Piano Value Appreciation

[Farrell]

Well, this is what I mean. Here is another way to look at it. Judy buys a
Steinway M in 1925 ($30,000 today - maybe $1,000 back then?). John buys a
Baldwin R in 1925 ($15,000 today - maybe $500 back then?). Both very nice
pianos, very musical, capable of satisfying most any professional. I don't
know what these pianos cost in 1925 (does anyone?????) - but likely OK to
presume the Baldwin cost 50% of what the Steinway cost. John takes an amount
equal to the cost of the Baldwin (now he has "invested" as much as Judy) and
puts it in the stock market. After 75 years, with normal maintenance, the
Steinway is worth $6,000 (salvage value of an all-original small S&S), and
the Baldwin is worth $3,000 (it still plays and is not beat up too awful
bad). (And this is not even considering the extra cost of Judy's technician
spraying magic potions and whatnot on her action year after year trying to
get the green goo out!) In the year 2000, does John have $3,000 worth of
stock in the market? Or maybe John could have spent the money putting his
daughter or son through college, bought a business, etc.

So, if you are one of the 98% of piano consumers that are not either a
skilled pianist or a piano technician (or even if you are one of them - the
nicest piano I service is a re-strung 1920s "R"), which piano do you think
would be a better "investment"? I'm quite sure, hands down, the Baldwin R.

You would think with all this steam coming out of my ears, my hearing would
be better.

Terry Farrell

----- Original Message -----
From: "Clyde Hollinger" <cedel@supernet.com>
To: <pianotech@ptg.org>
Sent: Friday, July 06, 2001 7:29 PM
Subject: Re: Piano Value Appreciation


> Terry,
>
> Maybe the Forbes quote would have been more accurate if it said, "the
retail
> price of a new Steinway concert grand is now 200% of what it was ten years
> ago."  I could believe that.
>
> For what it's worth:  A local school bought a new Steinway B (complete
with
> Teflon bushings) in 1979 for $11,000 (list price was $14,000).  The price
in the
> Fall-Winter 2000-2001 issue of the Ancott subscription puts the current
price at
> $53,900.
>
> As far as investments go, if one would have invested that $11,000 in the
stock
> market 22 years ago (in 1979) and averaged 10% increase per year, s/he
would now
> have $89,543 (taxes not figured in either example here).
>
> I can easily understand how one might buy a fine Steinway for its musical
> qualities.  I also believe that a new Steinway will hold its value better
than
> nearly all other new pianos.  But strictly as an investment, I would put
my
> money somewhere else.
>
> I'm glad you're feeling better.  <G>
>
> Regards,
> Clyde
>
> Farrell wrote:
>
> > 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
>
>
>