How many times have you seen businesses down the local city street start in big ways, then in less than five years and even at times, in less than a year-they are completely vanished from the spot? That is the big reality of to our today. In the United States 60-70% of businesses are expected to fail from the first moment they have initiated. Such statistics have to be analyzed in a different perspective as per my offline business experience and my online business current portfolio.

According to my results, plenty of learning lessons from the past and many stories from many of my past and current partners- both offline and online businesses do not achieve their maximum financial potential or go virtually broke in most cases because of not having the proper vision. You see, today- there are less than 100 of offline businesses being started worldwide and virtually less than 10% of that 100 businesses are being started online and pushed into the market online.

The reason I say 100 businesses is because of my own judgment and own statistics. Even while we are in the new millennium, people confuse having an offline business and being self-employed. People also confuse and even re-phrase the having of a website, with owning an online business. These are huge mistakes and there are totally different facts and meaning to each one of these words.

Everything has to do with vision. If you visualize a business as working yourself 10-15 hours a day and being completely stuck, having to look out for all your employees yourself, same employees for not robbing you or perhaps you doing all the account receivables of the business- you definitely are self-employed. You do not own a business in such scenario- you are a slave to your own job. You are not able to go on a 3 weeks vacation and breathe well because you know that your business might go down in sales or perhaps the service that you are accustomed to give, may not be offered or achieved. That is the reality of being self-employed.

That is the main reality many businesses do not achieve their maximum potential, and years later go broke. Such businesses never have the vision to succeed before they even started. Such businesses are a failure in my opinion, as the owner could never take a 3 weeks vacation because he could not stop thinking about his company and employees. An entrepreneur knows that a business needs smarter people in charge for the task and department he is weak and does not have time to do them alone. The entrepreneur focuses on his strong points and achieves success by having a big vision before the business has even start.

The important point here is- focus on having a business and not being a self-employed person. Self-employed persons own a job and not a business. You need to develop a business that can be set virtually hands-free. In other words, you work because you love too, not because you need too. Many of my businesses on offline and online are hands free. Real Estate can be set hands-free. An eBay business can be profitable and hands-free. You just need to learn from the right entrepreneur.

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When you have decided to start your very own internet home business, you`ll need a special strategy to pick your internet home business idea. I`ll present it in this article. The strategy is a must ( and safe ), because there are so huge competition and simply too many internet home business – offers, mostly hype and scams.

Without a simple strategy for finding internet home business idea, the possibility to fail is close to 100 %.

Many people from all over the world with different backgrounds are making a lot of money with their online businesses. If you are looking for a profitable internet home business idea, then you have to realize the criteria of the right procedure.

You Need 2 Things To Find Out A Profitable Internet Home Business Idea

First you have to find an internet home business idea, that matches you and that you feel will offer good opportunities for starting your very own home business.

Secondly you have to understand that you`ll have the comfort of working in your own home, at your own time and mostly deciding your own income level.Working successfully in the Internet, you need a community ( who promote the same program ), that will support you through the forum discussions.

Pick the program online from a well-known guru, who has already succeeded with his own internet home business idea. On the top of the great programs, he must be appreciated in the internet home business community and must have at least 5 years experience with the same program. Then he is a real support, when you`ll run your internet home business ideas.

Then concerning the affiliate programs, make sure that he`ll pay at least 40 % commissions, so it`s worth trying. A good affiliate program offers online income from multiple sourches, maybe even from 20 different sourches. Make sure that he`ll up-date the offering online constantly and that the affiliate program has a wide internet home business community, with which you can discuss on the internet marketing forum.

It is clear that the affiliate program must be free to join and free to start. Thinking your internet income, make sure that you`ll earn multilevel, residual commissions.

Before you`ll start working with your own internet home business ideas, make sure that the guru-program offers training and wide selection of advertising material for all kind of web site, blog, ezine etc. promotions.

Once you have decided your internet home business idea, you can start your own web site, blog, newsletter or internet marketing forum posts, where you`ll link people looking the opportunity of your specific affiliate program.

You`ll get paid an affiliate commission for every sale that is made through your affiliate links ( from your blogs or web site ). A good affiliate program will pay as promised.

