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Shawn,<br><br>as Andrew mentioned: check Wendl & Lung (or Hailun). Very nice Chinese pianos.<br><br>I am a tech and Wendl & Lung dealer from Germany. I opened my store 13 month ago. 3 days a week I sit in the store and 3 days I am in field service. I offer used pianos (right now 12 uprights) and the W&L instruments. For me that concept works. At least until now. I am not shure what that wall street trouble will bring the next months. I would not like to be only a dealer with different brands and only new pianos. That would be a too big financial risk for me. I am shure that you could sell a new piano at times when you are out in the field and people know your face and your skills. That might work even better than a huge piano store with salesmen who can´t play or tune. That´s what I call the boilersuit bonus.<br><br>I am not shure if you can get Wendl & Lung in the USA, but Hailun are available. I am not shure about the differences between the 2 brands. The pianos are in principle identical. But when it´s labled W&L you can be shure that this piano has gotten the final quality check by a W&L trained tech. E.g., all W&L pianos that come to Germany are checked, tuned and voiced by a German tech who works for W&L. The same situation in all other countries where W&L pianos are sold. I guess it´s mainly the very good voicing that makes the difference. When the pianos arrive at my store, they are nearly ready to be sold. Even the tuning is fine for the next weeks. And the brand name has a good reputation, at least here in Europe.<br><br>Gregor<br>www.weldert.de<br><br><hr>From: shawnbrock@fuse.net<br>To: pianotech@ptg.org<br>Subject: Re: Hardman Peck<br>Date: Fri, 24 Oct 2008 19:35:15 -0400<br><br>
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<div><font size="2" face="Arial">Will,</font></div>
<div><font size="2" face="Arial"></font> </div>
<div><font size="2" face="Arial">I think people are misunderstanding my intentions
here. I have never had any intentions of going into piano retail, I'm 99
percent technician. I am just looking at carrying between 1 and 3 pianos
at a time. Yes the Hardman Peck is Chinese. We are talking about
uprights that start at $1300 wholesale. So I don't know that it would be a
major business risk for me. After all, I have sold used pianos that I have
had as much money in. The 2 things that makes it easier for me to
move product is I can play it and I can work on it. People seem to trust
and respect you more when you can do one or the other or both. The dealers
here can't do either vary well. I think you guys are correct in your
thinking, but I don't think you got a clear perception on what I was trying to
ask. Sorry for my lack of clarity. So, that's the bottom line, I'm
just looking to shove a few pianos into the back of my shop and get rid of them
as I can. Gosh! I would never want to get a retail space...
</font></div>
<div><font size="2" face="Arial"></font> </div>
<div><font size="2" face="Arial">Best,</font></div>
<div><font size="2" face="Arial">Shawn Brock, RPT</font></div>
<div><font size="2" face="Arial">513-316-0563</font></div>
<div><font size="2" face="Arial"><a href="http://www.shawnbrock.com" target="_blank">www.shawnbrock.com</a></font></div>
<blockquote dir="ltr" style="border-left: 2px solid rgb(0, 0, 0); padding-right: 0px; padding-left: 5px; margin-left: 5px; margin-right: 0px;">
<div style="font-family: arial; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; font-size: 10pt; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal;">----- Original Message ----- </div>
<div style="background: rgb(228, 228, 228) none repeat scroll 0% 0%; -moz-background-clip: -moz-initial; -moz-background-origin: -moz-initial; -moz-background-inline-policy: -moz-initial; font-family: arial; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; font-size: 10pt; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal;"><b>From:</b>
<a title="surfdog@metrocast.net" href="mailto:surfdog@metrocast.net">Will
Truitt</a> </div>
<div style="font-family: arial; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; font-size: 10pt; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal;"><b>To:</b> <a title="pianotech@ptg.org" href="mailto:pianotech@ptg.org">'Pianotech List'</a> </div>
<div style="font-family: arial; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; font-size: 10pt; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal;"><b>Sent:</b> Friday, October 24, 2008 6:37
PM</div>
<div style="font-family: arial; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; font-size: 10pt; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal;"><b>Subject:</b> RE: Hardman Peck</div>
<div><br></div>
<div class="EC_Section1">
<p class="EC_MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 11pt; color: rgb(31, 73, 125); font-family: 'Calibri','sans-serif';">Shawn:</span></p>
<p class="EC_MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 11pt; color: rgb(31, 73, 125); font-family: 'Calibri','sans-serif';"> </span></p>
<p class="EC_MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 11pt; color: rgb(31, 73, 125); font-family: 'Calibri','sans-serif';">In
general, I agree with Wim. I was a Baldwin and Young Chang dealer for 7
years until 2002. I never worked so hard for so little money and
so much risk. And that was when the market was still good, a low volume,
high margin business, whereas now it is an even lower volume, low margin
business. </span></p>
<p class="EC_MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 11pt; color: rgb(31, 73, 125); font-family: 'Calibri','sans-serif';"> </span></p>
<p class="EC_MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 11pt; color: rgb(31, 73, 125); font-family: 'Calibri','sans-serif';">I
would ask you this: If these well positioned and experienced dealers
can’t make it work in this economy, what do you bring to the table that would
lead you to believe that you will have a different result? If you want
to go ahead anyway, buy one or a very few with cash and be able to let
that money sit in those pianos for as long as it takes to sell them.
