[pianotech] Upright price

[Stephen Grattan]

Noah,

As a rebuilder that rebuilds old uprights, grands and player pianos every day - 
I agree completely with Dean.  
 
Steve Grattan
Lost Chord Clinic
888 742-6644




________________________________
From: Dean May <deanmay at pianorebuilders.com>
To: pianotech at ptg.org
Sent: Tue, November 29, 2011 1:50:36 PM
Subject: Re: [pianotech] Upright price


One thing you must realize, Noah, is there is a quite a bias on this list 
against old uprights. Which is too bad, because even though there are zillions 
out there richly deserving of their scorn, there are still many that make very 
nice instruments and have beautiful cabinets. 

 
Your job, as the buyer’s agent, is to discern what they are looking for and help 
them find it for the best price. Their decorating scheme may demand and pretty 
old upright. And if you can make a decent playing piano out of it for less than 
$500 and they love the cabinet, then they’ll have a decent piano that fits their 
needs for less than $1k. If it could be done for $10k and still fits their 
budget, I wouldn’t think twice about giving them the recommendation, and I have 
done that very thing with older uprights with PianoDisc installed. Just be sure 
to give them full disclosure that they will never be able to recoup their 
investment. What they’ll have is a very unique piece: a beautiful antique piano 
that plays and sounds nice and fits their needs. 

 
Dean
Dean W May                        (812) 235-5272 voice and text
PianoRebuilders.com           (888) DEAN-MAY         
Terre HauteIN47802           Give us a LIKE on Facebook! Go to 
PianoRebuilders.com

________________________________

From:pianotech-bounces at ptg.org [mailto:pianotech-bounces at ptg.org] On Behalf Of 
Noah Frere
Sent: Tuesday, November 29, 2011 9:27 AM
To: pianotech at ptg.org
Subject: [pianotech] Upright price
 
I gave an estimate for repairs/assessment last week of a 90 year old Werner 
upright who's player components had been removed. The insides were as expected, 
though on the better side. Only one broken note (hammer flange), few if any 
cracks in soundboard/bridges. However, the sound was clearly 90 years old and 
the bobbling hammers, etc. left much to be desired. 


The seller was asking $275, to which I immediately responded (the potential 
buyer and I were alone) that it was too much, and I would ask for it for $50, 
but go up to $100 or even $150. Soon afterwards my attention went back to the 
case, which I had forgotten about, and realized it was in very good condition. 
The owner came in, and, hearing about the condition of the interior, and the 
$100 offer, began to cry. She needed to sleep on it. 


As the hours and days progressed, I started double-guessing myself. Had I 
over-emphasized the interior while ignoring the quality exterior? 

Maybe it was worth $275. 

Hmm...

________________________________

No virus found in this message.
Checked by AVG - www.avg.com
Version: 2012.0.1873 / Virus Database: 2101/4646 - Release Date: 11/29/11
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <https://www.moypiano.com/ptg/pianotech.php/attachments/20111129/916b41cf/attachment.htm>