This is one of the best ways to pick the internet home business idea, to follow the guru-strategy.
It is sure that the affiliate program, which will be selected with this strategy works, so it`s up to you to learn to run it.

Not only does this internet home business idea allow you to work on something that will match you, it will give you the opportunity to help people with your internet home business knowledge. The internet is full of internet home business ideas, which do not fulfill the criteria above. Most often they`ll promise too much too soon, which will kill the motivation ( and income ) of the new web site owner.

This strategy for starting your own internet home business is the one, which has been tested by many new home business owners during six years. It really ads to the total value of the internet as a whole and your success depends on the quality of your own work including the quality of the service you`ll give.

This strategy to pick the right internet home business idea did not handle the issue of building web site, which really is a minor issue these days. The best feature of this strategy to pick an internet home business idea is, that the internet income will be residual. You`ll keep earning money day after day ( even when you are on a holiday ).

When your web site is ready, it will be almost on auto-pilot and earning you money by itself.

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An improper promotional strategy will not make you increase your business in any way. It is very necessary to select a correct marketing plan of action in order to attain all the organizational goals of more profits and more leads. A lot of web traders are opting for the audio marketing as a method of online promotions to attain success. You can attain sure success in your marketing campaigns with this mode. This is because such a method helps in dragging in lots of online users thus increasing the sales margin.

In comparison to video marketing, marketing through audios can be a supple and efficient form of marketing by most of internet experts. You can make use of audios in many forms as this is a very flexible mode. Thus many web traders opt to initiate with this method. You can make use of audios in your promotional plans using lots of ways.

A market containing lots of prospective buyers is a good place to utilize the audio marketing strategies. Right kind of target audience must be selected as it will ensure a successful marketing campaign for your business. Even if your plans are perfect but the targeted customers are inappropriate, then it will not work at all. You must prepare an induction audio and then e-mail it to the prospective buyers. People like to opt for audio mails as compared to written mails that have lot of information. If you want to fulfill the reason of mailing an audio to the customer make an audio of not more than 60 seconds.

Apart form all this other option available for the marketer is to have these e-books in the audio set-up. After they are exposed on the internet they will be able to gain popularity amongst most of the users. To attain good results it is necessary to have good image which can be build by the help of audio marketing. You can release the audio clips on web at a nominal cost or as free samples to get response from the customers. If the product or service which you are dealing into is a little half decent then make sure that you opt for audio marketing for it. Having good returns with application of this is possible.

Audio testimonials can serve out to be an excellent way to carry out marketing through audios. Audio testimonials are any day more effective than the normal written testimonials. Thus a good relation with your online users will be created and thus making you earn more profits with raising sales.

No matter what kind of business you are running the audio marketing strategies can be selected. The point of importance is not that at which stage of business you are presently in a business. The only key factor to successful audio promotions is the effective usage. If at all there is a doubt in your mind about the functioning of the audio promotions strategy you can always go for professional consultation.

Any manufacturing organization would ideally have its Vision and Mission to guide them through its future course.

But does the organization have an Information Technology vision in place. Some organization may question this need, they may feel that the organizational focus should be on its core competency and Information Technology just plays a role of an enabler. But on the contrary such organizations are in greater need of an Information Technology vision. The role of Information Technology is that of a business driver in today’s competitive environment and not just an enabler.

Now lets analyse the need and essence of Information Technology Landscape for a business organization.

Consider an XYZ organization, which after half a decade of existence had entered a phase of business growth. Till date the role of Information Technology would have been that of a support system. My experience says that most of the organizations in such a scenario tend to focus on their core competency and grabbing more business opportunities, and almost no attention is given to the key role Information Technology can play.

Keeping in mind the type of competition and constraints the business organization faces, like for example high demand and need for rapid increase in manufacturing capabilities, need of sizeable investments to enter new markets or more focus for business tie ups, its apparently difficult to focus and believe that Information Technology can be a business driver. But the fact of the matter is, it really is. So the question is how can it be done?

The organization requirements can be divided majorly into functional requirements (very specific to the industry domain), routine transactional requirements, content management requirements, workflow requirements and Infrastructural requirements.

Now the organization has to have an Information Technology Landscape plan, based on its current and future business landscape.

