Buy Used Piano — Used Piano Prices — Used Piano Inspection, Acoustic & Digital Piano Buyer

The Definitive Guide to
Buying New, Used,
and Restored Pianos

SPRING 2012 — page 67

Prices of Used Pianos (US$)
	Private Seller			Dealer
	Worse	Average	Better	Reconditioned	Rebuilt
Vertical, pre-1950, average brand	0-300	300-750	600-1,000	1,000-1,500	N/A
Vertical, pre-1950, better brand	150-500	400-1,000	700-1,500	1,200-2,000	N/A
Vertical, pre-1950, best brand	500-1,000	1,000-3,000	2,000-5,000	3,000-6,000	10,000-16,000
Vertical, 1950-1980, average brand	200-600	400-1,000	1,000-1,500	1,200-2,500	N/A
Vertical, 1950-1980, better brand	400-800	700-1,500	1,000-2,500	2,000-4,500	N/A
Vertical, 1950-1980, best brand	700-2,000	1,500-2,500	3,000-5,000	4,000-7,000	7,000-10,000
Vertical, 1980-	Use Depreciation Schedule
Grand, pre-1950, average brand, 5'	0-500	700-1,500	1,000-2,500	1,500-3,500	N/A
Grand, pre-1950, average brand, 6'	500-1,200	1,500-2,000	2,000-3,000	3,500-4,500	N/A
Grand, pre-1950, average brand, 7'	800-1,500	1,500-3,500	3,000-5,000	4,000-7,000	8,000-10,000
Grand, pre-1950, better brand, 5'	500-1,000	2,000-3,000	2,500-4,000	5,000-8,000	N/A
Grand, pre-1950, better brand, 6'	1,000-2,500	2,500-4,000	4,000-7,000	7,000-10,000	12,000-18,000
Grand, pre-1950, better brand, 7'	1,800-3,500	3,500-7,000	6,000-10,000	8,000-15,000	18,000-30,000
Grand, pre-1950, best brand, 5'	3,000-6,000	6,000-9,000	8,000-15,000	15,000-20,000	15,000-25,000
Grand, pre-1950, best brand, 6'	5,000-8,000	7,000-15,000	12,000-20,000	15,000-28,000	28,000-50,000
Grand, pre-1950, best brand, 7'	7,000-10,000	12,000-18,000	20,000-35,000	20,000-40,000	35,000-65,000
Grand, 1950-1980, average brand, 5'	500-1,200	1,500-2,500	2,000-4,000	3,000-5,000	N/A
Grand, 1950-1980, average brand, 6'	800-2,000	2,000-3,000	3,000-5,000	3,500-7,000	N/A
Grand, 1950-1980, average brand, 7'	1,500-2,500	2,500-4,000	4,000-7,000	4,000-8,000	8,000-12,000
Grand, 1950-1980, better brand, 5'	800-2,000	2,000-4,000	2,500-5,000	5,000-9,000	N/A
Grand, 1950-1980, better brand, 6'	1,500-3,000	2,500-5,000	4,000-9,000	8,000-12,000	12,000-22,000
Grand, 1950-1980, better brand, 7'	3,000-6,000	5,000-10,000	8,000-15,000	10,000-20,000	15,000-30,000
Grand, 1950-1980, best brand, 5'	4,000-7,000	7,000-10,000	9,000-18,000	16,000-21,000	17,000-25,000
Grand, 1950-1980, best brand, 6'	6,000-10,000	8,000-15,000	12,000-20,000	20,000-28,000	28,000-50,000
Grand, 1950-1980, best brand, 7'	8,000-12,000	14,000-20,000	18,000-30,000	20,000-40,000	35,000-65,000
Grand, 1980-	Use Depreciation Schedule

Inspect, Inspect, Inspect

In closing, I'd like to remind you that your best protection against buyer's remorse is having the piano inspected by a piano technician prior to purchasing it, particularly if the piano is more than ten years old. Sometimes it will be sufficient to speak to the seller's technician about the piano, if he or she has serviced it regularly and has reason to believe that he or she will continue servicing it under your ownership. However, in most situations, you'll be better off hiring your own technician. You can find a list of Registered Piano Technicians in your area on the website of the Piano Technicians Guild, www.ptg.org.

More Information

If you're serious about buying a used piano, additional information in The Piano Book may be useful to you, including:

How to remove the outer cabinet parts to look inside the piano
How to do a preliminary inspection of a piano to rule out those that are not worth hiring a technician to inspect, including an extensive checklist of potential problem areas
A discussion of issues that frequently come up in regard to the rebuilding of Steinway pianos
A complete list of older Steinway models, from 1853 to the present
How to locate the serial number of a piano
A list of manufacturing dates and serial numbers for Steinway pianos