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Schaff Announces Purchase of Pianotek

  • 1.  Schaff Announces Purchase of Pianotek

    Posted 05-31-2023 09:08

    On May 30,2023, Schaff Piano Supply Company purchased the assets of Pianotek Supply Company.  We are currently relocating the inventory to our Lake Zurich facility and will be processing orders as quickly as possible.  Thank you for your patience during this time.  

    Sincerely,
    Robert Johnson
    President

    info@schaffpiano.com
    847-438-4556



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    Shawn Bruce
    Marketing Manager
    Piano Technicians Guild
    Kansas City KS
    (913) 276-5205
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  • 2.  RE: Schaff Announces Purchase of Pianotek

    Registered Piano Technician
    Posted 05-31-2023 09:36

    Well, that a bit of a relief!  Thanks for letting us know!

    Paul






  • 3.  RE: Schaff Announces Purchase of Pianotek

    Registered Piano Technician
    Posted 05-31-2023 09:57

    I hope Bob got the price he wanted for the company.  He has treated us very, very well.

    In terms of service, I have long regarded Schaff as a poor cousin compared to Pianotek.



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    William Truitt RPT
    Bridgewater NH
    (603) 744-2277
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  • 4.  RE: Schaff Announces Purchase of Pianotek

    Registered Piano Technician
    Posted 05-31-2023 09:58

    Good to know, thank you!



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    Tim Foster
    New Oxford PA
    (470) 231-6074
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  • 5.  RE: Schaff Announces Purchase of Pianotek

    Registered Piano Technician
    Posted 05-31-2023 10:03

    Ah, that explains it. Glad nothing bad happened! Please pass along my gratitude to the folks who worked at PianoTek. Their customer service was excellent. 



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    Benjamin Sanchez, RPT
    Piano Technician / Artisan
    (256) 947-9999
    www.professional-piano-services.com
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  • 6.  RE: Schaff Announces Purchase of Pianotek

    Posted 05-31-2023 15:07

    I will miss Pianotek's great customer service and how they would send out newsletter emails once a month.  They would spotlight a particular tool and would have a short video on how to use the tool.



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    Patrick Greene
    OWNER
    Knoxville TN
    (865) 384-6582
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  • 7.  RE: Schaff Announces Purchase of Pianotek

    Posted 05-31-2023 18:05

    It's a shame.  Pianotek will be missed.  My assumption is that the business environment for acoustic piano supply is shrinking just as the business model for sales of new acoustic pianos has also been shrinking.  I can't get hold of the 2022 sales numbers for acoustic pianos -- anyone know if sales have finally leveled off?

    Regards, Norman 



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    Norman Brickman
    Potomac Piano Service
    Potomac, Maryland
    potomacpiano@verizon.net
    https://potomacpiano.com
    (301) 983.9321
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  • 8.  RE: Schaff Announces Purchase of Pianotek

    Member
    Posted 05-31-2023 19:23

    Supply chain issues did not help anyone in this business. I always had a positive experience with Pianotek and purchased tools, parts, hammers, cleaning and lubricants. Prompt and great service . Oh yeah shipping costs had to have cut into business. They will be missed for sure. I got some great deals when they advertised in their newsletters



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    James Kelly
    Owner- Fur Elise Piano Service
    Pawleys Island SC
    (843) 325-4357
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  • 9.  RE: Schaff Announces Purchase of Pianotek

    Registered Piano Technician
    Posted 06-03-2023 12:36

    Fear not fellow technicians...I have had nothing but superb service from Schaff since 1977



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    Greg Junker RPT
    Greg Junker's Piano Shoppe, LLC
    Belleville IL
    (618) 971-9595
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  • 10.  RE: Schaff Announces Purchase of Pianotek

    Registered Piano Technician
    Posted 06-03-2023 21:59

    Just to be clear, I don't have anything against the folks at Schaff, not at all. I've had good experiences with them since getting into the business. I just loved the folks over at PianoTek and will miss them. 


    My hope in this is that Schaff brings on the best parts of PianoTek, not just their inventory. Things like awesome customer service, quick turnaround times for orders to get out the door, and an email newsletter highlighting certain products. None of these cost money, just the desire to do them. In my opinion, implementing these things could be what takes an already really good company to being a great company. 



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    Benjamin Sanchez, RPT
    Piano Technician / Artisan
    (256) 947-9999
    www.professional-piano-services.com
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  • 11.  RE: Schaff Announces Purchase of Pianotek

    Registered Piano Technician
    Posted 06-03-2023 22:08
    Benjamin

    You're right, good customer service won't cost any money. Personally I've always had great service from Schaff. I've been with them since I started in 1977, and before that, my dad was with them since he started in the business in 1958. So we've had a long history. 

    What might cost a little extra is a newsletter. That doesn't just appear by itself. They will have to hire someone who is technically knowledgeable, both IT and piano, to put it together.







