How Easy Is It To Sell an Old Piano These Days?

[radderfire]

How easy would it be to sell an old upright piano in OK condition but in need of some attention (some keys don't work)? Is there a market these days or do you have to give them away? If a giveaway, what websites are best for this?

Thanks

 

[sigma]

I seem to recall that unless it's something special then you will struggle due to the hassle of moving it.

 

[FluffySheep]

Mate tried a few years ago on a large electronic organ... About the same size as an upright piano. Ended up skipping it as there was zero interest. Sorry.

FluffySheep

 

[Gabby]

How easy would it be to sell an old upright piano in OK condition but in need of some attention (some keys don't work)? Is there a market these days or do you have to give them away? If a giveaway, what websites are best for this?

Thanks

Try getting in touch with 12 Sqn RAF. We used to buy pianos just to burn them. Don't judge me, it was thing

 

[ivrytwr3]

Try getting in touch with 12 Sqn RAF. We used to buy pianos just to burn them. Don't judge me, it was thing

Or any Officers Mess!

 

[koolpc]

You might get a few 'notes' for it..

 

[Gabby]

Or any Officers Mess!

Good point well presented

 

[dlockers]

Where are you? I'll take it

 

[cheesyboy]

We sold one 4 or 5 years ago. Think we put it on gumtree or Facebook or something, and there was some youth organisation or charity who makes use of them and paid about £40 for it.

I'd suggested advertising it for free, but putting a small charge does help to ward off time wasters.

 

[mattpj]

The depreciation of a piano is quite insane, there is nothing quite like it (do feel free to show me other examples haha)

Unless it is some super specific, ultra-desirable name then it’ll be rather tough.

You may find much like my a dear old friend of mine that you end up giving it away to 2 blokes willing to carry it into a van.

He managed to get rid of it via Facebook Marketplace but weirdly had more interest when the listing was £1 than FREE ?!

 

[Mason-]

What brand is it?

If it’s a: Steinway, Grotrian Steinweg, Bluthner, Bechstein, Steingraeber, Yamaha, Kawai, Petrof, Seiler, Bosendorfer or Richard Lipp (might have forgot some brands) then it could be worth money. Otherwise it’s probably not worth anything. Especially if you have sticky keys. It’ll at minimum need tuning and regulating and likely pitch raising which on old pianos can lead to strings snapping. If it’s very old 100+ then modern central heating ruins the wrest plank a lot of the time and you’d need a new one for it to hold tune, and if you’re doing that you’ll likely restring it and have new tuning pins. Either way, all of these things cost money and unless it’s a prestigious brand it won’t be worth restoring.


This is a useful resource for looking up the desirability and quality of piano makes: https://www.robertspianos.com/common-piano-makes-in-the-uk/

Hope that helps.

 

[dave28]

depends where you are, in a City you would have considerably better chance of finding a buyer who can collect.

out in the sticks where i live i would imagine it would be near impossible to get rid of a Piano.

 

[drakulton]

No selling outside the members market.

 

[NickK]

Years ago my next-door neighbour had one.. and then she couldn't get rid of it.. so we (a mate and myself) ended up breaking it down and taking it to the tip.

 

[radderfire]

It's not one of the premium brands. It's actually my sister's. She's yet to make the final decision to give it away but it's likely she will. The piano is in Salisbury, so if anyone is in the market for one and can collect, let me know and I'll pass this on.

 

[Gabby]

The piano is in Salisbury, so if anyone is in the market for one and can collect, let me know and I'll pass this on.

Boscombe Down Officer's Mess

 

[d_brennen]

If you do shift it, you need to vet the removal people quite closely. If they're two mustachioed brothers, find someone else

 

[drakulton]

Coo-ee, Mr Shifter.

 

[PaulM]

Facebook marketplace, people will take on almost anything from there

You may find much like my a dear old friend of mine that you end up giving it away to 2 blokes willing to carry it into a van.

He managed to get rid of it via Facebook Marketplace but weirdly had more interest when the listing was £1 than FREE ?!

I think a lot of people filter out “free” because often when something is listed as free it isn’t actually free (price/conditions listed in the description). Misses some genuine freebies but avoids a lot of timewasters

 

[gc123]

we left a quite nice baby grand at the inlaws when we sold there house. no one was interested in it even for free.
spoke to the people recently that bought the house and they tried as well but eventually there 12 year old showed interest in learning and they told me with repairs and tuning etc cost them a pretty penny to get it servicable again, the husband actually told me he wished we had junked it ))