There can be phase wise implementation of the Information Technology landscape plan. Start with covering the domain functionalities (R&D, F&D etc), the benefits would be evident in this case. Followed by transactional systems (like ERP) and then content management systems. The benefits of such systems will be realized over a period of time, ideally after the stabilization period.

For workflow systems, they have to be built at an enterprise level. These workflow systems are of critical importance to an organization. The effectiveness of above systems can be greatly hampered by an inefficient workflow system in place.

Information Technology infrastructure is an on going process in an Information Technology landscape implementation. Any effective technology solution would have to be right collaboration of business software applications and hardware infrastructure.

The most critical of all is to always have an Integration Route, which the Information Technology landscape implementation strategy would follow. This well planned Integration Route is required for a holistic Information Technology perspective.

Gradually as the Information Technology landscape builds up in the organization, there will corresponding benefits in terms of business process automation, business process management, and finally leading to effective knowledge management with in the organization. In such a scenario, the Information Technology acts as a business driver; there onwards Information Technology perspective will be part of any future organizational strategy in scaling business growth.

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The most important thing on your way to the personal success, after you have made up a decision to start, is to find out the right team. Like in sports, an individual is bad in the bad team and excellent in the excellent team. It’s so simple!

Must #1: Start Your Own Internet Business By Joining The Top Marketing Forum.

Why? Because the top internet marketing forum will be your team. You as a team member must play with the rules, ask advice, give advice (yes, you can do that) and support your team members as much as you can.

The top internet marketing forums are very lively, like WarriorForum, with thousands of internet marketer members, who present all levels of internet marketing skills, starting from a 100% newbie up to the millionaire gurus. You’ll recognize the real gurus very soon, they lead the discussions on the forums.

The funny thing is, which you’ll find out very soon, that when you as a newbie will start your own internet business, you’ll be accepted as a team-member immediately. You’ll also find out how good ones are the so called “stupid questions”, because what really matters in the internet home business, are the small details. That’s where the profits are!

Must #2: Require The Best Internet Marketing Course.

On the top of the internet marketing tips, you’ll need the best internet marketing course, which will guide you from scratch to the mastery. This is one cornerstone for you to keep up your motivation.

The “style” – things are important, when you start your own internet business. The copystyle must be enthusiastic and written with the “street-man-words”, so that you as a newbie affiliate-business-opportunity owner will maintain your spirit.

The best internet marketing course, you have selected, must proceed step-by-step by one day lessons. A very good way is to teach the theory first and right after that to run a promotional campaign with the tips you just learned. A combination of the internet marketing theory and the praxis.

Must #3: Internet-Marketing-Tool set.

When you selected the best internet marketing course, it must offer you a wide selection of the best quality internet-marketing-tool set: suppliers, software, banners, text-ads, buttons, ready-written ezine-ads, etc.

Note that this internet-marketing-tool set will be in your use during the course, when you start your own internet business and afterwards, when you have to recall, what you have learnt.

The internet-marketing-tool set offers you a source for multiple stream of internet income, because when you have used them, you can join as an affiliate and earn commissions.

But once more: the #1 issue, when you start your own internet business is the team, where you`ll play!

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Article by Cayin Technology Co., Ltd.

Taipei, Taiwan August 20, 2007 – M/S Star, the newcomer of the Tallink fleet, has chosen Electrosonic Lightinen and Cayin Technology digital signage solution to offer passengers between Helsinki and Tallin dynamic and up-to-date information.

M/S Star, the newcomer of the Tallink fleet, was launched and christened in Helsinki last November, and it started operating between Helsinki and Tallin on 5th April 2007. M/S Star has a 120-seat Business Lounge, and there is an Observation Lounge for private parties for up to 250 persons. The ferry can accommodate a maximum of 1900 passengers and carry up to 450 cars on multiple car decks. The voyage takes only two hours between Helsinki and Tallin.

Electrosonic Lightinen chose Cayin Technology as the digital signage solution provider and the delivered system in M/S Star covers the ice-cream bar, hamburger bar, pizzeria, snack bar, entrance and the shop areas. Each of the 29 different sized displays is attached to a networked SMP-PRO2 Media Player. The complete system is controlled via a web-based user interface on Cayin’s CMS Content Management Server, At the snack bar, there are altogether 10 displays with different menus and price tickers. At the shop and entrance areas, the displays are showing advertisements and prices.