  • 12.  RE: Schaff Announces Purchase of Pianotek

    Registered Piano Technician
    Posted 06-04-2023 11:04
    Ben,
    I agree completely. Schaff has served the industry well over the years but hasn't come close to the personal touch in service offered by the small companies like Pianotek, Brooks, Ltd., and Bolduc. Inventory is not the only thing that is valued.

    Regards,
    ~ jeannie

    Jeannie Grassi
    PTG Registered Piano Technician
    Bainbridge Island, WA
    206-842-3721
    grassipianos@gmail.com




  • 13.  RE: Schaff Announces Purchase of Pianotek

    Posted 06-05-2023 13:15

    Brooks LTD wishes everyone at Pianotech ease, simplicity and joy in their retirement.  We have worked closely with Bob, Mark and Jane for years and they have been not only a great support system for us but friends, as well.  We look forward to servicing interested clients with a personal touch in your action rebuilding and product needs. If you have questions, we have answers: 800-326-2440   you can check us out at Brooksltdonline.com



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    Melanie Brooks
    Brooks, Ltd. Piano Products LLC
    Uncasville CT
    (860) 848-6605
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  • 14.  RE: Schaff Announces Purchase of Pianotek

    Registered Piano Technician
    Posted 06-04-2023 21:45

    The irony is that as much as we are a niche corner of the economy and we enjoy our local, small business suppliers, what we see here is the same trend now at large in the country: small business disappearing and markets are consolidated into fewer and fewer choices. Not that we should feel at the mercy of Schaff, but still, it is the only one of that size. Our niche trade is not immune from the economic forces which drive companies to buy out their smaller competitors.



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    William Ballard RPT
    WBPS
    Saxtons River VT
    802-869-9107

    "Our lives contain a thousand springs
    and dies if one be gone
    Strange that a harp of a thousand strings
    should keep in tune so long."
    ...........Dr. Watts, "The Continental Harmony,1774
    +++++++++++++++++++++
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  • 15.  RE: Schaff Announces Purchase of Pianotek

    Registered Piano Technician
    Posted 06-04-2023 23:28

    I don't know, but maybe they just wanted to retire. They clearly had a lot of equity as evidenced by all of the affection expressed above. Hopefully they sold that to Schaff for a tidy sum. They've been working 50 weeks a year, in Michigan, maybe they want to fly south every once in a while.

    Also, there are in fact, quite a few smaller and niche suppliers, look around, I can think of more than a half dozen off the top of my head, some are relatively new businesses. 



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    Steven Rosenthal RPT
    Honolulu HI
    (808) 521-7129
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  • 16.  RE: Schaff Announces Purchase of Pianotek

    Registered Piano Technician
    Posted 06-05-2023 01:35

    According to my brief communication with them they just wanted to retire, nothing nefarious-or health driven. I'm sorry to see then go but I'm glad that Schaff is picking up their inventory and hopefully some of there more unique products. I got to know some of the folks at Schaff back in the 70s when I was learning the trade and they were in Chicago not far from where I lived at the time They are a great help to me then and continue to provide excellent service. Glad they are still here and hope they remain. 



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    David Love RPT
    www.davidlovepianos.com
    davidlovepianos@comcast.net
    415 407 8320
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  • 17.  RE: Schaff Announces Purchase of Pianotek

    Registered Piano Technician
    Posted 06-05-2023 09:27

    I didn't mean to imply that Piantek's demise was because of a financial emergency. They've provided great services and materials over the decades, and the folks involve richly deserve this retirement. The same goes for Schaff, another stellar provider. There's nothing predatory about their absorbing Pianotek. They are the people who make Jane Mark, and Bob's retirement possible. 

    And there are plenty of other vendors, medium and small size who still thrive, Brooks LTD and PianoForte Supply being two excellent examples. (…and that doesn't include the online drop-shippers.)

    Bottom line, Pianotek's arrangement with Schaff is a happy sign of a heathly piano repairing/rebuilding community.



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    William Ballard RPT
    WBPS
    Saxtons River VT
    802-869-9107

    "Our lives contain a thousand springs
    and dies if one be gone
    Strange that a harp of a thousand strings
    should keep in tune so long."
    ...........Dr. Watts, "The Continental Harmony,1774
    +++++++++++++++++++++
    ------------------------------



  • 18.  RE: Schaff Announces Purchase of Pianotek

    Registered Piano Technician
    Posted 06-05-2023 23:03

    Bill,

    Jurgen sold Pianoforte Supply to Dale Erwin. He seems to have dropped quite a few items.  



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    Fred Sturm
    University of New Mexico
    fssturm@unm.edu
    http://fredsturm.net
    http://www.artoftuning.com
    "We either make ourselves happy or miserable. The amount of work is the same." - Carlos Casteneda
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