If you’re shopping for a new piano, you’ll probably have to visit a dealer. This is because dealers are generally prohibited by their agreements with manufacturers from quoting prices over the phone or via the Internet, or from soliciting business from customers outside their “market territory,” the definition of which differs from brand to brand. But once you set foot in the dealer’s place of business, regardless of where you came from, you’re considered a legitimate customer and all restrictions are off, even after you return home. There are no such restrictions for advertising or selling used pianos. (Exception: If a brand of new piano is one that the dealer owns or controls — known as a house brand — you may be able to purchase it without ever visiting the dealer.)

Customers, of course, don’t care about “market territories.” They just want to get the best deal. Given the ease of comparison shopping via the Internet, and the frequency with which people travel for business or pleasure, dealers are increasingly testing the limits of their territorial restrictions, and more and more sales are taking place at dealerships outside the customer’s area. This is a delicate subject in the industry, and the practice is officially discouraged by dealers and manufacturers alike. In private, however, dealers are often happy when the extra business walks in the door (though they hate like heck to lose a sale to a dealer outside their area), and some manufacturers are choosing to look the other way.

There are obvious advantages to shopping locally, and it would be foolish not to at least begin there. Shopping, delivery, and after-sale service are all much easier, and there can be pleasure in forging a relationship with a local merchant. That said, every person’s lifestyle and priorities are different. A New Yorker who frequently does business in San Francisco may find it more “local” to visit a piano dealer in downtown San Francisco, near his or her business meeting, than to drive all over the New York metropolitan area with spouse and children on a Saturday morning. In the marketplace, the customer is king. As people become more and more at ease with doing business of all kinds long-distance with the aid of the Internet, it’s likely that piano shopping will migrate in that direction as well.

Buying a piano sight unseen (which, in view of the above discussion, is likely to involve used pianos, not new) is something entirely different. Obviously, if you’re at all musically sensitive, buying a piano without trying it out first is just plain nuts. But, as much as I hate to admit it, it may make sense for some people, particularly beginners or non-players. In the piano business, we like to say — and I say it a lot — that a piano is not a commodity; that is, a product of which one example is more or less interchangeable with another. Each piano is unique, etc., etc., and must be individually chosen. But for someone who is buying a piano for a beginner, who has no preference in touch and tone, and who just wants a piano that’s reasonably priced, reliable, and looks nice, a piano may, in fact, actually be a “commodity.” I might wish it were otherwise, just as an audiophile might wish that I wouldn’t buy a stereo system off the shelf of a discount department store, but we’re all aficionados of some things and indifferent about others, and that’s our choice. Furthermore, just as people who buy electronic keyboards frequently graduate to acoustic pianos, the person who today buys a piano over the Internet may tomorrow be shopping at a local dealer for a better piano with a particular touch and tone. Although it isn’t something I’d advise as a general rule, the fact is that many people have bought pianos via the Internet without first trying them out and are pleased with their purchase (and some people, probably, are not so pleased).

If you’re thinking of making a long-distance purchase, however, please take some precautions (not all of these precautions will apply to every purchase). First, consider whether it’s really worth it once you’ve taken into account the cost of longdistance shipping. Find out as much as you can about the dealer. Get references. Get pictures of the piano. Hire a piano technician in the dealer’s area to inspect the piano (to find a technician, use the Piano Technicians Guild website, www.ptg.org) and ask the technician about the dealer’s reputation. Make sure the dealer is experienced with arranging long-distance piano moves, and uses a mover that specializes in pianos. Find out who is responsible for tuning and adjusting the piano in your home, and for repairing any defects or dings in the finish. Get the details of the warranty, especially who is responsible for paying the return freight if the piano is defective. Find out how payment is to be made in a way that protects both parties. And if, after all this, you still want to buy long-distance, my best wishes for a successful purchase.

It bears emphasizing that the above discussion was about buying a piano over the Internet from a commercial dealer, against whom you have at least some possibility of recourse if something goes wrong in the transaction. If buying long-distance from a private individual, in addition to the above advice, consider use of an escrow service, such as that provided by Piano Buyer Classifieds and Pianomart.com. The escrow service will hold your funds and not release them to the seller until you’ve had an opportunity to make sure that the piano you received is in the condition you expected.

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