What is the Wholesale Cost of these pianos?

[Roger]

Hello,
Does anybody know / understand what the dealers actually pay for a piano?

I am looking at Estonia, Petrof & Schimmel, at several dealers around the country.  I am getting some pretty good prices, compared to the retail price  (first quote), or compared to the piano bluebook, but I wonder how much room is actually in a piano.

I want the best / lowest price, but I do not want to sound strange, talking prices that are just plain "too low".  Edmunds did the consumer and the car dealers a BIG favor posting the dealer costs for cars.  This enabled the price shoppers to actually understand how much margin is in a car, which cuts to the chase, without all the hammering.

I would love to see this in the piano world...

What is the wholesale markup and what stores, in the USA and Canada offer the lowest prices to price shoppers?

Thanks for all feedback!

[hgiles]

Generally, wholesale is half of bluebook or Ancott.  Certainly no more than half.

6'4" Estonia and Petrofs on the street are about $22k

I think the Schimmel is considerably higher (not always better, however).

[Michele Felice]

Unfortunately pianos are not like cars, with predictable performance from one item of the same model to the next item.

Good piano dealers may put considerable resources into getting even high quality pianos into good shape. Such dealers will probably not sell at the lowest price. Accordingly, the dealer offering the lowest price will not be willing to provide you the service that you will need.

If you are concerned about how your prospective piano sounds and plays, and it seems as if you must be since you are interested in good quality instruments, you would do best to play the instrument you want to buy first. And to look to paying a reasonable price rather than the lowest possible.

If you buy a piano without experiencing it, you may find that you do not like it when you get it home. You may then find yourself paying a technician very well for making the perform in the way you want.

[c18cont]

Be aware that voicing is one of the most common complaints...Listen carefully and be sure you are pleased...from lowest to highest..

John Cont