Piano Value Appreciation

[Farrell]

Be forewarned - an element of rant follows:

I am truly confused. The marketing department at Steinway and Sons have an
interesting web page that "explains" the investment value of their pianos.
It can be found at:

  http://www.steinway.com/html/showroom/invest.html

It seems they leave out a few details in their examples. I am simply trying
to understand what exactly they are saying. (Oh, OK, a little venting also!)

"According to Forbes, over the past ten years, the retail value of a
Steinway concert grand has appreciated nearly 200%."

What does THAT mean? The price of a D has doubled? What did a D cost in
1986? If I bought a new D in 1986 for $70,000 I should expect to get
$140,000 for the same piano in 1996? (I don't think so.) Would it be OK to
have played it over the last ten years? What on earth does this mean? I know
it is the American way to mislead, but is it OK to outright lie in Marketing
material?

"The fact is, the appreciation of Steinway pianos is even more impressive
when you look past the previous ten years - and take an historical look at
appreciation over the past few decades. The numbers are nothing less than
remarkable: Today, if the owner of a vintage Steinway grand decided to gauge
the value of his or her piano on the open market, it is likely that the
piano would command a price 4.3 times higher than the original retail cost."

The little chart provided indicates that a S&S made before 1900 is worth
13.6 times what it was worth when it was made. Are they just taking into
account inflation? Are they talking about values in real dollars? What did a
B cost in 1895? About $4,800? (I just divided $65,000 by 13.6) I would guess
that might be a bit high. Is this all they are pointing out - that there has
been inflation over the last 100 years? Or are they trying to say that a new
B bought in 1895 (let's see - salvage value for a B - let's be generous
here - $10,000 divided by 13.6 equals $735.29), used for 106 years only cost
$735.29 when new. That may be about right. Well big deal! What did a B (or
whatever model) cost at the turn-of-the-Century (the one before last).

"By way of comparison, a Steinway piano outperforms such symbols of luxury
as a Mercedes Benz."

What kind of crap is this? I own a Mercedes. It cost about $35,000 when it
was new in 1983. It has been lovingly care for. I am the second owner. It is
likely worth $5,000 now (might even be a tad less). La-dee-da. A Steinway is
a better investment than a Mercedes? Is this not akin to saying that a
loving marriage is better than a sharp stick in the eye?

Feeling a tad better - but I would appreciate any level of explanation from
someone - especially numbers.

Terry Farrell