---------------------- multipart/alternative attachment =20 In a message dated 1/9/2005 5:03:48 A.M. Pacific Standard Time,=20 antares@euronet.nl writes: Dear colleagues, Usually, original piano parts - and especially coming from the high end=20 market - are not just expensive, but often outrageously expensive,=20 caused by power, false pride, arrogance and calculated greed, only=20 because the name is "RR or Bentley" etc. At the same time these parts can only be obtained through the 'official=20 channels', meaning that the distributors are the only ones to have full=20 access to these parts. Very often, ordered parts are not immediately available so the dealer,=20 the tech, and the customer have to wait a very long time and by the=20 time the ordered parts finally come into the hands of the technician, =20 they are worth almost gold and thus the prices for repairs have to go =20 sky high as well. A bottle neck in the availability of parts is most often the fact that=20 those same parts are not made in the piano factories but by a=20 independent parts manufacturers, who, also usually, are not at liberty=20 to sell RR and Bentley parts straight to the dealers or independent=20 technicians. Very often those supply houses (but not all mind you) do=20 not have the full knowledge and expertise about the products they sell=20 because they are not technicians themselves. That means that less=20 demanding technicians may be fairly content with what they get, but=20 more demanding technicians are quite often not satisfied with the =20 quality the stuff they ordered because their customers are usual more =20 critical, aside from the long waiting time and the high price they have =20 to pay, a price often ridiculously overrated if we think about what it =20 actually is we hold in our hands : a few small pieces of wood, felt, =20 cloth and metal. Don't get me wrong... a well manufactured wippen, or=20 a high quality piano hammer for instance is a product of decades of =20 development, accurately treated wood and the investment of lots of =20 capital to design, make, and maintain precision machines. However, once =20 the machines do well, they spew out millions of pieces and the products =20 can be sold to the manufacturers of piano's for a decent price, =20 agreeable to both. Once the piano factories start selling their parts=20 to wholesalers, piano parts houses, the price has doubled and by the =20 time we get them in our paws, prices may have doubled again. This is a =20 normal commercial procedure and there is nothing against it, except =20 that in some cases prices get out of hand so much that it becomes =20 ridiculous, and a pain to both the dealer/technician and especially the =20 customer. That is the moment where, when those factories have lost =20 their reasonableness by asking too much, they start to dig their own =20 graves. I personally have come to the conclusion that in the case where both=20 price and availability of piano parts become hilarious, it is high time=20 to do something about it by finding alternatives, and good ones i.e. =20 far less expensive, and with much better service. In certain cases it=20 is possible to find channels outside the main stream of suppliers, in =20 other cases we can try to use our ingenuity and brain power, and find =20 new small places where some parts can be copied, always cheaper, not =20 always the same or better. In the latter case we must be patient and invest a lot of time with the=20 new manufacturer(s) in order to both come to a point where the level=20 and quality of the parts becomes agreeable and satisfactory. I have tried this and I know it is possible and in finding these parts=20 our colleagues can profit from the new and less expensive findings. In=20 some cases it is - not yet - possible to get satisfying alternatives=20 but that is the more a reason to grin and be smarter. In the case of Yamaha, I don't find their prices too high and the=20 quality of their products is always tip top. In some parts of the=20 World there has been developed a policy where it is hard to get their =20 (Yamaha) parts, but in other parts it is no problem at all. In my =20 opinion that has to do with the suppliers, who often have a say in what =20 they sell. Talking about it almost always helps and patience and =20 diplomacy are usually the way to progress. If it is clear that talking, patience and diplomacy will not help, we=20 are forced to dig in and use our ingenuity. That in itself can be very very inspiring! I know........ (: >))) friendly greetings from Andr=E9 Oorebeek Vita Dura Est ---------------------- multipart/alternative attachment An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: https://www.moypiano.com/ptg/pianotech.php/attachments/f0/de/a9/6b/attachment.htm ---------------------- multipart/alternative attachment--
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