Classical Pianist & 'Retired' Piano Dealer

Meet Tom Watson  | Passion & Experience Tom Watson has loved playing the piano since he was six years old. He loved it so much his mother would stomp her foot on the floor from her upstairs bedroom to send the message: "Stop practicing!" His practice paid off. During his years of performing, as many as 2,000 people attended his annual "Spring Concert" in his hometown. Tom has performed and recorded for audiences in Canada and the United States. His first job in the piano business, at the age of 20, was on the sales floor of Heintzman Pianos in Toronto, Canada. Tom went on to become the owner of a Baldwin piano dealership in Kitchener, Canada. Later he worked as National Sales Manager for Young Chang Piano (Canada) Ltd. Moving to San Diego in 1993, Tom became a sales consultant for Greene Music. There, he earned the title he still holds today for having sold one of the most expensive new pianos ever manufactured, a $325,000 computerized Yamaha. Tom retired from Greene in 2001, capping off a 32-year 'full–time' career in piano sales. Today you’re likely to find Tom in one of two places: restoring his mid–20’s house in Mission Hills or playing his beloved Steinway.
Why I Came Out of Retirement | For The Love of A Steinway When I sold my "last" piano in 2001 and retired from the music business, after a 32–year career, I couldn't imagine returning to work in this industry again. No more weekends spent manning a sales floor. No more children running loose banging keyboards. No more haggling over the price of an instrument that I love. But what brought me back? The Internet. Today I’m not sitting in a piano showroom waiting for someone to come through the door. I’m at home, playing my Steinway or working on some renovation project around the house. With my cellphone clipped to my belt, I go about my business waiting for a call from someone who wants to talk about my favorite thing: pianos. I check my email several times a day for messages from folks with questions about Steinways. I’ve traded my retail store for a website, and it’s been a great swap. Now, my customers come from not just down the road, but from all across the country. The pianos I sell aren’t just from a local estate sale but from sellers thousand of miles away. I am as successful a player in the piano busniess as a retail chain, with none of the headaches and none of the overhead. Pretty sweet life. The Internet has revolutionized retailing. Thanks to search engines like Google, piano buyers are smart. They’ve done their homework. They recognize good value and understand the key questions to ask. Dealing with informed buyers is a joy. And I love to share my experience with them. Thanks to the Internet, the marketplace has expanded from the local piano store next to the mall into a national shopping experience, with buyers and sellers trading information coast-to-coast. In the old days, a retail sales person was your best source of information about piano keyboards. Today, you and your computer keyboard are partners in learning what you need to know. As a result, prices are more competitive, standards are higher, buyers deal with more confidence and old piano salesmen like me can re-tile the bathroom instead of waiting for you to walk in the door. I've never had more fun. - Tom