Of those recordings this piano played a critical role in two albums which are still considered among the finest recordings of all time. In addition to the values of almost 3,000 piano brands and models, this book is a goldmine of information for any piano owner or enthusiast. Even in the worst condition, most steinway grand pianos will sell for thousands of dollars, but how many thousands is going to be determined by the pianos condition. Piano information and appraisal, piano information and prices, we provide new and used piano prices, age of your piano, piano appraisal service discover. The closer something is to new, the easier it is to make reasonable assumptions, but an overwhelming number of requests that we get to place a value on something are a waste. Your pianos age is one of the most significant factors in determining your pianos value. Chickering pianos for sale buy a chickering piano at.
It is vital to understand that piano values are determined by many factors, and a blue book can by its nature only give you a ballpark figure. This guide provides references to serial numbers, dates of manufacture, factory locations, a brief history of many manufacturers and other pertinent information. Bluebook of pianos fast, free and convenient real piano. Similar to the big red book of ez piano solos, the big blue book includes chord symbols and solos that make playing the piano fun and entertaining. The problem is most of the time, this is pure guess work. Piano values thus depend in part on whos buying and playing them. Used equipment blue book values and online fair market value. Like antique books, antique pianos are not worth a lot of money just because they are old. Suzuki values and pricing youre looking for and with over 40 years of knowledge about motorcycle values and pricing, you can rely on kelley blue book. For every piano, there is what i would call an informed value and an ignorant value. A blue book of pianos is a compilation of prices of new and used pianos, which can be used to give you an estimate of a pianos value. If youre selling a piano on the other hand, value refers more to what the piano is really worth, its intrinsic value.
Click on the type of piano you are researching or continue reading below. Knowing the fair market value of chickering pianos is useful to sellers, buyers and owners. Chickering pianos for sale buy a chickering piano at pianomart. On your upright, the serial number is almost always on the wood or iron frame inside the piano above the tuning pins. The piano book is the bible of the piano marketplace. A used piano that has been disassembled, inspected, repaired as necessary with replacement of all worn or deteriorated parts, reassembled, tested and approved to at least the tolerances of a new piano of like manufacture is. Join the worlds largest community of piano lovers its free. The latest supplement to the pianists musthave reference the piano book, this comprehensive guide provides list prices for more than 4,000 currently manufactured acoustic and digital piano brands and models, as well as advice on how to estimate actual street prices to. The best book of this sort, a practical, downtoearth price guide, workable, easy to follow guidelines. The best way to find an accurate value for your guitar is to go to the experts.
What factors determine piano values, and how much is your piano worth. You can look up a free piano serial number history search from this page see list of. It is used extensively as a source book in the piano business by both consumers and members of the trade. The blue book of pianos website is a great resource for finding the value of a piano. How to determine the value of a musical instrument our pastimes. Match the serial number to a manufacturer using a list of numbers and brands, such as the one available on. This area is accessible by simply lifting up the top lid as shown. An antique piano is one which is at least 100 years old. Sell your piano like a pro with our expert online piano calculators. A blue book of pianos is a compilation of prices of. It also has pertinent information on piano pricing and discount information. How to determine the value of a used piano our pastimes.
In each case we show the lowest price at retail for each size. Chickering about 5 5 grand piano, mahogany, iv keys, tuned. What is a fifth wheel similar to a travel trailer, 5th wheel rvs attach to the truck bed and have an upper level sleeping area. This is the book used by most music stores to determine sales prices for used equipment. The bluebook of pianos is a helpful handbook for anyone who plans to buy a. In 2004 gibson acquired a piano factory in the guangdong province, of china. Included are general values based upon formulas used in my 35 years of experience buying, selling, tuning and restoring pianos. His older title the piano book has a wealth of information, but regarding used instruments, only broad, sweeping generalizations are discussed about pricingdepreciation. These are retail tag prices used by dealers with the same margin of profit and percentages published in music product and. He has collected quite a bit of information about numerous piano companies. Piano bluebook prices steinway piano gallery of naples. To find the value of a piano with a serial number, use the number to determine the approximate date the piano was made. This information should be very useful when trying to find out what your piano is worth.
