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<DIV>Again I state that the buyer should arrange for a remote (near the =
piano)
tech to inspect the piano. A reputable local tech could find another =
reputable
tech in the area of the piano, and pass that name on to the potential =
buyer. I'm
quite sure that between looking through the PTG directory, asking a few =
folks on
this list, and/or calling a few other techs, I would be able to pass on =
a
good recommendation for a remote tech in just about any location =
within the
USA/Canada. Although, I should think anyone would make this connection =
for the
potential buyer for no fee (I would - hey, it's marketing), I would not =
be
unreasonable to apply an hourly charge either.</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>Terry Farrell</DIV>
<DIV> <SPAN id=__#Ath#SignaturePos__></SPAN> </DIV>
<BLOCKQUOTE dir=ltr
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=diskladame@provide.net =
href="mailto:diskladame@provide.net">Z!
Reinhardt</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 11:20
PM</DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Subject:</B> Re: Are online "ebay" =
type
pianos a good idea?</DIV>
<DIV><BR></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Hi Lanie!</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2><EM>The following is an edited =
excerpt of
something I sent to a friend of mine privately.</EM></FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>I do have my suspicions about pianos =
appearing on
internet auction sites. Go ahead and call me a pessimist if you
must.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>My immediate thought was that this =
was something
the seller has found no room for in the resale market. =
By
auctioning it, the seller is hoping to get whatever might be possible =
for it,
and it may not be much.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Internet auctions give the sellers =
yet one more
blind to hide behind. They are free to talk about the
quality components and perhaps show beautiful pictures, but =
the
potential buyers are at the mercy of the information made available by =
the
seller without the benefit of having an up-close look for =
themselves.
One of my customers here in Michigan once located a "choice"
piano in California through the internet, then called me for an
opinion. I urged him to find a Registered Piano Technician =
there to
take a good look. It turned out the seller insisted they would =
arrange
for that, and promised that the findings would be "impartial." =
(I didn't
know about this arrangement until the report came in.) A few =
days later
the customer sent me a long fax of the tech's report. The more I =
studied
the report, the more suspicious it looked. Double whammy -- =
there was
enough subtle little stuff in there that when added together, the =
technician
was just as interested in selling it away as the seller was in =
making any
money from it ... and my customer had to pay for his services. =
My advice
was to scrap the whole deal and concentrate on finding something
locally. (A friend of mine came through with something he had
rebuilt.)</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Perhaps I was a little quick with the =
Delete
button, but didn't the Brambach in a very recent thread end up as an =
internet
auction item when the owner realized that very little could be done =
for it on
a sub-minimal budget? How many other pianos on these auction =
sites
represent last-ditch efforts to get money for something that is =
otherwise
clinically dead or "budgetarily challenged" to make serviceable
again?</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Z! Reinhardt RPT<BR>Ann =
Arbor
MI</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>(origianlly from Eastern =
Massachusetts)<BR><A
=
href="mailto:diskladame@provide.net">diskladame@provide.net</A></FONT><=
/DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </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=MoodyPiano@AOL.COM
href="mailto:MoodyPiano@AOL.COM">MoodyPiano@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 5:15
PM</DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Subject:</B> Are online "ebay" =
type pianos
a good idea?</DIV>
<DIV><BR></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=arial,helvetica><FONT size=2>As time goes on I =
am getting
more and more calls for piano moving for pianos that people are =
bidding on
via ebay and similar auction style sites. </FONT></FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=arial,helvetica><FONT =
size=2><<>><BR>Does anyone
have any feedback positive/negative on these types of transactions? =
My
initial feeling for the everyday consumer is that there are too many =
risks
involved with purchasing a piano like this and the opportunity isn't =
there
too get it evaluated by a technician. So my overall =
recommendation to
customers is "stay away from piano purchasing on ebay, etc." =
Does
anyone have any other thoughts or recommendations that they give to =
their
customers? <BR><BR>Thanks, Lanie
<BR><B>_________________________________________________ <BR>Moody =
Piano
& Organ <BR></B>Metro West Plaza (rear) <BR>796 Boston Post Road =
East
<BR>Marlborough, MA 01752 <BR><BR>Phone 508-877-2222 or 508-229-3601 =
• Fax
508-303-8996 <BR><A =
href="mailto:MoodyPiano@aol.com">MoodyPiano@aol.com</A>
• <A =
href="http://www.bushellcompanies.com">www.bushellcompanies.com</A>
</FONT></FONT></DIV></BLOCKQUOTE></BLOCKQUOTE></BODY></HTML>