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Fathertopianist,
I fully agree that the internet will co- exhist with B&M shops, and that those last will continue to sell the boesendorfer & Co.

If you make a parallel with amazon, one orders the new book there, but most books of antiquarian value are still sold in traditional shops.

On the other hand, for the lower sector of the market the internet is certainly an alternative and attractive way of distribution.

If, say, a shop like Amazon would start selling pianos (say, a limited range of honest lower end pianos to a good price), the barrier would be immediately lowered for a lot of existing amazon clients and some of them would well decide to "give it a try" trusting the excellent track record and service of a shop like Amazon.

Again, I think that one can do good business on the internet, if the clients have a high degree of trust in his firm.

Guess what? Frank and I got some moderator reports on Terry's post above. They felt that the post was self-promoting.

NOT.

After 7 pages of editorializing on Terry's business I think he has all the right in the world to respond.

We now return you to our regularly scheduled program.

Ken

I wholly agree, Ken. It is fine to take a strong position on something, but one has to be fair. Terry has been barraged by questions and skepticism about his business model, including by me.

You can't beat on the guy and then tell him he can't defend himself.

OK, it seems to me that the focus of this entire thread has been the wait time involved in buying a piano online from PSS. If you can “take a cold tater and wait” (Little Jimmy Dickens ), then buying a piano from PSS is ideal and can save you a lot of $.

Terry, you can use this thread to improve your business; if you can speed up the delivery time you will get more customers.

Best regards,

Rickster

Innominato: have you checked Amazon(USA) lately
I don't know what a Rawlings piano is but its a 6'1 for $11,495.00..of course I don't know what guaratees Amazon connection provides..but there it is..in B&W..

Yes I know Michael and I will be glad to respond, but before that you asserted that my claim about a BBB report was untrue. I then asked you how confident you were with this assertion. I am willing to put up a free upright piano to be donated to PW in which you replied with a dismissing comment about trusting me. I am not asking you to trust me. The file report with the BBB that is given to both parties within a claim will verify whether the story is true or not.

Therefore I believe I still have an unanswered question on the table. It's easy to speculate, malign, and cast aspersions on someone when it doesn't cost you anything. Now the honorable thing to do would be either to back away from the statement if you are not that confident in it, or back it up. What would you say if a mob chased you around a public forum asking you what color of shirt you ware when you beat your wife? :rolleyes:

Can someone sum up these 8+ pages for me in 25 words or less?

Okay,

Terry's customers will save money, but they may have to wait awhile for their pianos.

There you have it, and only 15 words. I must be a literary icon or sumpthin'.

Mr Wilson

Demonstrate your turning over a new leaf by taking down these two sites:

www.thepianoguide.com
making fun of dealers

www.pianosuperstore.us/piano_brands_store.html
reference to "cheap" pianos

"Terry's customers will save money, but they may have to wait awhile for their pianos." Summed up well

Terry's fans put on powdered wigs and red waistcoats. When they attack, they fire their muskets into their feet. Terry surveys the battlefield and gloats.

That's exactly 25.

Mr. Terry Wilson--

I am appalled by your your so-called PianoGuide and its unfavorable depiction of one of your biggest fans chomping a cigar and clutching a wad of bills. It is nefarious and reprehensible and constitutes a gross misjustice.

For the sake of fairness and balance please show him shining his many, many, many BBB trophies and Rotarian plaques.


Hoaglie

I stated that I find it hard to believe, that it had many facets that cause me to doubt it then and now. I did not state that it was untrue, only that I doubted it.

As far as your bluster in challenging me on a bet, you know as well as I that is a schoolyard bully's tactic and will not profit you. You can call a tune if you wish, but don't expect me to dance to it.

But the fact of the matter is I am not making public claims about my business that seem contradictory. I thought I might give you the opportunity to address it. If you choose not to answer them, that is your privelege and I will draw my own conclusions.

I am flabbergasted. I followed the links in ASOP's post above, and am completely floored. The second link, to a site in pianosuperstore.com, says that PSS "offers" a long list of brands, including Steinway and Schimmel, but that the "absolute best piano we carry is the Ellenburg piano." There are a couple of ways in which this statement could be true.

1. Terry Wilson believes that Ellenburg pianos are better than Steinways. It is possible that he really believes this (although the assertion sounds like one of fact and not opinion in his writeup). I am not a Steinway fan, but they are capable of being great pianos, and I find this belief remarkable. On the other hand, "best piano" might mean "best piano for the money;" if so, perhaps a need for greater clarity might be indicated.

2. Terry Wilson says that he "offers" Steinways, but he "carries" Ellenburgs. This could mean that he can get Steinways (maybe), but that he has plenty of Ellenburgs on hand. I find this the more likely explanation, but also the more disingenuous one. He makes it sound as though he is an authorized Steinway dealer.

Anyway, just as a matter of credibility, this seems analogous to the dealer who bashed any brands other than the ones that he or she carries. When I was piano shopping, I ran into one dealer in particular who did this, and I did not return to that store.

I do not intend to start a new session of bashing here, although I have to admit to curiosity about the questions to PSS that remain unanswered, but I had not read the material cited above before. And as I said, I was flabbergasted.

If the 8 pages of the this thread, however long and tortuous, cause customers to be more careful about the explicit provisions in contracts of sale relating to pianos, or indeed anything else, it will be worth it. Much of the content above had nothing to do with PSS specifically, and everything to do with encouraging consumers to think ahead. And let's face it--wandering from the original topic is not exactly unprecedented in this forum (or any other).

That's a more benign summary than I would have offered. How about:

PSS customers pay in full, in advance, for a piano with no upper limit for a delivery date, and Terry's "100% satisfaction guarantee" is laughable.

That's 25 words exactly.

I am button challenged today. Sorry. No more scotch for breakfast.

I don't know anything about those sites (and don't really care). But I would like to say this:

No one who hides behind a cloak of anonymity, and refuses to disclose his name, profession or even what part of the USA he is in, has any business demanding that anyone else "demonstrate" anything.

Geez, I am flabbergasted as well. Flabbergasted with these continual attacks on PSS. My gosh folks, take a break unless you have some facts to share. It is quite obvious that a lot of people see PSS as a threat to their way of life. This is a good thing for consumers.

This sounds like a political commercial, you know, what is the meaning of the word "is," and what is the meaning of this word and the meaning of that word. I say we either need to put forth some new facts or back off. I also think Terry had every right to challenge Michael. Michael all but called him a liar. Yes Michael, I know you didn't say the word liar but when an example was given and you outright say, "I find that hard to believe," then you are in effect calling the guy a liar. I am not sure what bone you have to pick with Terry but gee wiz take it offline.

IMO Terry has more than explained and defended his policies and practices. If he wants to maintain them as they are fine, if he wants to change them fine. But we are bordering on libel here folks so we need to be careful. It is OK to state facts as you know them but to insinuate or make outright false claims is illegal. And remember, public forums are also public records acceptable in court. If I were Terry I would be bordering on calling my lawyer and sending out a few cease and desist letters. This is getting ridiculous. The OP is getting a refund which is more than generous. I encourage the moderators to close this thread.

On the other hand, if we are opening up this thread to analyze and attack business practices, then I feel it is only fair we do so for brick and mortar stores as well. I'll tell you, I have shopped in several of them and I have seen plenty of practices worth discussing - like the "buy it today and I'll give you a 100% trade-in" policy. I'll be happy to become a secret shopper and do some research and report back with names and details if we want to take it there.

Moderators, please close this thread.

You may know physics, but you're not much of a history buff.

I'll take a 7ft Ellenburg any day..over a Steinway
and pocket the rest.