You need not spend a ton of money to get an expert opinion. My advice would be to go to the blue book of guitar values. Discover your pianos age and country of origin with our 5 star accuracy guide to ensure the quality and. The piano forums are an online community of piano lovers including piano industry professionals, concert artists, recording artists, technicians, dealers, manufacturers, and thousands of enthusiastic amateur pianist. Attention is given to important considerations such as price, tone. In actuality these old instruments may be worth very little at all.
Bluebook of pianos piano information and appraisal, piano. The blue book of pianos website values of automatic pianos and organs by arthur reblitz. Chickering was established in 1823 by jonas chickering and james stewart in boston, massachusetts. How to determine the value of a used piano pianobuyer. Piano buyer is the definitive guide for buying a new piano. Like antique books, antique pianos are not worth a lot of money just because they are. This information can help guide you in making important decisions. Get the suggested tradein value and retail price for your 2007 yamaha c3 motorcycles with kelley blue book. Piano prices vary greatly depending on the locale and the particular situation.
Rare chickering grand 9ft 1868 to 1878 presidential piano. This collection of favorite hymns, praise and worship choruses, childrens tunes, contemporary hits and seasonal songs is designed especially with the intermediate piano player in mind. Over 12,000 piano names are included, some dating back to the early eighteen hundreds. When appraising your guitar, the first place to begin is the average market value of the guitar. The online piano appraisal service can help you to determine the current market value range of your piano if you are looking to buy or sell one, or just need a rough estimate of how much your piano is worth. The value of your piano this virtual appraisal will give you a rough idea of what your piano might be worth. Knowing your tradeins value before you visit your new car dealer is essential. The website contains a wealth of free information regarding guides to appraisals and buying new and used pianos. Discover your piano s age and country of origin with our 5 star accuracy guide to ensure the quality and. Well, nobody knows and the piano blue book sites wont say. How to determine the value of a musical instrument our. This guide contains price information of new piano that is distributed in the united states of america.
Your piano s age is one of the most significant factors in determining your piano s value. If you dont know how the industry appraises cars, you wont be able to effectively negotiate your current cars appraisal value. The values are meant to reflect what the piano would sell for between private, noncommercial parties. The bluebook of pianos is an invaluable handbook for anyone who owns or plans to buy a piano. We have compiled all the pricing in the entire piano industry into one simple webpage.
See our custom piano technician map to find a tuner nearest you. You will need to gather this information in order to properly describe the piano to a potential buyer or professional piano appraiser whether the piano has value or not. From here, you can make additions or subtractions to the value based on damages, imperfections, and aftermarket additions to the instrument. Each piano is manufactured with a unique serial number that is recorded for future reference of not only when it was made but also where. This is a list current used piano prices of these models made after 1985. The value of a piano also depends very much on how knowledgeable the seller and potential buyers are. Once youve collected all the necessary info, you can get a dollar amount. First being the original glenn gould goldberg variations, the most critically received classical album of all time. Cinesamples piano in blue columbia records historic. It can be a challenge to determine if youre paying a fair price for a piano. Choose from 75 popular piano brands with over 2000 different models currently for sale.
This book offers an uptodate list of prices of current pianos that are both new and used. The value of a specific piano model may be determined on the basis of the price shown. Fair market value is the price at which an item would change hands between a willing buyer and a willing seller, neither of whom is compelled to buy or sell, and each of. I suggest adding 20 to 30 percent to the computed value when the piano is being sold by a dealer, unrestored, but with a warranty. Choose the piano model most similar to yours some piano brands change their model numbers every few years while others have remained unchanged for decades. This is the answer and the only free publication to provide this information in the piano industry. The piano price point blog contains direct source articles about the piano, piano parts and piano technology. Chickering piano prices and value upright, grand new, used. A large part of my job has been to assess the condition of a piano and what it will need before i go on the.
