<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN"> <HTML><HEAD><TITLE>Should I?</TITLE> <META http-equiv=Content-Type content=text/html;charset=iso-8859-1> <STYLE>  </STYLE> <META content="MSHTML 6.00.6000.16705" name=GENERATOR></HEAD> <BODY id=MailContainerBody style="PADDING-RIGHT: 10px; PADDING-LEFT: 10px; PADDING-TOP: 15px" bgColor=#ffffff leftMargin=0 topMargin=0 CanvasTabStop="true" name="Compose message area"> <DIV><FONT face=Arial>Alan,</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial>It's not really too difficult to calculate the price you should pay for a piano.</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial>1, Determine the condition and necessary work you need to do to sell the piano at the price range in step 2.</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial>2, Check out the selling price of that piano in your area. If you can't find one or two in your area, then check nationally for a price range. You need to do research here.</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial>3, Subtract 2 moves - pick up and delivery.</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial>4, Subtract the cost of work needed to bring the piano up to the price range you have determined above, then double it because it will always take more work than you thought. </FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial>5, Now subtract all that from your selling price.</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial>6, Take the remainder and subtract the profit you want to make, considering the cost of advertisement, and how long you may have to hold on to the piano before it sells, etc.</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial>7, The left over number is the maximum you should pay for any piano.</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial>If it has a polyester finish and it's in good condition, it should bring from about $5,000 to $6,500. You may be able to get even more if your willing to hold on to it and wait for the person who wants that piano.</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial>Al Guecia</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial></FONT><BR> </DIV> <DIV style="FONT: 10pt Tahoma"> <DIV style="BACKGROUND: #f5f5f5"> <DIV style="font-color: black"><B>From:</B> <A title="mailto:pianotuner@embarqmail.com
CTRL + Click to follow link" href="mailto:pianotuner@embarqmail.com">Alan Barnard</A> </DIV> <DIV><B>Sent:</B> Sunday, September 14, 2008 3:22 PM</DIV> <DIV><B>To:</B> <A title="mailto:pianotech@ptg.org
CTRL + Click to follow link" href="mailto:pianotech@ptg.org">pianotech@ptg.org</A> </DIV> <DIV><B>Subject:</B> Should I?</DIV></DIV></DIV> <DIV><BR></DIV> <DIV> <DIV>Advice from experience, please.</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>I have a chance to buy a Howard C-171 from a church, with the idea of selling it at a profit after some regulation, etc. The piano is a pretty fer drive from me and I'm not familiar with this model. They bought it new in the 80's, I think, and the case is supposed to be in good shape with, apparently, a ding on one of the cheekblocks. They are asking $3500 ... </DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>I know some of you have lot of experience buying and selling used pianos, I do not. Does this sound like something worth the drive to check it out?</DIV> <DIV> </DIV></DIV> <DIV>Alan Barnard<BR>Salem, MO<BR></DIV></BODY></HTML>