<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN"> <HTML><HEAD> <META http-equiv=Content-Type content="text/html; = charset=windows-1252"> <META content="MSHTML 6.00.2712.300" name=GENERATOR> <STYLE></STYLE> </HEAD> <BODY bgColor=#ffffff> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Joseph,</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>AFAIK Schaff does NOT sell items to = online marketer's (or anyone else for that matter) any cheaper than they do to = us technician's. So, IMO, what is happening is these online = 'marketer's' are just willing to take less profit than you...simple as that. </FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Now, FWIW, and sort of a tangent, = a while back there was (or maybe still is) someone who made a piano parts supply = web site by simply scanning just about every page right out of APSCO's = catalog, including part numbers, and he posted his prices right on an online = order form, which was at least 100% markup, if not more. Now, the only problem = I had with this was copyright infringement, as well as a snotty = attitude displayed towards piano technicians in general at the site. If I = remember correctly, the general idea was that anyone could buy parts = from him and by-pass the technicians. I mentioned this to APSCO at the = time but I guess they didn't care enough to do anything about it = then.</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Now, I must admit, this = guy demonstrated some 'entrepreneurial spirit'. </FONT><FONT face=Arial size=2>Or = maybe just 'cojones'...</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Best,</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Greg</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV> <DIV>----- Original Message ----- </DIV> <BLOCKQUOTE dir=ltr style="PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 5px; MARGIN-LEFT: 5px; = BORDER-LEFT: #000000 2px solid; MARGIN-RIGHT: 0px"> <DIV style="BACKGROUND: #e4e4e4; FONT: 10pt arial; font-color: = black"><B>From:</B> <A title=josephspiano@attbi.com = href="mailto:josephspiano@attbi.com">Joseph Alkana</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> Wednesday, May 08, 2002 = 11:03 AM</DIV> <DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Subject:</B> Re: wholesale?</DIV> <DIV><BR></DIV> <DIV>Terry,</DIV> <DIV>I'm not sure you and I are looking at this the same way. Take the = dolly with 5" castors. Price at My Piano Shop is $295.00. The price I pay at = Schaff is $160.00. It is general practice to "keystone", or double our cost = to the retail customer plus add our shipping which according to my invoice = from last year was about $40.00. That will bring the unit's cost to the customer = to around $360.00. If I want to compete with = the online retailer I've got to beat the $295 price or lose the sale. I can't do that and still = make a profit. </DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>The Hands Off fallboard  lock is another item I get asked about a lot. Schaff's price is $48.00 my cost, which translates = to $96.00 retail to my customer. Plus sales tax of $8.45.I can get it myself for = $59.95 at  many online stores. And not pay our state sales tax. </DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>Either the piano supply houses or the suppliers to these house = are selling to on line marketers at prices we can't compete with. That's = my point. And for what it's worth, I see this as an increasing challenge = (threat) to our attempts to retail merchandise. </DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>I had url references showing Dampp Chaser products for sale but = have lost the source. As I recall, the situation was the same, with out the door = prices to online shoppers far below the ridiculous figures suggested by Dampp = Chaser in their latest literature to us techs.</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>Am I missing something here or don't any of you really think it's = worth getting an eyebrow raised over?</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>Joseph Alkana  RPT<BR><A = href="mailto:josephspiano@attbi.com">josephspiano@attbi.com</A></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=mfarrel2@tampabay.rr.com href="mailto:mfarrel2@tampabay.rr.com">Farrell</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> Wednesday, May 08, 2002 = 4:11 AM</DIV> <DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Subject:</B> Re: wholesale?</DIV> <DIV><BR></DIV>Don't know what you are talking about here. I looked = up the student hammer, the gooseneck hammers and the European hammers and = each one is available at Schaff for less than half the advertised price on = the site below. I have looked at a couple other sites in the past just out of = curiosity and found that the prices are all pretty much wholesale = plus normal markup.<BR><BR>Now be careful what you are comparing. For = instance, a tuning fork - so many grades at varying prices are available - the = site below does not state the exact fork they have for sale. I didn't = even want to compare the "hardwood" tuning lever price. Who knows what kind of = wood or the quality of the hammer. Whenever I have found items that I a sure = of the exact mfg., model, etc., I find that we get wholesale from the suppliers.<BR><BR>Terry Farrell<BR>  <BR>----- Original Message = ----- <BR>From: "Joseph Alkana" <<A = href="mailto:josephspiano@attbi.com">josephspiano@attbi.com</A>><BR>= To: <<A = href="mailto:pianotech@ptg.org">pianotech@ptg.org</A>><BR>Sent: Tuesday, May 07, 2002 11:30 PM<BR>Subject: = wholesale?<BR><BR><BR>List,<BR>I was trying to price out some accessories for a customer using my = normal piano parts suppliers. i.e., Schaff, Pianotek and compared their "wholesale"  prices to retail prices offered by any number of = on-line distributors. For example:<BR><A = href="http://www.mypianoshop.com/tools/">http://www.mypianoshop.com/too= ls/</A><BR><BR>Not only do many such companies offer free shipping their retail prices = are, in some instances, lower than what we piano techs can get at the supply = houses. So much for even considering a mark up on our end. Plus the shipping.<BR><BR>Any comments on this annoying situation? Are the = suppliers to the supply houses really under cutting us by selling direct to = what I would call "jobbers" or are the supply houses just gouging our checkbooks?<BR><BR><BR>Joseph Alkana  RPT<BR><A = href="mailto:josephspiano@attbi.com">josephspiano@attbi.com</A><BR><BR>= </BLOCKQUOTE></BLOCKQUOTE></BODY></HTML>