Profit Margin Yamaha Grands

[resh...@my-dejanews.com]

I'm looking at a G2, very good condition, 1980, 2 pedals. Dealer wants about
10 grand for it. Since i don't know what he paid for it, how do I determine a
fair profit margin for him, when I want to make an offer? Bruce

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[Tom Shaw]

I dont see why you should worry about the dealers profit
margin...somebody may have given it to him. It is what it is worth to
you which is important.
TS

[pTooner]

resh...@my-dejanews.com wrote:

> I'm looking at a G2, very good condition, 1980, 2 pedals. Dealer wants about
> 10 grand for it. Since i don't know what he paid for it, how do I determine a
> fair profit margin for him, when I want to make an offer? Bruce

What a silly question! Is the dealer so inept or needy that you have to
determine a fair profit margin for him? If he can't do that himself, he isn't
long for this business. Is he your brother in law? I mean, why do you want to
perform this service for him? I'd say if he can't determine a fair profit margin
on his own, I'd suggest doing business elsewhere.

Gerry

[NSDuncan]

I sometimes get inventory and price lists of used Yamahas from several of the
importers of used pianos. Although I'm not absolutely current on the market
right now, if its about 1980 and in "A" condition I'd say he paid about $6,000
to $6500 for it.

Niles Duncan

[Dave Zappa]

resh...@my-dejanews.com wrote:
>
> I'm looking at a G2, very good condition, 1980, 2 pedals. Dealer wants about
> 10 grand for it. Since i don't know what he paid for it, how do I determine a
> fair profit margin for him, when I want to make an offer? Bruce

It's difficult to determine profit margins on used instruments only
because of the varied sources and prices paid to those sources for the
instrument. I'm guessing you're looking at a "grey market" piano which
was bought thru a wholesaler. I personally wouldn't buy such a piano,
but hey, it's your 10 grand. I'd think that the dealer has between 6
and 7 thousand wrapped up in this thing, so 10K is a pretty reasonable
price if that is the case, but as I say, with used instruments you never
know.

Speaking generally, a fair profit margin for you to pay is 42-45%.

Dave

--
Retail salesperson formerly representing Steinway, Boston, Yamaha,
Disklavier, Seiler,
Baldwin family, Kimball, Young Chang, Samick, Kohler & Campbell,
PianoDisc, Technics,
Suzuki, Viscount, Pianovelle, Denon, Roland & Clavinova. Support your
local
service-oriented dealer. Opinions expressed are my own and do not
necessarily reflect the
opinions of my employer.

To reply by e-mail please remove the "SPAMTHIS" from my address.

[resh...@my-dejanews.com]

In article <36025FC3...@qni.com>,

dza...@SPAMTHISqni.com wrote:
> resh...@my-dejanews.com wrote:
> >
> > I'm looking at a G2, very good condition, 1980, 2 pedals. Dealer wants about
> > 10 grand for it. Since i don't know what he paid for it, how do I determine a
> > fair profit margin for him, when I want to make an offer? Bruce
>
> It's difficult to determine profit margins on used instruments only
> because of the varied sources and prices paid to those sources for the
> instrument. I'm guessing you're looking at a "grey market" piano which
> was bought thru a wholesaler. I personally wouldn't buy such a piano,
> but hey, it's your 10 grand. I'd think that the dealer has between 6
> and 7 thousand wrapped up in this thing, so 10K is a pretty reasonable
> price if that is the case, but as I say, with used instruments you never
> know.
>
> Speaking generally, a fair profit margin for you to pay is 42-45%.
>
> Dave
>

>Dave Grey Market Piano??.....you wouldn't purchase one like this, cause of the price?...and know he ripping you off?......42-45 percent profit!!...man..Im in the wrong business!!...if he paid between 6 and 7, i'll feel like a total fool to even offer more than 8500. Thanks for your help Bruce:-)

[Fazoul Glickman]

Dave Zappa wrote:
> It's difficult to determine profit margins on used instruments only

> ...

> Speaking generally, a fair profit margin for you to pay is 42-45%.

Thanks Dave for your direct answer to the original poster's simple
question. It was a refreshing contrast to the earlier responses
which seemed to assume that the original poster was trying to
do the dealer's homework for the dealer, rather than the more
obvious and natural interpretation that the poster was trying to
find out if the price was a reasonable one for the poster.

I think that what really set off the earlier responses is
the general desire to keep profit margins secret, assuming dealers
even know precisely what they are. I suppose there's nothing
wrong with a dealer wanting to maintain the confidentiality
of this information (or to not reveal their ignorance of it).
After all, not everything in the retail world is like a
car dealership, where dealer cost and margins are out in the
open. At least, not yet.

But I would rather that dealers just simply and politely say,
when asked, that they prefer to keep such information
confidential, rather than flying off the handle, or
speculating about the asker's intelligence, or resorting
to other subterfuge.

[Tom Shaw]

I wanted to post this to Fazoul privately but couldn't figure out how to
de spam is e-mail address.

In any case it is not true that we know the car dealers cost and margin.
Nor do you get it from Consumers Reports. All you get is the sticker
price and that does not track with dealer cost. And, of course, for
used cars you can be sure the dealer paid no more than blue book
wholesale. I still think the deal is what my dentist told me when I
complained about his wages. He said you have to go by what it is worth
to you.
TS