Steinway has been ambivalent about selling parts for some time now. They're expensive to produce and not very profitable to sell. Now that they've acquired Renner they have the added disincentive of competing with another division if they operate in close to the same price point.
In addition to those concerns is the uncertainty regarding the quality of the installation and the potential damage to the brand if the installer isn't doing good work. I've spent years listening to customers and technicians bitterly complaining that the instrument plays poorly and sounds bad "even though we used Genuine Steinway parts". The technician sells the customer on the idea that the work will be better because of the "Genuine" parts but lacks the expertise to do a credible job with them. The customer doesn't know how to evaluate their service provider but can tell that the job isn't satisfactory. Must be Steinway's fault. The customers frequently call the factory in New York looking for answers and that very rarely works out well from the company's perspective.
There is also a re-evaluation of the company's position regarding the secondary market in used and "restored" Steinways. The company has come to see this market (incorrectly in my opinion) as a net negative for the brand. In particular the idea that one can have a new Steinway in an old case for a fraction of the cost of a new one is troublesome. For the last 30 years or so the public has been sold on a price point of around $25,000 for a "restored" Steinway. This price point seems to be immune to time or the consumer price index. If the secondary market consisted of restorers who were getting 2/3 to 3/4 of the price of a new piano (as the best ones are these days) then I doubt that the company would have moved as aggressively to limit the availability of parts and decals. We had an opportunity 2 years ago to weigh in on these policies as a national trade organization but were too timid to do so.
As it stands the price for new parts will discourage their use by more casual restorers and if technicians don't want to pay the upcharge it's good for Chip Meyer and company. And for what it's worth Ray Negron makes a better hammer for most of my purposes anyway.
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Karl Roeder
Pompano Beach FL
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Original Message:
Sent: 01-20-2021 18:12
From: John Minor
Subject: Steinway Parts Price Increase?!
Has anyone been able to purchase action parts from Steinway recently? I just checked prices on their web site and see most items have nearly doubled since 1 year ago. Set of Pre-hung hammers for SML went from $1,726 to $3,123. Unbored SML hammers went from $651 to $1,253. Am I missing something here?
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John Minor
The Piano Shop Inc
Champaign IL
thepianoshopcu@gmail.com
www.thepianoshopcu.com
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