SMP- PRO2 is an advanced zone-type display engine for digital signage applications. With Cayin’s Skin Editor, an intuitive, simple drag-and-drop tool, you can easily draw up to five dedicated areas for scrolling text, stored/live video, image slide show, and theme background.

With CMS server, administrators can centrally and remotely manage all SMP-PRO2 players located at different sites, and distribute right messages to be displayed at pre-scheduled time and designated places. Users can also choose to broadcast live streaming videos to all players via Cayin’s CMS server.

For more information on the dynamic digital signage, please visit the Cayin website at http://www.cayintech.com/applications.htm

For more press information and press pictures, please download at http://www.cayintech.com/press.html

Cayin Technology in Brief
Cayin Technology is established by a group of professionals specializing in development, researches, and engineering. Cayin devotes itself to providing complete digital signage solutions in various applications, such as transportation, education, retail, hospitality, corporation, financial and public institutions. In order to best facilitate the deployment of Cayin products, we also provide tailored hardware and software services to satisfy customers’ demands for almost limitless applications.
More about Cayin Technology at http://www.cayintech.com

Electrosonic Lightinen in Brief
Electrosonic Lightinen Oy Ab is one of the leading AV systems integrators in Finland. Company is part of the Electrosonic Group, which operates on a worldwide basis. The business of Electrosonic Lightinen is based on light, sound and audiovisual product import and sale, project delivery, and after-sales services.
More about Electrosonic Lightinen, please visit: http://www.electrosonic.fi

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When you will start your own internet business, it is not a speed race. It is a mental race, where the idea is totally different. It is a process to learn on how to run your own internet business. In 6 months a new affiliate business owner can learn only the basics and only one internet promotion strategy.

Do Your Home Work, Before You Start Your Own Internet Business

I warn you. Be careful when you start your own internet business. Most people are too excited and will spend the money into their internet home work income business promotions, they do not understand anything about. And even worse, they will loose the motivation. And the motivation is the most valuable asset, when you start your own internet business.

If a starter will run promotions only when some overpromising affiliate business – ad says so, the potential to loose money is close to 100 %. The Internet has tons of total scam affiliate businesses and advices from unfair and unprofessional people.

When planning to start your own internet business, the key is to select a long term and stable affiliate business, with at least five years of internet marketing experience online.

Another feature must be the growth. Only the growing affiliate businesses are good businesses. The growth comes, when new people join the affiliate business, which means good sales forecast, when you start your own internet business.

Make sure that the selected affiliate business has wide sortiment of internet marketing tools to generate leads for your optin email list. You must be able to create your own customized free web site, and get banners, text ads, email marketing campaigns and an autoresponder for automatic follow up. To be effective in starting your own internet business, 3 to 4 different ways to generate leads is needed to make an income online.

When you start your own internet business, it is good to run promotions in many online niches to get even more web site traffic. However your own time and internet marketing skills will set the limits.

Prepare An Affiliate Business Marketing Plan

When you start your own internet business, you will need an affiliate business marketing plan. Remember that you are the one and only internet marketing tool for the business.
So plan what you have experiences of and what you have learnt about your own internet business. Every action must be fully understood. Do not run anything only because somebody says so.

My experience is that when you as a newbie will start your own internet business, you cannot accomplish anything in just 6 months. Most of the time must be spent into educating yourself on your own internet business. Normally it will take from two to three years really to make an income online.

When starting your own internet business, remember that it is a serious business, like studying in a high school. It is not a hobby, it is an affiliate business. There is no shortcut. You just have to learn it. Period. So I would say, instead of 6 months, it will take sixty months to make your affiliate business really profitable.

Pick an affiliate business program, which really can support you with rapid and professional online support, training and discussion forum, when you start your own internet business.

Set the goals, which keep you motivated. The goals cannot be like how much money you should earn. Starting your own internet business, the question is not how to make an income online but about learning. This means that the goals must be what to learn in this month, for instance.
The most important goal is to learn to make a marketing plan for your own internet business. That requires that you will understand the big picture and also the details. The long term actions and short term ones of the internet marketing.

