How Much Is a Used Piano Worth?

The used piano market contains the largest gap between perceived and actual value of any household item, and the reality is harsh: most old upright pianos are worth nothing and cost money to remove. A century-old upright that a family paid the equivalent of thousands for has a soundboard that has lost its crown, a pinblock that no longer holds tuning, and a cost to move of three to six hundred dollars. Piano technicians routinely advise that such instruments be scrapped. Value survives in specific places. Steinway, Mason and Hamlin, Bösendorfer, and a handful of other premium makers hold value in grand form, with a rebuilt Steinway B bringing tens of thousands. Newer quality pianos from Yamaha and Kawai depreciate but retain real value for decades. Digital pianos are a separate market entirely. The two questions that determine any piano's value are the maker and whether the pinblock and soundboard are sound.

Maker is the dominant factor, and the gap between a Steinway and a generic upright is total rather than incremental. Instrument type matters, with grands worth far more than uprights and spinets at the bottom. Age interacts with maker: a twenty-year-old Yamaha is a good instrument while a hundred-year-old generic upright is scrap. The two technical questions that determine playability are pinblock condition, which governs whether the piano holds tuning, and soundboard condition, since a cracked board or one that has lost its crown cannot be economically repaired. Action condition and whether the piano has been regulated affect playability. Case cosmetics matter far less than most sellers expect, since buyers care about sound. Moving cost is a real market factor that suppresses prices everywhere, because a buyer must add three to six hundred dollars to any purchase price.