So after all our looking around for a piano, we finally found one we thought we'd be happy with. And we bought it. It fit all the bills - Kimball needed a decent sized baby grand (over 5'5"), with a good sound, and I needed a black finish with modern style legs and a price tag under $6k including shipping and the first tuning. And we managed to get all that, as well as buy a new piano - not used. Added bonus! Two drawbacks, however, in that the piano was bought sight unseen, and that it was going to take 8-12 weeks to be delivered. Sight unseen we figured we could deal with since it has a full money-back guarantee should we decide it isn't as great as we thought it was. And as to the shipping time, what was another 2-3 months after having been without a piano for a few months already? It wasn't like we needed it for anything at the time, other than to have the piano to play. More of a luxury than a necessity. So we bought the piano online, at the Piano Superstore, on July 24th.
And we waited.
And waited.
And waited.
And then we called, after 2 months had passed and we still hadn't heard from them about when to expect the piano. (They were supposed to call us and let us know what day it would be delivered.) And they told us it would be a few more weeks, or maybe another month.
So we waited.
And waited.
And called again. Some sob story about how they didn't know what was going on or whose fault it was that we still had no piano. The 12 weeks was up, and we should have heard. But still nothing. So they did some digging (because we kept calling them back until they actually did), and told us it would be just a few more weeks.
So we waited, again, and began to wonder if we had been scammed.
And as we waited, Kimball did some research (more research - we'd looked before we bought) and found out that this Piano Superstore really does appear to be a reputable company, and that people do actually receive pianos from them, and that they really are decent instruments.
So we waited, and called again. And this time, after yet another episode of being told they didn't know whose fault it was, we told them we were going to start looking around again for another piano elsewhere. And they told us they didn't blame us.
So while we waited, we started shopping again.
But you see, there were so many good things about the piano that we already purchased (yes, they charged us and actually took our money the day we ordered it) that it was difficult to find something comparable. So difficult, in fact, that we gave up on that and decided that since we had waited so long anyway, we may as well keep waiting. You see, they claim this piano we bought was made in the same factory as the Yamaha G Series pianos. No way I'm ever going to be able to afford a Yamaha right now, but if I can get a knock-off then that'll do fine for me! So we tried (rather unsuccessfully) to patiently wait some more.
And we waited.
And then we called again, and the story we got was that our piano had been detained in customs. Apparently, this company (Piano Superstore) buys their pianos from the factory (in China) in huge lots ($4 million worth at a time). Then the pianos are sent to the states, once they have paid for their $4 million of pianos. So they order them, the factory holds them until Piano Superstore gives them $4 million (which means that many, many people have ordered pianos from the superstore), and the pianos are sent over. And it just so happened that ours got stuck in customs over in New York for months, for who knows what reason. But at any rate the piano had been released (just that day, in fact) and the next step was for a shipping company to pick it up in a week or so and drive it from New York to us. Which was supposed to have been completed by the end of this week or the beginning of next (by Thanksgiving was what we were told).
And so we waited.
And because we've been put off and (seemingly) forgotten so many times, we called them again. Only to find out that our piano is going to Kentucky (or some such place) to spend Thanksgiving, as the shipping company will be taking the week of Thanksgiving off. Now don't get me wrong - I'm all for people spending the holidays with their families, but come on - I ordered (and paid for!) this piano MONTHS ago - we're talking nearly 4 months ago now - and I am getting antsy for it (for an example of why, read this). But I keep telling myself that I've waited this long - I can wait a few more weeks. (Until the week of December 10th, in fact, or so their story goes now.)
So the long and short of it is that our piano is currently on the road somewhere between New York and Kentucky, where it will change trucks and then sit for a week (or more) while everyone eats a lot of turkey and takes a lot of naps (what else do people do on Thanksgiving? Oh yes - watch football....) and then, when they are good and ready, and sure I'm going to be appropriately thankful for my shiny new black baby grand Yamaha-knock-off piano, they'll call me and set up an appointment to bring my piano over. And when they do, I'll play a song on it and take a picture and post them both here on my blog. Because until you actually see it and hear it play, you, like me, will have a hard time believing there actually IS such a thing as an actual piano from the Piano Superstore.