The plans of your own internet business can be fine-tuned when more experiences are in hands. Then the internet marketing plan will be more and more taylor-made for you and your marketing skills.

And when the day comes when you get more web site traffic and enough web site visitors and buying customers, you will thank yourself about studying and making the plan properly. Now you can make an income online.

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Why build a home internet business in the first place?

Believe it or not, the world economy is changing. While
multinational expanding to global economy, employees are the
most vulnerable group of people. Therefore, looking into
a secondary income like build a home internet business become
an increasing viable option for many.

Why you choose to build an Internet based business among other
business opportunities our there?

There are a few good reasons why Internet based business is a viable
start for most employed people who want an extra stream income
for financial security.

Low Cost- Choose a low start-up and low maintenance business
idea to work with.

Easily Access To The Market Place – The Internet can reach out to
the global market place without you stepping out from your home.

Flexible Time – An Internet business allows you to choose your time to work.
For example, most people will spend one to 2 hours after work hour on it.

Learn Extra Crucial Survival Skill – While you are holding on to your day
job, you gift yourself an opportunity to develop a crucial survival skill.

Can Do It From Anywhere – Since Internet can be easily access either from home
or public place like Internet Cafe or library, you can choose to work anywhere
you like.

Low Risk – The risk to build a home Internet business is rather low compared to
other types of business like a franchise.

Leverage – When your Internet business is up and running, you need not be there
physically at a shop to run your business.

The Barriers

However, there are a few barriers that may hinder you from starting a home
Internet business.

Technology- A Internet business model can be complicated if you have
to start from scratch.

The Know-how – Though there are a number of turn-key Internet business around
to resolve your technology barrier, you still need the knowledge how and where
market your Internet home business.

After knowing the advantages of an Internet home business and it possible barriers,
many people get stuck at the next step, which is evaluating and selecting a
good home business.

Key Criteria To Consider When Evaluating An Internet Home Business

The first and most important rule to remember when
you looking for a home based business is the one
that

a. Works For You

Often times the best Internet business idea you can come up
with is one that you will have fun doing, the product you like
and must be in demand across the Internet world.

b. Have A Good Marketing System

The second rule you should remember when selecting the best
home internet business is if there is a good marketing system
in place. The sales page and follow-up email must be there ready
for you to convert visitors to customers.

c. Have A Strong support System

It is crucial to get a company who has a physical back office
and staff like the CEO, Training Officer and Support Team who will be there
for you. Their commitment to support you is a key factor to differentiate
a good company from the rest.

d. Have A Local Support Team

Like most beginners, you do not know all the possible ways to get
your business running. But with a local support team, who will
coach you how to get a fast start, will definitely same you some
previous time, effort and dollars.

e. Show Evidence Of Success

Your home Internet business must have show evidence of
success for at least pass a year. Better still, the company
must be evaluated by main stream business analyst for their
credibility and stability.

f. Helps You To Produce Residual Income

The best of the Internet business opportunities usually have a
a very good tracking system that will track your returning customers
and therefore pay you commission again and again. Residual income
reword will make your marketing effort worthwhile.

g. Can Create Leverage For Your Effort

Why not get rewarded when your customer refer other customers
to purchase? Some Internet business company rewards you for your
effort of helping other to build a home Internet business. These
business model enable to create a huge leverage on other people’s
effort.

h. Pay You Promptly And Hassle Free

One of the most important but always overlooked by many Internet marketers is
how you get paid. From my years of Internet home business marketing experience, many companies
still send their checks using snail mails. This causes two major issues to
International affiliates. Firstly, the checks arrive about 2 months later.
Secondly, hefty bank charges due to international check clearance.

Some Internet based home business company have started using electronic
means to pay you directly to your account. Prompt and bank-charges free payment
is an important aspect to consider while you select an Internet based business
especially if you are not with the North America region.

Choose carefully, before you build a home Internet business!

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Security in the IT arena is not a new topic, but corporate awareness of its presence (or lack thereof) is at an all-time high. Not a day goes by without seeing a headline somewhere relating to stolen data, hacked company computers or leaked private information. When Sony’s Playstation® Network got hacked, there were estimates reported around $ 24 billion in losses. Then there were security breaches at Citigroup or Lockheed Martin. They were both juggernauts of industry with hardened defenses and yet were victims of stolen sensitive information. It appears no one is safe, but does obscurity or anonymity still qualify as protection for your small organization?

