<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD W3 HTML//EN"> <HTML> <HEAD> <META content=text/html;charset=iso-8859-1 = http-equiv=Content-Type> <META content='"MSHTML 4.72.3110.7"' name=GENERATOR> </HEAD> <BODY bgColor=#ffffff> <DIV><FONT color=#000000 size=2>Richard and list,</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT color=#000000 size=2></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT color=#000000 size=2>My point was that no organization is = going to have much impact on the laws of supply and demand. The market will weed = out the frauds and the poor quality. Sure, there will be some people burnt but = in _our_ democracy one has the right to waste your money just as much as another = has the right to sell you a lower quality anything for less money. Just look at = all the "made in China, or Taiwan or whatever, R.O.C." _junk_ that = we're being bombarded with from shoes to Christmas lights to.... By the way, my = "Made in China" Christmas lights carry a large tag indicating "UL Approved" AND, they don't work. My biggest frustration is not that = these low end products are on the market, but that due to ignorance on the = part of the general public people are buying this stuff and forcing the quality = goods off the market. I resent having to pay $260 for a good, Wisconsin made pair = of dress shoes, but I'll resent it more when there's a "PayLess" on = every corner and my calf skin leather soled metatarsal arched wing tips are no = more. There will always be people who demand quality and will pay the price = just as there will be the skinflints looking for anything with 88 keys - and the = keys don't even have to be intact. Those people don't read Consumer Reports = and have never heard of the PTG. My humble opinion is just that any effort to = engage _any_ group in rating, recommending, condeming, or otherwise placing = value on piano manufacturers will be a waste of time. The better mousetrap = builders will win in the end. I feel badly for those who waste their money on inferior = products, but the bottom line is that I didn't design it, I didn't build = it, I didn't buy it, the service call is 50 bucks plus mileage. Sorry, have a = nice day.</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT color=#000000 size=2></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT size=2>My caller I.D. unit from U.S. West, (a major = telephone service provider) was, I finally found out, blocking calls from reaching my = answering machine. Printed on the bottom was the phrase "Made in China". = You can guess where it is now. I cannot be arrogant enough to believe that I'm = the _only_ person on the planet that has discovered the recent barrage of = junk on the market, and rest assurred there is a new rule in _this_ house that = says made in China? - doesn't come off the store's shelf. We learn, and I for one = have faith in the rest of the people I share the planet with that the = "same old defeatism that's ruled the planet for 200 years" while annoying, = will continue to _through supply and demand_ govern our industry better than = any watch group can accomplish.</FONT></DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV><FONT color=#000000 size=2></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT color=#000000 size=2>Roy = Ulrich</FONT></DIV></BODY></HTML>