Greetings! I am Brian
Henselman, a registered technician who maintains a small collection of high
quality pre-owned pianos for resale. My wife, Jeannie, and I also teach piano
lessons.
WHY DO WE SELL PIANOS?
It is simply the most efficient
way for me to help clients find premium pre-owned pianos. As both a commercial
piano technician and a respected piano teacher, I am frequently asked to help
Austin families select and evaluate pianos.
Most first-time
piano buyers seek professional guidance in their quest for a preferable type, price, and brand
of used piano. They then search for this "ideal"
piano and if located, they call a technician like me to inspect or
"lemon bust" it. However, this
traditional technique of locating your own piano and then hiring a technician to inspect it has many limitations.
WHY SHOULDN'T CLIENTS JUST BUY A USED PIANO FROM A PRIVATE SELLER?
Most first-time buyers don't
how to locate good used pianos or how to evaluate and pre-inspect a piano once
a good candidate is located. Another problem that novice piano buyers face is
the fact that most private piano owners/sellers don't have a group of pianos
assembled for side-by-side comparison.
Although it is
very
wise to hire a technician to guide you and inspect a piano before purchase,
this technician rarely gets to see the piano for more than 30 minutes before
rendering his decision. Then, if a privately owned piano passes a technical
inspection (which costs the buyer money), the buyers then has to purchase the
piano "speculatively" without a warranty, hoping that their
technician can later correct any detected problems to their satisfaction. The
buyer then has to pay to have the piano moved, tuned, repaired, and/or
optimized after it is delivered.
WHY SHOULD BUYERS RELY ON MUSICMASTERS?
It's easier, and we guarantee
our pianos. Because most buyers don't have the time or skill necessary to
locate and evaluate used pianos, we simplify the process by buying a few
quality pre-owned pianos and carefully optimizimg them for our clients. This
circumvents those pitfalls most often encountered by first-time used piano
buyers. Also, the final cost of a fully optimized
MusicMasters
piano is comparable to a traditionally purchased privately owned piano, except
our customers pay nothing for the piano until it passes their final approval
after
optimization is complete.
WHAT PITFALLS SHOULD BUYERS AVOID WHEN BUYING A USED PIANO?
Pianos are rarely found in
optimal condition. Even good quality brand new pianos have seemingly minor
defects that if left uncorrected will eventually lead to premature parts
failure requiring repair or replacement. New piano owners are surprised to
discover that many new pianos are barely completed at the factory, and that
most are poorly prepped (finished) in retail piano stores. Even perfectly
assembled and meticulously prepped new pianos contain parts that will soon
require readjustment as they break in. Because a majority of new piano owners
fail to regularly tune, let alone properly maintain their pianos, even high
quality pianos will begin to deteriorate rapidly once they are played
regularly.
WHY OPTIMIZE A USED PIANO?
There are many local used
pianos that are not currently playing well or are beginning to deteriorate
rapidly. Although they may not perform well for the original owner, if located
and purchased early enough, many of these instruments can be tremendously
improved and fully optimized by a qualified piano technician.
IS IT COST EFFECTIVE TO OPTIMIZE A USED PIANO?
Absolutely. A properly
optimized used piano typically costs less than half of an equivilent new piano.
Another bonus is the fact that many of the finest piano brands and models are
no longer manufactured.
CAN ANY USED PIANO BE OPTIMIZED FOR RESALE?
Unfortunately optimizing isn't
viable for every used piano. To insure their value to my clients, each
instrument for sale at
MusicMasters
is personally selected by me. When evaluating these instruments, I look at
cosmetic condition, wear, design, brand-name, touch response, and tone. If a
piano isn't excessively worn, or damaged, and it was designed and built well by
a good company, I can fully optimize it with a pitch-stabilization, tuning, a
first class comprehensive action regulation, and custom voicing.
WHAT KIND OF PIANOS DOES MUSICMASTERS SELL?
To maintain a stock of high
quality yet affordable used pianos, I regularly search for local pianos that
were made by reputable companies but were initially performing below their
potential. I prefer to buy original-owner (non-smoker) instruments that have
very little wear. I typically purchase domestic consoles or better that are
less than 40 years old, that often look and play like new.
Because they have a proven
track record, I regularly pay a premium to purchase local pianos that I have
regularly serviced before. I also import high-end late-model Japanese pianos.
However, because these are such premium imported pianos, their high wholesale
prices command a substantially higher resale price.
WHAT KIND OF USED PIANOS SHOULD BE AVOIDED?
Because of their inferior
design and poor construction, I do not buy or resell any low-end spinet-type
pianos, even if they are nearly new. I also do not buy or resell older antique
upright/vertical or grand pianos.
Also, please note that I
rarely
accept trade-ins. I have found that if someone doesn't want their current
piano anymore, and trades it in toward a better piano, then there's usually
something wrong with their old piano or they wouldn't be trading it in.
WHAT ARE SOME OTHER LOCAL USED PIANO SOURCES?
I usually don't recommend
looking for the "cheapest" piano available, even if it's from a
dealership. Some resellers are piano "brokers" who will find a cheap
piano in questionable condition and clean it up for quick resale. Claims like,
"The lowest prices in Texas," etc. typically indicates this type of
business. Also, beware that brokers often add
hidden
charges for items normally included such as local delivery and/or a matching
bench.
Even full retail piano
dealerships, (stores that mark up pianos to twice their wholesale cost), often
do little to properly optimize a piano. Just like piano brokers, most retail
dealerships typically only clean up used pianos cosmetically, quickly tuning
them to their prevailing pitch, and at best repair or adjust only those parts
that are glaringly malfunctioning.
WHY IS YOUR WARRANTY ONLY ONE-YEAR?
A warranty from a dealership is
only as good as the dealership that offers it. Ironically, it is those
dealerships that often charge the most and offer the longest warranty,
sometimes up to 5 years, that often do the least to correctly regulate,
recondition, repair, or rebuild a piano prior to it's resale. If
they
don't adequately prepare a piano for resale in the first place, is it likely
that they will honor their warranty in any meaningful way after the sale?
All of my pianos are fully
optimized by me prior to sale. They also include a bench, a one-year warranty,
normal local delivery, and a concert A-440 aural on-site tuning by me after
delivery. Unlike other dealerships, I do not farm-out my responsibilities to
the "lowest bidder."
HOW DO YOUR PRICES COMPARE?
My prices are generally the
same or slightly higher than a wholesale piano "broker" and are often
up to 20% less than a retail dealership. I sell my pianos for less than full
retail because, unlike typical piano dealers, I do
not
have a commissioned sales staff, or pay referral commissions for piano
teachers, and/or finders fees to piano technicians who recommend my pianos.
Yes, other dealerships bribe teachers and technicians for their referals. Make
sure that your technician or teacher is
not
expecting one from me.
DO YOU ALLOW INSPECTIONS OF YOUR PIANOS?
YES. I gladly welcome piano
inspections and personally recommend having any piano thoroughly inspected by
an impartial qualified technician (RPT), prior to sale.
WHAT ARE THE TERMS OF YOUR WARRANTY?
All of my pianos are warranteed
by me to function properly and be trouble-free for 1 year after their purchase.
I will personally repair or replace any parts as needed which fail due to
defect during this period. If a piano should develop an uncorrectable defect
during this one-year period that I am unable to satisfactorily remedy, then I
will buy this instrument back for the original purchase price.
Exceptions: Normal wear and
maintenance, i.e. tuning is not warranteed. Because I perform all warranty
work, this is a local, Austin-Area only warranty. Abuse, improper use, or
improper maintenance invalidates any warranties implied or expressed.
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