Players, and plain pianos for that matter, are currently not doing well
in the market.  The reasons are many, but there are several factors I
can think of.

Children are no longer taught to play the piano.  There are video games
and iPods to keep them busy.  There is stiff competition from electron-
ic keyboards.  These tend to be very portable, and do not need mainten-
ance like traditional pianos.  Even merchants of fine pianos will sell
electronic keyboards just to stay in business.

The Internet itself is another factor.  We can now find things that we
would never find otherwise.  So, even if a pedal-player would be rare
in a small town, the Internet now brings a big selection.

The general public tends to be lazy and cheap.  They buy whatever is
before them, even if the product is mediocre at best.  Generally, they
do not realize or care that a pedal pumper is capable of artistic music
in the hands of a skilled operator.  Solenoid pianos sell well simply
because of the fact that the music media to play them is inexpensive
compared to rolls, and once loaded, will play all day without atten-
tion.

The market will adjust itself.  I tend to agree with John Tuttle on
this, that as more players are destroyed and become harder to find,
they will eventually become more valuable. The best thing we can do is
save what we can and hope for better times.  The public may rediscover
players at any time.

Andy Taylor