A few weeks ago I was sitting in a board room discussion with a couple of partners at a smaller private CPA firm and the topic of their network security came up. Mind you, these two gentlemen had a basic understanding of technology as most business owners do, but could not wrap their heads around why it was so important to purchase and install a firewall. A firewall! The most basic of network security devices and here I was trying to justify such a basic, yet mandatory, investment to any business, much less a financial firm.

It was a confirmation of a truth that is common no matter the size of the company. That truth is simple – most business owners have a difficult time appreciating or valuing technology unless they have experienced some type of pain relating to technology. That pain may be lost data, bad support, frustrating software… etc. Whenever I meet with prospective clients, one of the questions I ask in the beginning is “Are you ‘technology dependent’ or ‘technology strategic’?” This sets the tone for what direction we recommend.

Technology Dependent - This is most common among small, private firms. Your business may rely on your computers and networks, yet your decisions regarding technology are typically reactive and cost is commonly the biggest factor on whether or not you proceed. The inherent problem with technology-dependent firms is the unseen lack of efficiency and super high risk factors. Time and productivity are commonly overlooked as assets to the company. Here are some factors common in technology dependent firms:

a. Computers are older (4+ years old) and sometimes are even beige or off-white (a sign of age).

b. Few important proactive tasks are being performed, such as testing backups, patches and risk assessments.

c. There is no guidance on how to leverage technology to contribute to profits or increased productivity.

d. The company is still paying someone to fix things when they break on an hourly basis.

e. There is little to no network security.

Technology Strategic - A business that has seen the true purpose of technology and has enabled itself to do more is strategic. “More of what?” you may ask. It can be more productivity, more efficiency, more revenue and/or more contented staff. Firms that I work with that are “technology strategic” appreciate what technology can do for them and are not resistant to change. Here are some factors that make up a technology strategic firm:

a. Computers are maintained (optimized, clean and typically under 3 years old).

b. Network operations and security is being actively monitored.

c. Security policies are in place both in hardware and software.

d. An IT budget exists and is fixed.

e. The IT solution is a regular topic in your business planning meetings.

If you want to have growth in your firm, confidence in your IT security, and the best return on investment, you need to find ways to start moving to the strategic side of the spectrum. It will not happen overnight but the process needs to occur or risk falling behind your competition.

Where do you start? You need a trusted technology resource whether it’s a friend, your nephew, your executive assistant, or an established IT firm. Much like your clients rely on you for the best in professional financial advice and guidance, you should expect the same in terms of technology advice from a trusted technology partner. That said, have a look at this technology grocery list. If you don’t have these 10 items in place, you should seriously consider implementing them:

- Documented and tested backup process both local and off-site. You should be getting regular reports of these backups.
- Network security policy (passwords, data access, acceptable usage policy are examples).
- Basic alerts when there is a failure on your critical systems, such as a server or email.
- A firewall
- Antivirus and Antimalware software
- Anti-spam for email
- Data and email encryption
- Regular computer and network maintenance
- Secured wireless access
- Internet filtering

Implementation of the technology solutions above can get your company on the road to reaping the benefits of becoming “technology strategic”. An IT firm with certified engineers can develop a strategic and tactical plan to ensure you are getting the most from your technology.

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Article by Richard Bristol

When it comes to purchasing a piano for your family, knowing when and where to buy a piano can save you big dollars due to subtle dynamics in the piano business. In this article, I’m going to share some of the secrets about piano shopping that I learned during my years as a professional piano salesperson. I’m retired from the business now, so I have a license to blab industry secrets. If you’re in the market for a piano, don’t lose out by choosing the wrong place and time to buy!

Most people come into the possession of a piano in one of three ways:

1. Inherit a family heirloom (grandma’s piano).
2. Purchase from a private party.
3. Purchase from piano dealer.

Acquisition 1: If you’ve been willed a piano owned by a family member, the main thing you’ll need to consider is how to get it transported safely to your home. If the move is cross-country, the cost of getting it from one state to another can be prohibitive – often times far more than the piano is actually worth. In that situation, the sentimental value of the instrument must be taken into consideration and weighed against the costs involved.

