memphis =
plant,
until their bankruptcy in the early 1980s.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=+2>It's commonplace in many other =
industries (you
don't believe Buicks and Pontiacs are being made by the folks who =
started the
companies do you?; cassette or CD players with labels once revered by
Americans are certainly made in China, Mexico, or Indonesia, and the
corporations behind the logo are probably offshore too).</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=+2>At any rate, it's a problem in many, =
many
industries.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=+2><BR></FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial =
size=+2>Patrick</FONT></DIV></BLOCKQUOTE></BODY></HTML>