Piano Valuing Questions

“How to get rid of old piano?”

Question/

We have an upright Caldecourt piano we want to get rid of. We have had it around 20 years from a local shop in
Shoreham but our two daughters have left home and it hasn’t been played for years. My wife says it has a cracked sound board
and some of the keys don’t sound and others don’t return to the horizontal when depressed. We don’t want to spend money on
repairing it or on a piano tuner to value it or pay out to remove it! My wife suggests breaking it up
-any other possibilities or alternatives?

Thank you

Reply/ Hi Philip

Your piano is unlikely to be worth anything.

You could try giving it away here: marketplace.ukpianos.co.uk

It’s the fastest way to sell (or give away)
any piano…

There’s no selling fee or commission. Only
a small listing fee.

Whoever takes your piano will be responsible
for collecting it.

This would save you the high cost of moving
and disposing of your piano.

Yours pianistically,

Graham Howard

 

Hi Graham,

Would be grateful if you can give me an idea of the approximate resale value of our KAWAI upright piano: Model: KS 1 49″, Serial number: 222 428.

Thank you in advance,

Eileen
Brussels, Belgium

Reply/ Hi Eileen

The only way to get a proper valuation would be to ask a local piano
tuner to come and take a look at it.

The value of the piano depends on the condition of the parts inside.
You can find a list of piano tuners here:

www.ukpianos.co.uk/piano-tuners
You might also be interested in an article I wrote about how to value your piano:
www.ukpianos.co.uk/get-your-piano-valued-find-out-how-much-it-is-worth

Yours pianistically,

Graham Howard

Hi Graham,

Thanks for your reply.  I have done exactly as you have advised and have made an
appointment with my piano tuner to come and give me an estimation. He said he will give
me 2 prices, one for buying it off me, and one for what I could sell it for if I were to
put an ad somewhere.  He mentioned 500 euros or maybe 1,000 euros if it’s in very good
condition.  I did read your article, which is very informative indeed.

Kind regards,

Eileen

 

“Would you be interested in valuing/tuning my piano?”

Dear UK Pianos Piano Valuation And Tuning Service

I am hoping to sell my piano. I came across the UK Pianos website where I can advertise my piano, but I have no idea of it’s worth. Within the site it was suggested that it is best to get your piano valued by a piano tuner. Would you be interested in valuing/tuning my piano?

When I bought the piano, about 9 years ago, my piano teacher was with me and she said it was a good beginner’s piano.

It is a Cramer, I think made in London between 1921 and 1930
The soundboard patent number is 2771 with a date 1910
The piano’s serial number is 59138
It is 51 inches high, 62 inches wide and 26 inches deep
It has a music holder/rest which will fold up into the top
It also still has the key, so the keyboard can be locked.
As far as I can work out by looking at pictures and descriptions on the web it appears to be overstrung with underdampers
It is a dark colour wood and in reasonable condition

However, it has not been tuned for many years and the sustaining pedal has become detached.

I could supply a jpeg image if this would be useful.

Please let me know if you would be able to help me with this, and if you think it is worth my while. I worry that the cost of  the tuning, valuation and repair would work out more than I would receive when selling it.

Thanks and regards, Linda Anthony

Reply/ Hi Linda

Your piano was made in 1922 and was a fine piano in its day.

It is impossible to correctly value your piano without seeing it.

The real value is dependant on the condition of the parts inside.
In particular the soundboard, frame and tuning pins.

You need to ask an expert to come and take a look at it.

Here is a list of London piano tuners:
www.ukpianos.co.uk/piano-tuners-london-all-districts

Yours pianistically,
Graham Howard
UK Pianos

 

“Hi i have an eavestaff mini piano which i am looking to sell”

It is serial number 4457 and black with chrome and has the original stool as used by TRH Princess Ingrid of Sweden, Princess Elizabeth and Princess Margaret Rose of York. It is in need of tlc but i have read that it may be valuable and i wondered if you could give me some idea of what its worth and how to sell it.

Answer/ Hi Nicola

Your Eavestaff mini piano sounds like it is quite old, so it probably isn’t worth much. Generally the older the piano the less it is worth. This is because pianos rarely have an antique value. The only way to get a proper valuation would be to ask a local piano tuner to come and take a look at it. The value of your piano depends on the condition of the parts inside.

Regards,
Graham Howard
UK Pianos

 

Dear Sir/ Madam,

I would be grateful if you would advise in relation to the valuation of my piano. It is an Ernst Kaps piano and the serial number is 25531. The piano was bought 20 years ago for £550

My old piano tuner (who has now passed away) always said it was a great piano – he loved its rich tone/sound and said it was rare to find a piano that ‘sings’.

He also said that I’d bought it for a bargain price.

His only criticism was the plastic keys – he said the piano looked like an old person with false teeth and that we should invest in ivory keys for it.

Unfortunately, we did not and some of the plastic keys have now come unstuck. However, I would imagine this is a straightforward fault to fix/restore.

Today, I had my piano valued by a different piano tuner (who also sells pianos). I was very surprised when he said it was worth nothing and that I’d be very lucky to get rid of it for as much as £200.

He complained about the keys.

He also said that there was no longer a market for old pianos like mine – apparently better quality pianos can be bought cheaply from China.

I have attached some photos for you to look at and would very much appreciate any help or advice you may have.

It pains me to think that my piano could end up battered and abused in an old junk/scrap yard some day.

Kind regards,

Carol Fenn

Reply/ Hi Carol

I will try to help you as best I can.

Your Ernst Kapst piano was made in 1903 in Dresden, Germany.

It is an old piano, but, nevertheless, a good one.

These were fine pianos in their day.

Ernst Kapst started producing piano as early as 1858 and
discontinued piano production in 1930.

Your piano is overstrung (which is a good thing). All modern
pianos are overstrung. This means the bass strings cross
over the treble strings…

Overstrung pianos have longer strings and produce a much
better tone.

Now, what to do?…

A little investigation may be needed?

If your previous tuner had such nice things to say about
your piano, then, probably (unless he was just being nice)
your piano is in good condition.

I took a look at your pictures and the action does seem to
look like it has been re-conditioned at some point in the
last 20-30 years. Hard to tell without looking at it properly.

The advice from your second piano tuner looks a bit dodgy
to say the least…

It looks to me like he is running down your piano so he can
sell you a new Chinese one and make a tidy commission.

Most piano tuners have a deal going with their local piano
shop and get a nice commission when they pass on a
customer. Sometimes as much as 15%.

Much More than they get from tuning!

Of course, I could be completely wrong about this.
So please take my opinion lightly.

My advice is to ask a different piano tuner to come
and tune your piano. Don’t say anything until he
has tuned it.

You should ask him what he thinks about your piano.

Ask questions like:

1) Are the tuning pins tight enough to hold the tuning?

2) What do you think it could be sold for?

Hopefully you will get an honest tuner (there are many
of them about).

You can see a list of qualified piano tuners here:
www.ukpianos.co.uk/piano-tuners

By the way. You can sell your piano on the ukpianos.co.uk
Piano Market free of charge.

Here is the link: www.marketplace.ukpianos.co.uk

I wish you the best of luck.

Yours pianistically,
Graham Howard
UK Pianos