Looking for a 307 in SE Texas

[belbearvan]

Hi everyone,
I'm new to the group but really liking everthing I've seen so far.

I'm looking for some help in finding a CVP-307 for the 5k amount (or less) mentioned in the forum. I'm in the Houston area and was hoping someone could help me out.
I noted several people in Texas recently getting the 5k deal and several other people mentioning alternative purchase points (Costco and Sams Club?) so any info on how or when to get this deal would be great.
I've talked with several Yamaha dealers and their lowest quotes, so far, don't go below 6k. I hear a lot of stories about minimum allowable prices set by Yamaha and price increases recently, but don't know how much faith to put into it.

Any help would be good.

PS - I'll post this message tonight but need to sleep and won't be able to check back til tomorrow, no disrespect intended, it's just that I'm exhausted.

[Orbit]

I bought my CVP from the BrookMays PianoMax in Houston.

You can take a look at my previous posts on my experience (which is recapped here anyway...)

I knew I wanted a 309PE, after researching this board for almost a year.

I went in to the dealer a few times to become familar with the CVPs and got to know the sales staff.

When I was ready to buy, I offered to provide a cashiers check that day, and was able to take a considerable amount off of the sticker price. I still paid a premium by some standards, but I felt like the good will and relationship I established with the dealer was worth it.

For example, I was supposed to get 4 CVP lessons and 2 lessons from a group course as part of the package. I ended up getting about 4 months of private weekly lessons and a number of Yamaha discs. I now get invited to "special events" at the dealer and often get buy-1-get-1 free opportunities, which is really a good deal, considering most of the Yamaha discs cost about $30 each.

Finally, after my initial lessons, I was put into the hands of a very capable teacher and still take lessons at the dealership, which happened to be very convenient for me. While I sometimes play a real piano at my lessons, it's nice having familiarity with the CVP when I play on those.

I my point is, while the bottom line is important, there are some non-tangibles that you might want to factor into the equation, depending on your interests.

Good luck with your decision and purchase.

[belbearvan]

Thanks Orbit,
I understand what you are saying and am interested in the intangibles. Unfortunately the three Brooks Mays stores in Houston are a bit of a drive for me for some of the advantages you mention to be of much value (except the half price disks). Even if it wasn't so, I have visited one of their stores twice and not heard anyhting from the sales person about anything except the piano itself. My last visit I was looking to purchase and wanting that 5k number but they couldn't match it and didn't offer anything to hagglearound.
Thanks for your comments though, maybe next time I will be able to lead them in that direction if we need to haggle.

BelBearvan

[belbearvan]

Thank you to everyone out there.

I was able to find a 307 for below the 5k mark, after following up on several suggestions offered on this board. My daughter is loving it.

Thanks again,
BelBearvan

[Scubacpa]

Congratulations you did very well.

It is a wonderful instrument and your family is going to get hours and years of pleasure from it.