That may be longer than you think. I don’t know the Hardman Peck
(probably Chinese?), but I would say only that it has no name recognition and
the name won’t be meaningful to your potential buyers. What is your
business plan to market these pianos?</span></p>
<p class="EC_MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 11pt; color: rgb(31, 73, 125); font-family: 'Calibri','sans-serif';"> </span></p>
<p class="EC_MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 11pt; color: rgb(31, 73, 125); font-family: 'Calibri','sans-serif';">I
don’t mean to rain on your parade. I can tell you that in this market, I
have no desire to be a piano dealer again.</span></p>
<p class="EC_MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 11pt; color: rgb(31, 73, 125); font-family: 'Calibri','sans-serif';"> </span></p>
<p class="EC_MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 11pt; color: rgb(31, 73, 125); font-family: 'Calibri','sans-serif';">Best
wishes,</span></p>
<p class="EC_MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 11pt; color: rgb(31, 73, 125); font-family: 'Calibri','sans-serif';"> </span></p>
<p class="EC_MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 11pt; color: rgb(31, 73, 125); font-family: 'Calibri','sans-serif';">Will
Truitt</span></p>
<p class="EC_MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 11pt; color: rgb(31, 73, 125); font-family: 'Calibri','sans-serif';"> </span></p>
<p class="EC_MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 11pt; color: rgb(31, 73, 125); font-family: 'Calibri','sans-serif';"> </span></p>
<p class="EC_MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 11pt; color: rgb(31, 73, 125); font-family: 'Calibri','sans-serif';"> </span></p>
<div style="border-style: solid none none; border-color: rgb(181, 196, 223) -moz-use-text-color -moz-use-text-color; border-width: 1pt medium medium; padding: 3pt 0in 0in;">
<p class="EC_MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: 'Tahoma','sans-serif';">From:</span></b><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: 'Tahoma','sans-serif';">
pianotech-bounces@ptg.org [mailto:pianotech-bounces@ptg.org] <b>On Behalf Of
</b>wimblees@aol.com<br><b>Sent:</b> Friday, October 24, 2008 2:28
PM<br><b>To:</b> pianotech@ptg.org<br><b>Subject:</b> Re: Hardman
Peck</span></p></div>
<p class="EC_MsoNormal"> </p>
<p class="EC_MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 12pt;">Shawn<br><br>Unless you have
the capital to buy them outright, I would not recommend you get in the
new piano market, even on a limited basis. It looks glorious, but in the long
run, it will drive you out of business. For what you have to pay for the
new pianos, and make a profit, you'll be money ahead if you bought used pianos
with that money. And I would definitely stay out of the new piano
business if you have to finance them. The interest will kill you. Stay with
the used market for now.<br><br>Take it from someone who's been there, done
that, and lost his shirt. </p>
<div>
<p class="EC_MsoNormal">Willem (Wim) Blees, RPT<br>Piano
Tuner/Technician<br>Mililani, Oahu, HI<br>808-349-2943<br>Author of: <br>The
Business of Piano Tuning<br>available from Potter
Press<br>www.pianotuning.com</p></div>
<p class="EC_MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 12pt;"><br><br>-----Original
Message-----<br>From: Shawn Brock <shawnbrock@fuse.net><br>To: Pianotech
List <pianotech@ptg.org><br>Sent: Fri, 24 Oct 2008 9:04 am<br>Subject:
Hardman Peck</p>
<div id="EC_AOLMsgPart_2_d3454ac2-48b9-464e-920b-9f8701d1db9f">
<div>
<p class="EC_MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">List:</span></p></div>
<div>
<p class="EC_MsoNormal"> </p></div>
<div>
<p class="EC_MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">in this sputtering
economy and with every piano dealer in Cincinnati crying about not making the
capital to stay afloat I'm looking for something new to add to my
arsenal. That something is new piano sales. For a while I have
been picking up used pianos to push out the door as rentals or in the case of
the nicer instruments good old cash on the barrel head. I would like to
pick up new pianos that are decent but not priced unrealistically, or are not
junk! Anyone have thoughts on the Hardman Peck? You can email me
privately if you like. Most of the economical piano lines are taken for
a while, but these guys have an opening and I need to decide something fairly
soon. I know I have worked on a few of these, but its just that, a few
and I would like to get the thoughts of some of you who might be more
experienced with this product. How do they compare with Hallet Davis or
other similar lines? ! ; Thanks as always!</span></p></div>
<div>
<p class="EC_MsoNormal"> </p></div>
<div>
<p class="EC_MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">Shawn Brock,
RPT</span></p></div>
<div>
<p class="EC_MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">513-316-0563</span></p></div>
<div>
<p class="EC_MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';"><a href="http://www.shawnbrock.com/" target="_blank">www.shawnbrock.com</a></span></p></div></div>
<div id="EC_MAILCIADA036-8869490221d4c4">
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