Selling an Acoustic Piano? (UNM / 505 for sale in Albuquerque, New Mexico

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PianoRescue Co-op

Dear Friends:
After reading many CL adds for the sale of Acoustic Pianos, I realized that these Sellers need some help. . . So, here goes:
In the form of do's & don'ts, here are some of the do's . . .
"ALWAYS" list the name of the manufacturer (especially if offered in a garage sale add)! Far too many Sellers forget this benefit. Many people will recognize the brand name, fondly, from a happy time in their lives; like at grandma's house, or the kindly old piano teacher's home . . . (Example: Whitney Piano, by W.W. Kimball).
"LIST THE SERIAL NUMBER" of your piano (it is usually prominently displayed under the piano lid)! Many prospective buyers will want to look up the date of manufacture, if you do not know it already.
"BE AS REALISTIC AS POSSIBLE" regarding your price. There are several resources on-line to give "guidelines" for piano values; unfortunately, these have very little bearing on the reality of today's market. In a market where less-and-less people have several hundred, or thousand dollars to spare on a used piano, this is very important. Remember what you are competing against. Dealers of new pianos are making-a-very-good-case for the merits of purchasing New Pianos; in fact, one can purchase a brand-new Baby Grand (delivered, tuned, & guaranteed) for about $2,300; which may or may not include the sales tax, depending on how skilled a bargainer you are! Also, the keyboard instrument used-market is flooded w/ electronic/digital keyboards; easily transported, and somewhat maintenance-free.
If advertising on CL, "ALWAYS INCLUDE A QUALITY PHOTOGRAPH" if not 4 of them; even if, you must beg a favor from a friend w/ a digital camera! (more on that later...)
OTHER THINGS TO CONSIDER:
If you are counting on your old piano having "after rebuild / restoration value" ; you must realize that a MINIMAL professional restoration (...and I use that term '-restoration-' VERY loosely) is likely to cost in excess of $5,000.oo (and up); therefore, your price tag of, perhaps $2,500 for a rare but "unplayable" piano, will become in excess of $7,500.oo to the end-user / owner.
For $7,500, one can buy a Very-Nice used piano; without needing to invest the time or money, speculatively, on a restoration. Furthermore, a "cheap-refinishing" may help someone sell an old-piece-of-junk, by making it look shiny; the bottom line, to the Music Lover / Artist / Performer, or Professional Technician is the way it sounds-and-plays (...and poor quality restoration becomes quite apparent & detectable to the Professional or Player-Artist; they will not be hoodwinked by "cheapness")!
So, what does all this mean?
It means, that any quality-restoration of your Family-Heirloom or Piano for Sale, will INSTANTLY exceed the value of this instrument to a, somewhat, staggering degree; unless, of course, you own one of the exceptionally well built Instruments like: Mason & Hamlin, Bösendorfer, Wm. Knabe, Blüthner, etc.; in which case, your restoration investment of $5 to $25,000 or more, may well be worthwhile, but this is a very high-class category of Acoustic Piano that relatively-few people are dealing in.
There is, on-line, a fellow named Steve; who has a list of "junk piano" brand-names, in chapter 3 of his piano-supply web page. W/ a little hunting, you will find him; he's very well meaning and his web page is highly-informative! If you own a piano listed in his junk-category (chapter 3), it simply means that you will experience difficulty finding a competent Technician willing to work on it, more than once; or that, you should not expect to get much of a price if selling a used one. Such pianos are better suited for donation to the thrift-stores. You may find Steve's chapter 3, by searching the Web for the words "Do I have a good piano."
THE UNFORTUNATE CIRCUMSTANCE of quality-restoration labor & materials greatly-exceeding the value of your instrument; crosses over, identically, into the used Antique Reed Organ (often referred to as "Pump Organs") and Pipe Organ markets. With few exceptions, they are, simply, not as valuable on the open market, as one may think; ...having been grossly superseded, by technology.
Please remember all the above when deciding on a fair price.
GET AN EARLY START if you are moving & need to sell your piano.
It can easily take 6 months or more to sell; even if, you "nailed" the correct price! There are "Free-Pianos-All-Day-Long" on Americanlisted; the used Piano market is very-well saturated, not only w/ acoustics, but w/ affordable electronic keyboards, as well. This is the reality of what you are competing with, in today's marketplace.
One of the most painful tasks your local Piano Technician has, is to inform the prospective client that their Family Heirloom is not worth restoring, nor tuning. These Techs' fully understand that receiving such bad news is like loosing an old friend or pet. We are not heartless people; and generally, such a negative evaluation will not be charged for (you can still find a technician willing to give an initial-evaluation for free). The better news is, such a Tech. always knows of new & used Piano Dealers, or knows of a quality used Piano at a fair price.
