New K. Kawai RX3 BLK vs Yamaha

[pianosearch]

I am a parent looking to purchase a new ~6' piano.  Have looked at Yamahas (C3) and Kawais (RX3) and can honestly say I am confused - what is the real difference?  I am seeing much variety in price and am confused on what really is a fair price for a piano.

I live in the Chicago area and am not adverse going to MI, WI, IN for a piano but was wondering if someone could provide suggestions of fair price or locations that would provide a bottom line fair price.

[keys60]

The RX Kawais and the C series Yamahas are both excellent pianos.
The Kawai uses poly (plastic) action parts that would be less impervious to moisture and temp changes. (yea....so what). So really, the difference is what you think of each. And play a few of each in the showrooms if they have a good supply available.
As for price, markup on a new piano is about 300%. I guess understandably so. Really; how many pianos are there on the block as opposed to 2.5 cars in each driveway.
Dealers lie. Maybe not all, but enough. I've seen 3 different "list prices" on my Charles Walter ranging from $8500. to $11,000.
I got it for 5400. Big difference from list price, huh?
Take the lower list price and offer 25-30% off. Be prepared to haggle and walk out if you need to.
Just don't let your emotions get the best of you.
I'm not sure of what the "list price" of either 6 footer you're looking at since I'm not in the market, but if you get a lot of replies, I''m willing to bet the "fair" prices will vary a lot.

[asianpianoer]

yeah well i need to buy a rx2
and the markup in aus is$35,000
but i have been offered $25000 and they can do $23000 if you push them

[quantum]

Both the C3 and RX3 were on my research list when searching out a piano.  They are both in the same league.  Build quality for both are very good.  The difference boils down to sound and touch.  You need to play them in order to spot the differences. 

Are you buying this for your child?  Ask your child to play both, see what they think.  Ask your piano teacher, or another accomplished pianist to play and give their opinion. 

You may wish to seek out the M3 action if looking at the Kawai, it is much improved over the previous technology. 

A lot of times pianos will go for less than the list price. Search around, find competitive prices, be prepared to haggle a lot.  Be prepared to walk out if the price doesn't seem right.  It is very hard to walk out when you are playing such a beautiful instrument, but keep yourself in check. 

Is it really necessary that you buy new?  You could have significant savings buy getting a gently used piano.  The plus side is such instruments have already been broken in.  A new instrument would need a breaking in period before things start to settle, and you can further refine the voicing. 


I ended up getting a 20 year old C3, and absolutely love it. 

[riskarb]

As for price, markup on a new piano is about 300%.

300%?  Are you serious?!?!

Wow. I always thought mark-ups would be in the 15-20% area (in line with luxury vehicles).

Having carefully reviewed prices for the same model in different countries (I travel alot for work), I've noticed that Yamaha and Steinway dealers in small-medium sized cities have de facto monopolies and seem to price fix...... a Yamaha S6 in a competitive market (e.g., New York, Frankfurt, Hong Kong) seems to have a 20% retail margin.

In less competitive markets (Jakarta, Vancouver), I've seen the same piano with a 40-50% margin built in.

The margins in digital pianos are even more ridiculous.

I bought a Yamaha CVP-509 for US$6,300 in Hong Kong pre-tax. The SAME piano from the SAME retailer in Vancouver costs $8,500.... there's no import duties so I presume this is either: 1) collusion; or 2) mark-ups due to the fact I have to pay for the music PhDs working as sales staff in North America.

Like Sony and Ferrari, Yamaha should start owning their own retail outlets to avoid these shenanigans.

[keys60]

Yea. i'm serious. I had a huge Steinway dealer open up near by on Long Island, NY. They needed to sell one piano per month to make the rent. They closed down in no time. Pianos just don't fly off the shelf and in recent years, Steinway has sold less pianos than ever. Think about it. One piano to pay 20K per month rent and they still closed down. Doesn't seem like they were turning much of a profit.
3-4 piano per month and they would have been ecstatic.
If it weren't for schools and institutions, they'd go bust.
A. There are so many preowned around. B. There are a lot of techs rebuilding them as well as Steinway does and selling them a lot cheaper. They wanted 40K for an M at Steinway, a good rebuild can run from 25 to low 30's here in NY from an independent dealer.
So you see, they have to mark them way up just to stay alive, but that still leaves some room for the consumer to play with.
They will not take a 20% profit unless they were totally desperate.