If the instrument is a piano of little value (aside from sentiment), for example, an old spinet piano in poor condition, the decision becomes much harder because you could buy your family a really nice piano for just a little more than the cost of transportation. It’s a hard decision, especially if the piano will also need lots of work to restore its playability. But, only you can determine the sentimental value in this situation.

Acquisition 2: Purchasing a piano from a private party can be a great deal or musical nightmare in disguise. The main problem with buying a piano privately is that many of these instruments have been neglected over the years and require an average of about $ 400 in repairs to restore them to playability. Others, especially those that are obviously way out of tune, might have more serious problems that could cost thousands of dollars to repair. Buying a used piano from any private party is risky unless you are willing to pay a reputable piano technician about $ 100 to inspect the potential instrument for you before you buy. I highly recommend an inspection on any piano purchased from a private party.

Acquisition 3: This brings us to pianos dealers, of which there are a variety of scenarios involved. One thing about piano dealers is that pre-owned instruments offered for sale have normally been inspected and repaired by a competent piano technician before you ever see it. And many times, preowned pianos for sale at a dealer will include a warranty of up to 10 years, bringing peace of mind to the transaction. You may invest a little more for an instrument purchased at a dealer, but it’s great insurance against getting a lemon that has no musical value whatsoever – what we called PSO’s in the industry – “piano-shaped-objects.”

Those are the basic options involved in the acquisition of a piano, but now for the industry secrets I promised at the beginning of this article.

There are two: (1) Timing Secrets and (2) Philosophy Secrets.

(1) Timing Secrets are about when you can get the best deals from a typical piano dealer. The first thing you should know is that pianos are ALWAYS on sale. That is because there is a “Retail” price on every piano, new or used, which is NOT what the dealer actually is willing to take for the instrument. Piano prices work very much like automobile prices. They can and should be negotiated. If you walk into a piano store and pay the price listed on the piano – you’re paying too much!

New instruments can normally be purchased at 20% to 25% BELOW the manufacturers suggested retail price shown on the piano. And if the dealer shows both the retail price and a “Sale” price on the piano, even the “Sale” price is still negotiable!

Used piano prices are normally closer to reality, but most of the time, even these prices have room built in for negotiation. So, by all means, do negotiate.

(2) Philosophy Secrets are something new that is happening in the piano business. Most piano stores, especially the big flashy stores in a fancy environment have a huge overhead that must be met every month. Consequently, there is a lot of pressure put on commission salespeople to sell, sell, sell. They will do everything they can to convince you to buy right now – even if you are not quite ready to make that decision.

However, a new breed of piano store is evolving where there is never any pressure to purchase. Instead, piano shoppers have the option to take a piano home with them and try it out for three, six, nine or twelve months before they make a purchase decision. Rather than writing a check for thousands of dollars, people who shop at these new breed piano stores typically walk out investing less than $ 150 total, including the delivery of the instrument to their home for the trial period, and then a small monthly “play-period” payment each month during the trial.

An arrangement like this provides a number of benefits. Foremost is the pressure-free environment which allows a family to try a piano before buying where 100% of their trial period payments are applicable to the purchase of the instrument (or any other instrument) if they do decide to buy at the end of the trial. Or, at the end of the trial, they can choose to convert the trial into a month-to-month piano rental at the same monthly rate. Or, they can simply return the piano and walk away.

This new philosophy in piano sales isn’t available everywhere. The costs involved in running a traditional piano store make it hard for most dealers to adapt, so it takes a very special situation for a dealer to be able to offer these kind of terms. An example of this kind of store that I’m familiar with is a company called “My First Piano” in the Phoenix, Arizona area. In addition to their retail location in Mesa, AZ, they list all of their pianos online with prices and terms clearly shown to take much of the guesswork out of piano shopping,

Conclusions: If you shop carefully, there are good deals to be had any time of year on both new and used pianos. And if you aren’t ready to purchase yet, look for a dealer who offers some kind of trial plan or piano rental program with liberal purchase credits and zero sales pressure. May the music be with you!

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