After passing by the Carnes Piano right next to our house last night, we decided to head there today to check out their selection of pianos. It turns out that this store is the Carnes Piano Store while the store we visited yesterday in Palo Alto is the Carnes Piano Company. Although the two stores are affiliated with each other (I didn’t get the details on exactly how they’re affiliated), they are not the same company and are not part of the same chain.

The owner took us around and Judy tried a bunch of different baby grands. There was one that wasn’t too bad (forgot the brand, Hazelton something???) and it was on sale for $5K. The owner actually discouraged us from getting this piano because he thought that Judy was too accomplished a pianist for this class of piano. The main issue in his mind was that this particular piano was made in China and he didn’t feel that the build quality of pianos made in China were as up to par as say, a Kawai which is made in Japan. In addition, Kawais are much more highly regarded and will also hold their value better.

Judy tried one of the Kawai baby grands that was originally $15+K, was marked down to $9,800, and was further marked down to $8,888. Was that yet another sign? The number 8 is considered by the Chinese to be a lucky number. Hmmm…

After some negotiating, the owner offered us the piano for $8,888, including tax and shipping, while also allowing us to use a credit card (which is another 1% savings with the REI card). Judy liked the piano a lot and felt it had good sound, especially in the bass ranges, and a very responsive feel. It’s a really big purchase, but it’s something that will hold its value over time, and if you amortize the cost over a lifetime, it really isn’t that expensive. My feeling was that it was a worthwhile investment so long as it would be used. I think Judy will definitely get good use out of it.

I’m not sure I believe in signs, but I’ve got to admit that there did seem to be a timely string of coincidences that, if taken as signs, seemed to indicate that a purchase was the right thing to do. The first sign was that Judy even saw the ad in the paper at all. I rarely read the paper and Judy reads it even less than me. The second was the fortune cookie. If it was a mere coincidence, it was certainly quite timely! The third was noticing the piano store very close to our house of the same name as the one we had checked out the previous day. And the fourth was that the sale, sale price was $8,888.

Whether or not the signs were there or not, a purchase seemed the right thing to do. Judy plunked the total down on her REI card. The total charge? $8,888.88.

Amazingly enough, they were able to deliver the piano within two hours of Judy buying it. As I type this blog entry, Judy is enthusiastically hammering away on her new toy. Perhaps the final sign? It fits perfectly in our living room. Here’s some pics Judy’s new baby grand.

Posted by Roger at 8:17 pm.