The Mountain View Costco hosted another Yamaha piano special event last weekend. I’ve been tracking them for a while: March 2008, April 2008, and August 2009.. Prices appear to be up from 2008, but the same as 2009.

On the floor, I saw a Yamaha Grand Piano GB15 PE 5′ 0″ listed for $8,799.00 with a $225.00 delivery fee. The Yamaha Upright Piano T118 PE (Polish Ebony) 48″ was listed for $3,699.99 with a $150.00 delivery feed. The same piano in mahogany was $3,999.99. Finally, the Yamaha Grand Piano GC1M PE 5′ 3″ was listed at $13,999.99 with a $225.00 delivery fee.

I’m not as interested in the digital pianos because I suspect that like all electronic goods, they will depreciate as the technology becomes outdated. Kind of like the way Sony LCD TVs plunged 60% in price in the last 18 months.

I spotted the Yamaha roadshow at the Mountain View Costco again last weekend. Looks like prices have gone up since 2008.

The Yamaha Mark III Grand DGB1CD PE 4′ 11″ was selling for $13,999.99. The Yamaha T118 PE 48″ was selling for $3,699.99, up from $3,499.99. I would note some inconsistency in the specifications in that the 2009 label listed the T118 as a 48″ and the 2008 label listed it as a 46″, but the Yamaha website has the T118 PE as a 47″. Finally, the Yamaha Grand Piano GB15 PE 4′ 11″ was selling for $8,799.99.

The Yamaha U1 PE at the Costco Special Event / Roadshow is listed for $6,999.99. This model is part of the silent series, which means that the piano can be played at any time of the day or night without disturbing your fellow roommates or family members. Just slip on a pair of headphones and plug them into the box located just under the right end of the keyboard. Oh, you also need to plug in your piano into an electric outlet for this feature to work. I would be mildly interested if I could hook up the piano to work with GarageBand.

If you only want a standard piano without the gadgetry, the regular Yamaha U1 PE goes for $5,399.99. I think the salesperson will sell you any Yamaha piano, even if it is not being displayed at the roadshow. So, if you want a Yamaha U3 or a Yamaha U5, stop by and ask them about the pricing. For the price, the piano includes a bench, two in-home tunings and a 10 year factory warranty. Delivery is separate and was priced at $125.00.

Big fan of Costco. Occasionally, the local Costco will stage a roadshow featuring some interesting product. If I don’t buy that very day, I sometimes have to find another local Costco (but further away) that will be hosting the same roadshow. It always takes me a few minutes to track down the roadshow calendar through Google. On the Costco website, roadshows are called Special Events. Pick a region to see what is coming to your local store.

I’m passively looking for a piano and spotted a Yamaha roadshow recently. Here’s the model numbers and pricing. The model numbers are indecipherable. Can someone really explain the difference between all the models in a 30 second pitch? Not sure. Had to jot everything down and look them up on the Yamaha website.