...So, give them a call or stop into your local Dealer & ask some questions; they'll be happy to meet you.
Now, about those Photographs; here are some tips (the do-nots' of Piano selling):
GET A QUALITY PHOTOGRAPH; even if, giving the piano away or asking a very-low price. CL allows up to 4 photos; utilize all 4!
"Quality photograph" means: DO NOT USE A PHOTO TAKEN FROM A CELL PHONE; THEY ARE USUALLY HORRIBLE !! Beg-a-favor from a friend having a proper Digital Camera!
If you only have 1 picture to post, make it a shot of the complete piano including the bench, matching-or-not; not just a shot of the name & fallboard (remember from above, you've printed the manufacturer name in your script; and usually, the name in a photo is illegible). There are many single-photos of an opened-up piano (front-board or knee-board removed); don't do this, if it is your only posted Photo. It makes the Piano look like it has missing parts, and / or has been neglected. There is no reason to post such a shot; unless, you are attempting to show the quality of the restoration that has been applied; in which case, YOU NEED A QUALITY PICTURE !
DO NOT TAKE A PHOTO OF YOUR INSTRUMENT OUTSIDE-IN-THE-SUN, in the Garage, Patio, Warehouse, Storage Shed, or Barn. Such photos are photographic evidence of neglect. The Sunlight can "boil" the finish right-away from the wood & bubble / blister it; be it varnished, lacquered, or painted. The rapid heating of the wood can cause the wood to release gasses that would normally stay put; hence, the boil. Such a rapid expansion of the wood can crack many of the wood features; as-well-as, the important sounding-board. Also, just a very small degree of Ultra-Violet light; which the Sun amply produces, will fade the finish considerably (it can take as little as 3 hours in direct Sunlight to notice a fade from the Sun's bleaching qualities.)
Pianos enjoy temperature and humidity STABILITY! If you only have photos of your Piano from outdoors, in the storage shed, etc.; this translates (to a buyer who understands it), into a piano sorely neglected and may reduce its value to exactly zero. Likely, an interested buyer will pass-up your advertisement, in favor of a better presentation; knowing that, an investment of $5,000.oo & up may be needed to make this instrument playable again. If you cannot beg-a-favor from friends, relatives, or neighbors to help you move it inside for the photo-shoot; hang a sheet, curtain, or tarp behind the Piano; so that, the in-hospitable environment is not apparent photographically. If your instrument for sale has all the pieces, be sure they are all installed. A dislodged FallBoard, dangling KneeBoard, bench top removed-or-broken-off from the legs, or a top (uprights only) photographed open, makes for a very poor presentation . . .
LASTLY, a word about PianoRescuing:
Greetings, my name is B.W. (Well) Sovereign. Thanks for reading this far! I've accumulated no less than 35 years experience in Musical Instrument Manufacturing, Tuning, & Restoration / Repairs, and Curatorships. A small group of close friends, Enthusiasts, & Music Lovers have decided we should put forth a degree of effort to help insure Acoustic Pianos do not meet up w/ the fate of their final resting-place, being the County Land-Fill/s. As such, we have started a PianoRescue Co-op to assist piano owners who just don't know what to do and need some help. If you would like a bargain-introductory-tuning & evaluation, do give a call.
Have you noticed that your friends no longer enjoy playing your Piano? It is most likely, that this is because it is in desperate need of tuning or sundry maintenance. Contrary to popular belief, your Piano nor anyone elses', has "stayed in tune" this whole year or longer. Even the world's finest Pianos, properly installed in a climate monitored and controlled environment, cannot be expected to maintain proper tuning for much longer than 6 months, if that. Your Acoustic piano is very much like a Pet; it has maintenance needs. Neglect of your pet or your Acoustic Piano will likely bring unfortunate news, further-down-the-road; and just like a living pet, if circumstances have changed to the degree that you can no-longer care for it, you really should find it a new home, heartbreaking as that may be . . . !
If PianoRescue Co-op can be of any Tuning or Maintenance Service/s, please do give a call. We trade in nothing but
true-and-proper-value/s; wherein, all parties are satisfied, w/o resorting to any type of pressure tactics. I seem to be pretty good at tuning pianos that have not been touched in-way-too-long. I differ from other professional tuners, in that regard (it is much more time-consuming to tune a neglected, un-kept Piano and many Tuners don't want to bother). If you've neglected your instrument and wish to start getting caught up, Acoustic Pianos should be tuned from 1 to 4 times per year. We're offering an introductory Tuning & Evaluation for $65; the normal professional fee, being about $85.00 & up. I'm willing to spend all the time required, to determine if your Piano can be tuned, or maintain its tuning for a reasonable time.
PianoRescue Co-op has FREE pianos from time-to-time. Got a free Piano? Give a call; we may be able to help w/ re-homing & transport, etc.!!
Best Wishes,
Well
PianoRescue Co-op

(no texting please)
Location: UNM / 505


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