Price of CVP-309PM in Southern California

[c309]

I found that purchasing a Clavinova was very frustrating when one wanted to know if one was getting a fair price quote from a dealer.

Since Yamaha and some of the members of this group like to keep the actual purchase prices so secret, I thought I would help out some future buyers. List prices from the corporation are a joke and not nearly as useful as an actual purchase price. Hopefully more members will follow suit here and help out future buyers.

I paid $7995 for a CVP-309PM in Southern California.

The CVP-309PE is a couple of hundred dollars less.

These prices were on the Yamaha price sheet at the authorized dealer. I called another dealer in the area and was told that this was "a good price," and he would not compete for the sale. I was also told by another dealer that he could not give me his best price unless I went into his store.

[sablair]

With all due respect, I'm not sure what the purpose of your post is.

Anyone can walk into a store and pay the amount on the "yamaha price list". The trick is to do your research and know what the instrument can be had for.

Ebay is a rough starting point, then contacting other CVP members directly works, also. All the members I recently chatted with paid around $5200 for a CVP 307 in California. The 309 is about $1000 more so that can be had for around $6200. Variables include the type of store...big chain, family, etc with different overheads, whether you have CASH and are ready to go right now, and whether the instrument in "in stock" or has to be ordered. The dealer ties up NO cash if you pay up front for a special order, like mahogany. There are several recent stories on this forum about how someone negotiated a good price for a CVP.

If you need to go into another dealer's store to get his best price, then go to that dealer's store... as mentioned on this forum, Yamaha discourages it's dealers from giving phone quotes...just to avoid that type of shopping around. I would think there are so many Yamaha dealers in Southern California, that the competition must be fierce between them. They know it, but don't want you to know that they know it.

The big word is "PATIENCE". If you "got to have it right now" then you'll pay the dealer's price....But you WILL have it right now and get to enjoy it right away, without any further research or haggling. The downside, is you may end up with "buyer's price remorse". Once you buy something, don't worry about what other's paid....it too late...just enjoy it.

Once again, I write this message with all due respect.

[Tapas]

I completely agree with what Steve has posted.

If you care to visit the eBay ad posted by BestPrice Inc, you can get the Yamaha CVP-309PE for $6149 any day of the week. This price includes shipping to your door.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=38091&item=3770813621&rd=1

They also have the CVP-307 for $4995.

The price differential is $1154.

We have already established the street price of the CVP-307. It is in the $5000 to $5200 range. Let’s take the upper value of $5200 for argument sake. Add in the price differential of $1154. Your street price for the CVP-309PE comes to $6354. Now add local taxes and delivery. That is your out of pocket expense for owning a CVP-309PE. If you paid more, you did not shop around or ran out of patience as Steve so eloquently has pointed out.

Do not go with the Yamaha MSRP. It is meaningless.
The MSRP on the CVP-309PE is $11095
The MSRP on the CVP-307 in Rosewood is $8395

Normally, if this was Pro-Gear like a P250, you would conclude that 30% off MSRP is a good deal. Dealers invoice price for Pro-Gear is usually 40% off MSRP. Allowing a dealer profit of 10%, the (MSRP – 30%) thumb rule works out ok for the buyer.

However, we are not dealing with Pro-Gear here. These are Clavinovas. This is a luxury item. The Dealers invoice price is a closely guarded secret. However, we can make some very good guesses. My guess is the dealer invoice price is (MSRP – 50%).

This makes the dealer cost on the CVP-309PE = $5548 and the dealer cost on the CVP-307 = $4198.

If the dealer sells the CVP-307 for $5200, they are still making a handsome profit. Not outrageous, but reasonable.

You should have shopped around for a price around $6354 for your CVP-309PE. Your upper limit should have been $6500.

Remember, the wholesale dealers are offering the CVP-309PE for $6149 and still making a profit after paying shipping charges to your doorstep.

Thanks Steve for waking us up! I wish there were more practical straight taking individuals like you.

Tapas

[c309]

As I stated, the purpose of the post was simply to illustrate that the corporate list prices that were discussed in previous threads were not useful.

At the time I was in the market for a Clavinova, no one in this group or any other newsgroup that I had searched had yet posted relevent purchase price information on the new models that I was interested in. I posted my information, because I thought it might be of use to others who are in regions like San Diego, which has only one dealer with two stores. My dealer has a monopoly for a fairly large region of Southern California. I made calls to Los Angeles stores, but as I stated, one chain did not want to compete and the other had a higher price than what I was offered. I was trying to obtain useful price information for bargaining. That is why I mentioned that I was hoping that others would explicitly state their purchase prices and regions to assist future buyers (and not myself).

I did see the price from an eBay wholesaler, but I was not willing to buy a high ticket item from an unauthorized dealer on the other side of the country. For me, the price savings did not override the risks of dealing with an unseen seller and with the cost and aggravation of potential repairs or US software updates (not to mention the cost of return shipment for catastrophic reasons).

[Tapas]

C309,

You did the right thing by buying this from a local Yamaha authorized dealer. As much as I trust Yamaha craftsmanship and never had to service a single Yamaha gear, this new Natural Wood Keyboard mechanism introduced in the 309 model is very delicate. It has not been time tested like the GH3 design. Each of these 88 keys has two sensors. We are dealing with 176 individual sensors and an extremely complex system of interlocking levers and weights.

Chances are this contraption may require fine-tuning and service from a Yamaha engineer over its lifecycle. This is one reason why I would stick to a US dealer and I am happy you did.

The CVP-309PE is a magnificent technological achievement. Considering what it delivers, it is priceless. I remember 15 years back when Technics sold similar organs for $15,000 and they did not even measure up to 10% what these modern Clavinovas could do.

Thanks for sharing your experience. I only wish you had waited just a few more weeks. You may have saved yourself $1500.

At the end, all of this does not matter. It is the music that keeps you happy.

Congratulations on your purchase! Do keep us informed on how the CVP-309 performs.

Regards,

Tapas

[Blake7]

Forgive me if its been asked before. I just found this forum.

I live in So. California and would very much like to get the CVP-307 for the best price. My local dealers will not go any lower than $6998 for the 307. I'll drive to get the best deal. But Where? Can anyone point me to the right dealer?

Thanks,

Blake7

[PhilipC]

This won't help those of you in Southern California, but, in case you're interested, the following shows the range of prices for a CVP307 in the UK. They're the prices I found within the last few weeks. I don't know what the $ to £ conversion factor is currently.

The Yamaha list price is £4275 - this list has been distributed with a promotional DVD/video that Yamaha are sending out.
One local store sells and delivers it for £3663. Another local store (same city) sells, delivers (with two men), assembles & tests it for £3199.
Another store, 35 miles away, sells, delivers & assembles for £3490. I can buy it mail order (obviously delivery only) £2495 or £2949.

For something of this size and relative complexity I prefer to buy from a local store that delivers, assembles and checks the Clavinova.

[Roger Burtenshaw]

Philip.
I also live in Hampshire and am looking to buy a 305 soon, can you identify the dealer able to quote the good deliver, install and test price in your post.

Thanks Roger

[zeeshan]

Blake7,

$6998 seems too high to me for a 307 model. My local Clavinova dealer in the SF area is willing to sell one for about $5000. You may be able to negotiate even less! For name and phone#, please send me a private email.