raagamuffin I agree that piano pricing in the US is rather opaque. I think PianoBuyer does a pretty reasonable job trying to demystify it, but there remains a lot of variability in pricing (dealers who move larger volumes of pianos have different prices than those moving smaller volumes, how much put into prepping their pianos, whether they buy the pianos on credit or not, overhead costs, and more), as well as a lot of variability in practice about how much dealers build in to floor prices to negotiate down (some dealers will give you a ‘take it or leave it’ number that is quite firm; others will have a lot of room for negotiation).
I bought my piano in April 2021 — it’s just over 4 years old! And I will just share my experience of buying my piano. I went to most of the dealers in my metro area, initially to play their pianos and see what appealed to me. I had a budget— it was a large budget but not unlimited. I played lots of pianos and honestly had a very good experience at all the dealerships.
When I was ready to make a decision, the truth was that the decision wasn’t very hard. My experience was that pianos are really quite individual. Even between same model pianos from manufacturer that have a reputation for consistency (eg Yamaha), the experience of playing different individual instruments was quite variable. Within my budget, there was one piano that stood out. If my budget had been lower, I would have chosen something else, and if it had been higher, I also may have chosen something else. But my budget would have had to be much higher to afford the ‘something else,’ and I really loved the piano I chose.
I didn’t do a lot of negotiation with the dealer— some, but not a lot. They are a dealership that has a reputation for providing good dealer prep. They quoted me a price that was within Fine’s expected discount from the SMP, they included in that the installation of a Dampp chaser system, and service visits that encompassed 2 years of piano servicing, including voicing of the piano, regulation at 1 year, multiple tunings, and a couple other visits for some random issues (there was a buzz that ended up being sympathetic resonance with a decorative object in the room). They continue to provide maintenance for my piano, and I’m really happy with their work in the piano. When the technician comes, I feel like he is always very thorough. Anyways, it is very possible that I could have negotiated the price down a good bit further than I did. But I got a fabulous piano, and compared to other pianos that were available at a similar price point, I really like my piano so much more. It wasn’t a ‘steal.’ I paid plenty for it. But it is a piano I love, and again compared to other offerings at a similar price point, I do feel I got a great deal/great piano. I think/hope my piano dealership is doing quite well, but I don’t think it’s an easy business. If they were making piano sales that provided them a tiny profit margin, they probably wouldn’t stay in business very long.
Anyways, as regards your piano, my impression from what I’ve read (I don’t have any personal experience with the brand) is that Cunningham pianos really are a very good value for the instrument. I do think there might potentially be an issue if you were try to try to sell it on the private market, because they’re not a household name and people seem to be much more comfortable with familiar brands (Yamahas, Kawais, Steinways). But in terms of their performance, they have a reputation for being a very good value. So if you got a reasonable discount off the SMP, I would consider that you are very likely getting good value for your money, and not think very much more about it.