<!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 6.00.2800.1106" name=GENERATOR> <STYLE></STYLE> </HEAD> <BODY> <DIV>FWIW. Interesting part is in second paragraph below.</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>Just before entering this profession 5 years ago I bought a brand = new 1098 for $13,500 (long, sad story - save your breath) (although we later = found out it had actually been manufactured 3 years prior to our purchase and had = traveled from NY to a dealer in Tennessee, to a dealer in Kansas, to the same dealer in Tennessee, and then finally to the dealer in = Florida). For a host of reasons ranging from structural defects to "dinging" noises, = after about a year we tried to return it and get our money back. Dealer would not = cooperate. End result was we traded the 1098 back to dealer and bought a lightly = used Boston grand piano (a repo) for about 1K more (the objective being = to just get rid of the piece of junk 1098).</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>Now the interesting part. This relates to the current thread - how = a Steinway appreciates in value. I have reason to occasionally visit the = dealer we bought the 1098 from. After our piano trade, the 1098 went back = onto the showroom floor with an asking price of $16,000. The piano sat for four = years on that floor. The past few months it had a price tag on it for = $18,500. I was at the dealer recently and noted that the piano was gone. I presume = they found some other <FONT color=#000000>suc*&^</FONT>#, I mean, = I presume they found another buyer for the fine instrument. Don't know what = it actually sold for, but perhaps this is what is meant by their value = increasing with time - an 8 year old studio increasing in value by about 50% - who = woulda thought? Whaadda deal!</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>Terry Farrell</DIV> <DIV>(Still stewing a tad I guess.)</DIV> <DIV> <SPAN id=__#Ath#SignaturePos__></SPAN> </DIV> <DIV>----- Original Message ----- <DIV>From: "Classic Touch Ent" <<A href="mailto:classictouchent@comcast.net">classictouchent@comcast.net</= A>></DIV> <DIV>To: "Pianotech" <<A href="mailto:pianotech@ptg.org">pianotech@ptg.org</A>></DIV> <DIV>Sent: Thursday, January 01, 1970 11:09 PM</DIV> <DIV>Subject: Re: market value</DIV></DIV> <DIV><BR></DIV>> Steinway also doesn't mention that a loaf of bread = (or practically <BR>> anything else for that matter) is now twice the = price it was ten years <BR>> ago. Has investing gotten so dicey that people = are now relying on piano <BR>> salespersons for investment strategies? Anyone = got this client's phone <BR>> #.<BR>> Maybe he could 'invest' in some = piano lessons!<BR>> <BR>> Rich Olmsted<BR>> <BR>> > In a = message dated 4/19/03 8:03:39 PM Central Daylight Time, <BR>> > <A href="mailto:mfarrel2@tampabay.rr.com">mfarrel2@tampabay.rr.com</A> writes:<BR>> ><BR>> > I was under the impression that = Steinways appreciated in value. What <BR>> > did the D cost in 1970?<BR>> = ><BR>> > Terry Farrell<BR>> ><BR>> ><BR>> = ><BR>> > If you look at Steinway's web site, they say it is a good = investment, <BR>> > arguing that the value of a D, (or any model), bought now = is 2 times <BR>> > more than it cost 10 years ago. Well, that might = sound like they <BR>> > pianos appreciate in value, but if you look in the = Ascot Book from 10 <BR>> > years ago, and compare the MSRP of all the pianos = to what the MSRP's <BR>> > are now, and you'll discover that ALL pianos = are twice as expensive <BR>> > today as they were 10 years ago. It's a sales = ploy that quite frankly, <BR>> > as much as I like Steinways, stinks. = It is very misleading, and to <BR>> > some customers, very confusing = Case in point.<BR>> ><BR>> > About 3 years ago I was asked to = appraise a 10 year old S&S S for a <BR>> > customer. When I told him it was = wroth at most $20,000, he was <BR>> > shocked. He had bought it 10 years = earlier for $20,000, and were <BR>> > selling new for about $36,000. He = was lead to believe by the salesman <BR>> > that Steinways appreciate 100 = percent in 10 years. So he plunked down <BR>> > $20,000, in the hopes of = doubling his money in 10 years. He was mad at <BR>> > me for telling him he = had been mislead.<BR>> ><BR>> > Wim<BR>> </BODY></HTML>