At some point every piano owner has likely pondered this question; how much is my piano worth? This is usually asked before purchasing the piano but can also be asked either after the purchase is made or prior to reselling a piano. It's understandable that the piano tuner-technician is most often asked this question since one might expect a relatively unbiased, informed, and accurate answer.
The question usually goes something like this: “I have a such and such brand upright piano about so many years old in great shape. What do you think something like that might be worth?"
While the age and manufacturer are obviously important factors to be considered in appraising an instrument, there is much more that needs to be considered to accurately determine the value of a specific piano.
For example,
The question usually goes something like this: “I have a such and such brand upright piano about so many years old in great shape. What do you think something like that might be worth?"
While the age and manufacturer are obviously important factors to be considered in appraising an instrument, there is much more that needs to be considered to accurately determine the value of a specific piano.
For example,
- What is the condition of the pinblock?
- Are there signs of delamination?
- Any indications of structural weaknesses in the bridges, aprons, etc?
- Does the soundboard have sufficient crown?
- Are the ribs still holding to the soundboard?
- And the list goes on.
Consequently, it is impossible to affix a truly unbiased, informed, and accurate value of an instrument knowing only the age, manufacturer, and a vague general impression of it's condition. Such haphazard guesses not based on personal inspection can only yield untrustworthy information which is useless or even harmful to the buyer or the seller, as well as harming the trustworthiness and integrity of the piano technician.
