Congratulations! If you're willing to share, I look forward to learning more about your piano and how it works out for you! There's nothing more exciting or fulfilling than a new piano! 🙂
Regarding the opaque pricing, I've also suffered through the same ordeal, but now that you've completed the purchase, it no longer matters. I assume piano prices are about to shoot through the roof, so perhaps you did well in retrospect. Enjoy!
raagamuffin I went to a number of dealers and was given pricing.
The area also matters, for example, it's worth inquiring out of state if you are in an area where prices are inflated. I've found dealers with excellent prices just by driving a little further than I normally would.
Once you have a competitive offer in hand for a piano you want, other dealers become willing to deal. 😃
raagamuffin IMO sites like piano buyer are not completely accurate in their SMP (even if it's a great attempt at demystifying the true prices paid).
I agree, Piano Buyer prices are highly overinflated. Regardless, Piano Buyer is a fun site to browse and compare pianos.
raagamuffin Are there strategies that you have for other first time buyers that can help them with getting a fair price? (I mostly refer to the entry and mid level pianos, high end ones may have greater price rigidity due to smaller number sold or custom builds).
What was useful to me was crowdsourcing the price information.
In the case of digital pianos, this meant finding a list of users who shared the prices they paid for their piano and from which dealer... some people got excellent deals! I think @MacMacMac used to compile one such list on Piano World.
In the case of acoustic pianos, it worked better to ask folks who had just bought or were planning to buy the same model or even brand piano that I was interested in.
I'm very grateful to folks who were willing to share, as it ended up being extremely valuable to me. I learned of dealers who were willing to offer the best prices, which subsequently translated into me getting what I felt was a very favorable deal for myself.
The alternative could be to buy via Costco during their piano event if you want a Yamaha or Bösendorfer. They pre-negotiate for you and work with a local dealer. You can use this as leverage for another piano the local dealer may carry but Costco doesn't offer — it really works although they are contractually obligated not to beat the price on the models offered via Costco.