Hi All, Kim Bunker here from http://www.playerpianos.com  I have
no doubt that there is fraudulent activity on eBay and around the
Internet; I have encountered it myself.  However, the part about using
escrow payments does not work when you are a large consignment gallery
like us.   Also our 30-some-year background in the preservation,
restoration and sale of these marvelous consigned automatic musical
instruments forces us not to except escrow payments.

When the instrument is consigned to us it undergoes complete diagnostics
and servicing prior to being listed on eBay (with a full honest detailed
description).  When the instrument is sold the consignor receives their
money and we receive our fee before it is moved.

With an on-line escrow service you take the chance that nothing will go
wrong.  Let's say you live in California and the escrowed customer
lives in New York.  The instrument is consigned to you for $20,000.00.
California law governs the consignment agreement I sign with the
consignor.  This means the consignor is paid off prior to moving. The
transportation to New York is usually around $1,500.00 to $1,800.00,
including insurance, each way.  The buyer pays one-way that amount.

Now let's say the buyer receives it and for some reason they don't want
it -- perhaps it's not the color exactly as shown by the photograph, or
a tube slips off in the transportation and one of the expression
devices is not working properly, or the transport company drops it
accidentally.  Mind you, it's insured, too.

If anything goes wrong with an escrowed customer, you are liable 100%
with any escrow service.  The buyer can refuse the merchandize by not
paying the escrow and have it sent back to you.  (Now you get to pay
the transport to them and back to you with the damage goods and you also
get to pay off the consignor.  This is why escrows work beautifully
on homes -- a "stationary object" -- only!

When you sell on eBay you have your reputation, your eBay feedback and,
most importantly, a good full warranty on the item you're selling.

Sincerely yours
Kim Bunker