Selling Your Piano
Do you want to sell your piano?
Send Deon these photographs of the piano via WhatsApp: external photos of the whole piano with the keys showing and with the key fall closed; internal photos (lift the flat, horizontal top panel to view inside of the piano and take the photographs from directly above the piano facing down, like a birds’ eye view) and photos of the stool.
The internal photographs are very important and you may need to take a few so that we can see all of the hammers (the felt-tipped pieces that would hit the strings when the piano is being played). You will need to lift the top horizontal panel to view inside of the piano and take photographs of the piano from directly above with the camera facing down – like a bird’s eye view. These photographs need to be clear and it is best to use your flash.
From the photographs, Deon can give you an idea of the sale price that you may achieve if you sold the piano privately or to a dealer and may make you an offer.
Where can you sell your piano?
You could sell your piano to a piano dealer or privately.
You will achieve a higher price if you sell your piano privately online or through social networks, but there are few things to consider:
- It may take many years to sell your piano.
- You need to have an idea of the value of the piano. You could contact Deon and we can give you an idea of the value with a few photographs or
- get a written evaluation of the piano (see further notes about evaluation below).
- The greater concern is how many strangers may visit your house to view the piano.
Would it be necessary to tune your piano before selling it?
We would not suggest tuning your piano before selling it as tuning is expensive and the new owner would likely want the piano to be tuned themselves.
Should you have your piano evaluated before selling it?
You can get the piano evaluated so that you know its current state and value, but this will be costly and so often would just end up being money wasted. WhatsApp and mobile correspondence with Eshelby Pianos is free, it is curtesy – part of our trade, but a written assessment will be at a nominal charge.
We often hear about great evaluations from people who have had their pianos “professionally” evaluated. But when the evaluator has not made an offer – it says a lot! Many dealers indicate high prices to keep the market price high. Try to at least make sure that the evaluator may actually potentially purchase your piano before scheduling and paying for an evaluation.
Another consideration is you may find out about your piano’s flaws…
Should you sell your piano ‘on consignment’?
The problem with selling your piano on consignment is that you may wait many years before it is sold and the offered amount may not be as valuable when the piano is sold.
The other consideration is the contract and cost. Once the piano is on consignment, you may not be able to get out of the contract. Even if you can get out of the consignment contract, storage, restoration and transport costs may apply just to get your piano back.
Eshelby Pianos does not purchase pianos on consignment.
Can you donate your piano?
If your piano’s condition is good, donating it to a charity or worthy cause would be kind and generous. However, there is no use in donating a piano that needs to be repaired. Unfortunately, we hear about this all too often and it ends up costing the receiver money having the piano removed.