The first thing to do when considering selling your used piano is to get an honest evaluation of its condition and value. Forget that grandma used to play christmas carols on it. Pianos are no different from any other industrial product. They age, wear out and are replaced with better models made better-ly.
Here is my first piece of critical and free advice:
If it is a spinet, or some huge old no-name monster, bite the bullet and have it taken to the dump.
If the piano you are selling is a vertical or grand made by Yamaha or Kawai or another quality maker, then you have options.
There are many different piano makers, so one can’t make many sweeping judgements regarding brand or country of origin. The average piano made today is better than the average piano made 30 years ago, so the more recent pianos sell more easily.
The best idea is to have a technician visit and give you an evaluation.
Selling Your Used Piano On Craig’s List
Craig’s List supplanted the newspaper classified ads and can be effective but you do have to deal with some cranks and scams.
Selling Your Piano on Facebook
The local Facebook market places are very effective for buying or selling pianos and in my experience are more effective than Craigs List.
Selling Your Piano on eBay or Piano Mart
Piano Mart (www.pianomart.com) and eBay can both be effective.
Piano Mart is easier to set up and has wide reach. You are expected to voluntarily send in a 3% commission if your piano sells through them.
eBay I find most effective for larger, more expensive instruments, both European verticals and upper end grands from Europe and Japan.
Here is another piece of valuable and free advice:
Have your piano serviced.
Make sure there are few negotiating points the potential buyer can bring up. Take care of sticking keys and squeaking pedals and have it tuned. Chances are the buyer will purchase the piano that sounds best.
Selling Your Used Piano by Consigning It
Selling your used piano through consignment with a dealer is another option, but that comes with some restrictions. One of the problems is that dealers usually make more money on new pianos they have in stock than on your used consigned instrument. They will be very interested in having it on the floor but actually have more incentive to sell a new instrument to anybody who comes in to see it rather than to sell yours. The common complaint is that used pianos on consignment sit on the dealers floor forever.
Selling Your Used Piano Through Me
I have a speciality in helping people sell high end, primarily European pianos, including Bosendorfer, Bluthner, Steingraeber, Grotrian, Sauter, Bechstein and Steinway as well as others. I do business differently and consignments are an important part of my business. The catch is that I am very picky about the pianos I take in. If you are looking to sell your high quality used piano, call me and lets talk.