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Turandot: I just left the industry for a while, as of October.
But I can at least state a little truth here about what a lot of consumers have encountered across the country with not only Jacob's but other powerful dealers. It's up to the consumer, I think, to decide what's fair, but as you state, you should be able to buy whatever product you want at a dealer which officially sells it.

I understand that if consumer interest declines, there will be consolidation. I understand that with declining interest come falling margins as well. I understand that in that situation there may well be a feeling of security and margin protection taking up residence with powerful operations like Jacobs and Kitt's.

It's just my personal opinion that Yamaha pianos should not take a back seat to anyone, including Steinway. in their representation.

I highly recommend Cunningham Piano Company. Based on my personal experience, they are absolutely reliable, and will make sure you are delighted with your purchase. Their post-purchase service is superb!

I cannot recommend them strongly enough. In addition to their many other wonderful attributes, they never trash other brands or dealers. It is my view that a customer should flee from any dealer who tries to push his or her product onto a customer by trashing the competition.

Finally, as was already stated on this thread, Essex and Boston pianos are not Steinways.

Consolidation in the piano business in the last few years is an understatement. I live in Houston, the fourth largest city in the US and we have way less than half of the major brands even sold here anymore. I had to go to Dallas just to see a Hailun. It's not hard to see how consolidation makes strange bedfellows, I wish there was some more consolidation or something going on here so we could see what products are out there today.

Wow! I really appreciate everyone's feedback! After reading through the replies, I feel a little clarification is in order. My original post was by no means meant to be a negative review of Jacob's Music or its sales practices. My wife and I were in fact very satisfied with our experience there. Only when I began doing my due diligence did I come to find exactly how high the Yamaha moniker sat on the piano totem pole; the impression I left with placed Yamaha between Samick and Essex. My research however indicated otherwise. I think the clearest way I can explain this is that I know when I bought my Audis, no one EVER recommended the Volkswagens a few rows down.

On to Cunningham. My wife and I had an appointment today with Peter O'Connor. After taking their tour, we were left to our own devices to explore and play. The funny thing is that my wife and I independently fell in love with the same piano, a beautifully restored Steinway, I for its aesthetic qualities and her for its sound. Unfortunately, we would have to sell both our cars and perhaps our first born so it was quickly moved to our "if we won the lottery" list. We soon narrowed down our search to a few realistic choices and decided on a Cunningham 52" upright.

On the drive home we discussed the differences between our experiences at Jacob's and Cunningham. At Jacob's, we felt like we were being sold on the Steinway sound. When we left, we were convinced we'd have a Boston in our home within the week. At Cunningham, we felt like we were being sold on the Cunningham Piano Company. When we left, we were convinced that it didn't matter what we bought from Cunningham. We haven't made up our minds yet but everyone at Jacob's, Cunningham, and here on PW has been so unbelievably helpful. I'm very impressed with the piano community here. As a motorcycle riding, car tuning, Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu instructor, I belong to and participate on a ton of other forums and this is by far the most cerebral.

I have to save that compliment. Hurray for us.

Cerebral???

That is really spooky.

How did you know what I had for breakfast????