Hello Can anyone tell me if this piano part supply company in Oregon is back in business. It had been dormant for a while, I am nervous to place an order if it is still not in business. Website is up and running but no one answers the phone.
Thanks

Holy 90's Batman! If they ARE still in
business, that web site could use a
little "tuning"

You might get more response from this if you posted it on the piano technicians forum.

ddf

I am not sure. I talk to many technicians, and I have never heard of an actual piano technician doing business there.

But I think there have been some discussions...none particularly flattering but still discussions.

ddf

This is just my opinion, but there are a few members here who are in the piano supply business... Jurgen Goering (Supply) for one. I'd suggest doing business with them.

And, I'm not advertising for Jurgen... I'm just making a suggestion. Unlike some members here who are in the business, I have never known him to take advantage of the forum for subtle advertising purposes. However, I think he is selective in who he sells to...

Also, this site (PianoSupplies.com) sells some piano supplies; anything we can do to support each other here is a good thing.

When I buy piano supplies or parts I look for quality, service, cost and eaise of doing business.

Rick

And there's the rub, Rick. Jurgen states expressly on his webpage that he will not supply tools and materials to hobbyists. (And I presume that the OP is a hobbyist, judging by the supplier he is asking about.)

I was fortunate enough to be referred to Schaff personally by one of the techs on this forum. Failing that, I would probably bought from International Piano Supply Co. myself. Options for cost-conscious non-pros are somewhat limited...



OK, I'll bite. So, where do you buy?

I don't know what their present status is and, yes, their web design is pretty crappy. However, over the years I have bought quite a few things from them. They always treated me well, gave me quick knowledgeable service and made me a happy customer.

At one time I bought a set of hammers from them, they gave helpful recommendations and when they came from the supplier poorly drilled, they got them replaced immediately with no problems.

They made me a happy customer. Don't know what's going on with them now.

One would imagine that a company actively in business would have a telephone. Directory Assistance would surely know the number.

I’ve purchased piano wire and bass strings from Mapes Piano Wire in Elizabethton Tennessee. I’ve purchased some miscellaneous supplies from this site. I’ve bought other specific piano supplies from Howard Piano Industries (on eBay).

To be honest, I forgot about the statement on Jurgen’s website, so disregard what I said. I did mention that he is selective in who he sells to and he can pick and choose who he sells to, which is his privilege.

Hope I have not stirred up a can of worms here… I was just trying to be helpful.

Rick

Piano Forte Supply is a wholesale business. Wholesalers sell to the trade, while retailers sell to the public at large.

International Piano Supply's website is indeed a mess - they need to get on that, because there are lots of free or inexpensive web catalog and inventory management applications that bolt into free web content management systems like Wordpress and Drupal, so the cost of developing a decent shopping site is pretty low these days - but yes, you can still order from them.

The most up-to-date website, with online catalogue is: http://www.pianoparts.com/

Their catalogue (large PDF file download) is here. It is very detailed, and maybe easier to use than the website. https://www.pianoparts.com/ipscat.pdf

They charge more for smaller orders (5% more for orders under $150), so they are sort of a semi-wholesale/semi-retail company. Plan your orders I guess.

No, I'm not affiliated with them

Hobby piano people are well served by this company: http://www.stevespianoservice.com/

I have bought from AMS: AMS site

No minimum, reasonable shipping and quick service.

FWIW I just recently ordered some tools and supplies from here:
http://www.vandaking.com/piano-parts.html

It was a little slow by online shopping standards (ordered Sunday, shipped Wed, received Monday), but they seem to have a pretty large catalog and seem friendly enough. My order appears to have drop shipped direct from Schaff as far as I can tell. $30 min.

Rob

Saw them on ebay too, and also noticed they do have a website you can order directly from.

http://howardpianoindustries.com/piano-parts-supplies.html

They seem to have a few nice listings for the hobbyist, like piano wire in 10' lengths, and a keyboard punching set with front and balance rail felts and probably enough papers in different thicknesses to do a whole piano.

Rob

vandaking.com, which also markets itself as PianoShowcase, sells to anyone. Everything I have bought there ended up coming directly from Schaff piano. Literally everything. So there is a way for non-pros to get the real Schaff parts & tools.

BTW, although they have less selection, an advantage I noticed to using the Howard website is they offer USPS shipping. It varies as to which site is cheaper on any given item, but with UPS ground starting at about $15 minimum the USPS option is nice for small orders.

For example, an order I was just looking at:

#1 tuning hammer tip & tip wrench total with tax & shipping:
Howard: $26.31
vandaking: $46.70

Rob

stevespianoservice.com supports hobbyists with high quality parts, materials, tools and technical support.