Free piano prices guide new or used fair market value. We believe that our work is important for piano owners and lovers. Chickerings placement of serial numbers on its earliest square pianos was not consistent. This section lists the average resale prices for used pianos. In 2006 they purchased the dongbei piano group, thirdbiggest chinese piano maker. Salvage value is what a dealer, technician, or rebuilder would pay for a piano that is essentially unplayable or unserviceable and in need of restoration. It is free of blemishes, nicks, or scratches and shows little sign of use. You may own a world class name piano, such as steinway. After an illustrated discussion of piano structure that explains the workings of both grand and upright pianos, the book gives careful advice for purchasing a new or used piano.
Since there is no used piano price directory or blue book as there is for other merchandise, like cars for example, piano pricing can be very confusing for most. I guarantee that the time you spend will give you valuable insight as to what your piano value may be, and help you decide whether or not. Helping you determine the value of a piano continued page 2 please note, this article was written back in 2009. Chickering quickly became one of the largest and most successful piano manufacturers of all time.
If your brand isnt listed then you can simply select your pianos quality rating. Research the prices of instruments of similar age, condition and make to estimate the piano s value. Find blue book values and fair market prices on used guns, computers, stereos and more with online price guides and the most accurate used equipment data online. While a piano, like anything else, is ultimately worth whatever a seller can get for it, a pianos real value is the result of many factors. Kelly blue book does not provide fifth wheel and other rv values at their web site although they do publish these values within their printed book. If you want a completely accurate evaluation of your gibson, my advice would be to go to the experts at blue book of guitar values. There are a few things you should know before you buy or sell a used piano or even advertise your piano for sale, and some questions you should have the answers to before doing so. If you find our application useful, please support our work with a donation. See prices, specifications, exclusive pictures and factory tours. Price information is for the sole purpose of providing a maximum retail selling price benchmark the manufacturer suggested retail price or the msrp represents in general an average retail tag price by u. It appears that they will sometimes use msrp or wholesale price sheets that are decades old. Fair market value is the price at which an item would change hands between a. If youre going about this on your own, your best resource is an updated version of the piano book.
The bluebook of pianos has adopted the following definitions to help clarify the level of repairs on a piano. Piano blue book piano prices manufacturers suggested. For a small fee, you can check the value of any instrument you wish including effects units and guitars. Piano serial numbers identify the 1 age of your piano, the 2 pianos year of manufacture, as well as 3 the circumstances surrounding the production of your piano, including factory history, manufacturing processes, and company ownership and oversight. The bluebook of pianos the guide to new piano prices. Log on to the orion musical instrument blue book website to find the value of a musical instrument. I have found this service to be accurate and extremely useful. It gives complete, practical guidelines that explains the. Many people looking to buy or sell a seek to appraise its value by means of a so called blue book of pianos.
Used equipment blue book values and online fair market. How do you find a pianos value using its serial number. Yet if you head online, youll find all kinds of sites that offer you bluebook value of a piano, charge you a small fee for coaching to tell you what you should pay for a piano, or even offer to appraise your piano to tell you its worth. The piano buyer article has since been revised to include these comments. This evaluation can serve as a reasonable starting point of reference at which to begin. After successful submission validation instructions will follow. Now you have access to the complete piano pricing that before was only available to piano dealers. Because local market forces have a huge influence on piano prices, it is common to. This article will focus on a pianos fair market value and discuss some of the variables that influence it. The purpose of this article is to comment on and clarify the information in piano buyer on determining the value of a used piano. While the main points are still valid some of the prices will have changed.
As a final word, all of the above is simply my opinion based on forty years as a player piano technician. Mason and hamlin, boosendorfer, bechstein, baldwin, blunther. Prices of used pianos vary wildly, depending on local economies, supply and. Research the prices of instruments of similar age, condition and make to estimate the pianos value. It can be determined using the idealizedvalueminuscost of restoration method, but discounted, like tradein value, to allow the commercial seller to make a profit.