Help!! How Can I Sell A Brand New Limited Edition Steinway?
Q: About 1 year ago, we purchased a brand new 200th Anniversary Limited Edition Steinway Tiffany L in African pommele. It has never left the store and has never been used; we were about to embark on some major remodeling so we left it in the store's warehouse for safekeeping. We now are in the unfortunate position of having to sell the piano; it could make the difference between keeping or losing our house. I've placed ads at both pianomart.com and pianoworld.com and also in our local paper (the Seattle Times). Unfortunately, I really haven't gotten any responses at all. The store will happily try to resell it for us at a whopping 40% commission; that's a bit too much to stomach at this point. Do you have any ideas as to how I might be successful at selling this piano for as high a price as possible? It truly is brand new and will be delivered from the store with its full warranty. I'm sure there's someone out there who would love a brand new Tiffany L; I just need to figure out how to find them.
A: I would be curious as to how much money you actually have given the store. Please don't tell me you paid cash in full and never took delivery of the piano. If so you really have no option other than to sell it. If that is the case, good luck! There's a similar piano on the floor in Kansas City that has been there over a year tagged at 90K with no buyer. A Steinway is enough of a niche piano without the "limited edition" tag. Anyway you look at it, you're going to get between 50% and 70% of the value of the piano in the best case scenario. If you owe a significant portion of the purchase price to someone there are always options. If you have the piano on layaway the dealer is pretty much going to have to live with what you've paid so far plus own the piano. That's your easiest way out if you have 10-15% equity or less - if that is the case just get your attorney to draft a letter that says you forfeit your layaway money and they can keep the piano - case closed. If you have more equity that that it will get hairy, but let your attorney work something out with the dealer that allows BOTH parties to win. (You give some, they give some). Keep in mind I think they are legally pretty much entitled to whatever you've already shelled out. If you have signed any sort of financing documentation that makes you the "owner" with a lien on the property then you will most likely have to consider talking to a bankruptcy lawyer. Personally if it were a choice between losing the house and considering the services of a bankruptcy lawyer I'd do the latter. Even if you don't actually declare here's where a little spent now can save you a bundle..... BENEFITS of letting the dealer know you're considering bankruptcy (provided you still owe a good chunk