Steinway

[Tom Servinsky]

Terry,
You are missing the point. How many products, useful daily products, have
you bought for home and personal enjoyment which have maintained it's
original cost or appreciated  in it's value? Any value!
The $45,00 Lexus 400, the $85 toaster, $900 kitchen table, or how about the
$28,000 22 ft I/O boat you just couldn't live without?  Very few items built
for this world economy can stand up to the Steinway legacy.  Definitely,not
a Story & Clark grand.
  I do know that if it weren't for Steinway pianos many rebuilders and
remanufactures would not be able to have the type of successful business as
they do. The Steinway piano, both used and new, has supported many
successful businesses for the past century.
  Everyone who plays the piano has been "brain washed" that Steinway is and
has always been the greatest piano institution ever built. It was designed
and built it right from the first day and have changed very little ever
since ( aside from the CBS years). There's ample proof Steinway has
withstood the test of time ( 2   world wars, great depression,etc) and has
continued to build a fine product.    Again, many can argue the down and
dirty truths of the "real" going's on, but the public's perception remains
dedicated to the notion that if you want value, buy a Steinway.
I'm not sure I follow your rationale about loosing $80,000 value, but in our
neck of the woods, unrestored Steinway grands sell as high, if not higher,
than a new Yamaha C3. Restored Steinways  sell for 50-60% above that. That's
not too shabby!
I think that what it "boils" down to is we are  debating trivial
philosophical explanations as to why the sell & resale market is what it is.
The costs of manufacturing new pianos is pretty cut and dry, as their costs
are driven by actual operating costs. The resale market, on the other hand,
is based upon other factors. Is the company still in business, are parts
still available for that model, bla bla bla. It's also driven by perception,
the thing  I think this debate is rooted in.
I get a kick out of watching the PBS antique auction channel. I love how
they come to the agreement on a particular item's worth.  It's purely hype
and perception that drives the collectable market, and Steinway is apart of
that market.
Tom Servinsky, RPT
----- Original Message -----
From: "Farrell" <mfarrel2@tampabay.rr.com>
To: <pianotech@ptg.org>
Sent: Sunday, July 29, 2001 7:44 AM
Subject: Re: Steinway


> Maybe the bottom line in my rant was that you take a Steinway that costs
> between $35,000 and $90,000 today (model M through D). Take the same model
> that is 70 or 80 years old, and it is worth $5,000 to $10,000. Take a
Story
> & Clark (or any other Brand X) that costs - how much - maybe priced like a
> Kawai or so - $15,000 for a six-foot black (oops - ebony!) grand. What
would
> a 75 year old Sorry lil' Cluck be worth today - maybe $2,000 (I realize
> zero, but you know as well as I that if the keys make some piano-related
> noise, someone will buy it - A Diamond in the Rough!). So which piano
holds
> its value better, one that looses $80,000 in value, or one that looses
> $13,000? Or let's stick with the six-foot example - one that looses
$40,000
> in value or one that looses $13,000? Don't get me wrong - I would rather
> play a Steinway for 75 years rather than the cheaper piano - but we are
> considering a money investment here, not how nice a piano plays or sounds
> (or at least the ones that sneak out of NY with non-reverse-crown
> soundboards).
>
> I think the point is that no piano is a good long-term investment of money
> with the intention to grow your money. So why advertise it as such? Unless
> of course you are willing to make a profit at any cost. It may well be a
> better investment than a porterhouse steak (in the long term), but
> advertisement of it being a quality investment of money is BS. I have
heard
> the story many times, and I know well that many, many folks read that junk
> and believe it. You can call them dumb, but just like Ed McMann, et. al.
> selling sweepstakes tickets to old folks that use their life savings to
> order $5,000 magazine subscriptions and then fly to Tampa to claim their
> non-existent winnings, it is just plain unethical. Just because an
> advertisement does not tell an outright lie, it is not necessarily
truthful.
> They are simply preying on folks that are not piano knowledgeable, and
that
> stinks.
>
> Terry Farrell
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Steve Grattan" <lostchordclinic@ameritech.net>
> To: <mfarrel2@tampabay.rr.com>
> Sent: Saturday, July 28, 2001 1:35 PM
> Subject: Steinway
>
>
> > Hi,  I looked up a new Steinway in the 1991 Ancott Directory and the B
was
> > $37,040.00 and the D was
> > 56,040.00.  Both are ebony prices.
> >
> > Steve Grattan, Associate
> > Lost Chord Clinic
> > 1602 Griswold Street
> > Port Huron, MI 48060
> > lostchordclinic@ameritech.net
> >
> >
>