Would You Do It??

Updated on April 19, 2013
M.W. asks from Fremont, CA
20 answers

We are in the market for getting a piano. I found a free baby grand piano on Craigslist for free. What a wonderful offer this is for someone to give away the gift of music for free. Our 13 year old son is an amazing musician and is begging...yes begging for piano lessons.

The "problem" is that it is 75 miles away. We will be paying for movers to take care of this big,heavy job at a price of 600 bucks. The piano is a good make, needs some new "ivory"keys and will need to be tuned. We are fine with that maintenance.

I guess what I am asking is if this is something you would fork over money for without having seen the piano in person? I don't know pianos at all. Maybe there are some piano players,tuners or teachers on this board that could give me some advice.

This is time sensitive because the owners want it gone ASAP because they are putting in new flooring and all their piano playing kids are moved and out of the house. I know there are others wanting this piano..but knowing we have a child dying for lessons was a sappy enough story to tug at their heart strings.

Thanks for any input..I really appreciate you taking the time to help this musically challenged M.!

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So What Happened?

Thanks ladies for your quick responses. I didn't dream I would get that many interested ladies and ladies that knew about pianos. Thanks for giving me your "gut feelings"...and helping me see the "red flags." I had a hard time seeing past a FREE beautiful baby grand piano.

As I was checking your responses this afternoon the owner of the piano called me. He had just read my earlier email asking questions and telling how much we were quoted for the move. He was so honest and said he wouldn't pay that for this piano. He put it up for free thinking some person with some friends would pick it up and put a couple hundred in it to tune it. He told me it isn't worth putting so much into it just for the move.

Sooo, we decided not to get the piano. We are bummed...the pictures of it are beautiful. But, we don't want to feel rushed and don't like the uncertainty...and most of all don't want to fork over $ for the transport. We plan to find a piano more local so we can pick it up ourselves with some of my husband's friends after having a piano tuner look at it first.

I have looked only a few days on Craigslist and there are quite a few free pianos and in the low hundreds. Sooo we will keep looking and keep local. We are in no rush...

Oh...and it is close to 2 hours away to go see the piano and our schedules are slammed for the next 3 weeks...part of which we will be out of the country. So we will slow down...and the right piano for us will come our way.

I have learned so much already from this process. I didn't know some pianos are not able to hold a tuning. I am lame-o when it comes to this stuff. I have learned the questions to ask.

Thanks again for your help!!

Featured Answers

J.S.

answers from Hartford on

As a pianist, I would NOT do it sight unseen. It needs to be seen and at least played so that you know what you'd be getting but since you don't know pianos you would have to bring someone from a music store who knows how to play and tune pianos.

You also have to consider that anyone who moves it has to know what they're doing in order to cause the least-to-no damage. It WILL need to be tuned after you take ownership of it. It will need relatively frequent maintenance.

What it comes down is that you're not really getting a free piano. You're paying at least $600 to transport it AND you're going to have to pay for tune-ups and very likely some repair. You may need to get strings, pedals, pads, and other inner workings replaced. You could very well end up paying far, far more than $600 in order to get a working piano.

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P.K.

answers from New York on

No way would I take a "free" piano and pay to have it shipped sight unseen. Do you really know these people? It is a lot of money to spend and if it is in really bad shape, there is nothing you can do. I would look into finding one closer to home that you could,see. Too risky IMO.

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J.C.

answers from New York on

I am in the market for a baby grand piano and one piano salesman told me that anything on Craigslist has been seen by piano stores and deemed NOT refurnish-able. In other words, it won't hold a tune if you tried to get it tuned by a pro. Let's face it, if these folks could call a piano store and get someone to take it away for $50, wouldn't they.

Really, what's 75 miles. 2 hours max? I'd set an appt. with a tuner who can meet you there and take a look. Better to pay that then to get a worthless piano for $600 in moving fees.

Would you consider an upright? It would be cheaper.

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K.C.

answers from Los Angeles on

I don't think you should buy it sight unseen. If they are giving it away for free, there is a decent chance something is wrong with it. I know 75 miles is far, but can you make it there this weekend?

No matter where you end up getting a piano from, you should definitely hire actual piano movers - not general movers - to do it. They have the right experience and the right equipment to do it properly and without damaging it.

How old is the piano and when was it last tuned? I'm not sure if this is true, but someone once told me that very old pianos with no tune-ups can get so bad that they can't be perfectly tuned anymore. Might want to poke around online and see if that is true.

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T.F.

answers from Dallas on

No, I would not buy something like that sight unseen. You have no idea if something is wrong with it that you are not aware of. Plus, you need to make sure it fits in your house.

Wait this one out.

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M.K.

answers from Columbus on

Sorry, but my red flag meter is going off!!! I would never buy anything without inspecting it in person, especially something this major! And I certainly wouldn't pay that much for movers without seeing it.

Them putting pressure on you because of putting in new flooring may, or may not, be a real reason, but if they've waited this long, they can wait a few more days.

If this were me, I would check to see if you have a local "Free Cycle" site and post your own request that you would love to have a piano for your son; may not get a baby grand but an upright would work just as well for lessons. You'd be surprised what people are wanting to get rid of if they know it's going to a good home.

Good luck!!

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J.C.

answers from Philadelphia on

Absolutely not! If the piano has not been cared for over the years, without paying to get it rebuilt, you may never be able to get it in tune. We bought a new piano and we would have had to pay to get rid of our old, uncared for piano because it was worth nothing. Luckily though my aunt wanted it because it was a beautiful piece of furniture.
If the owners of the piano could sell it they probably would.😊

FYI...to maintain our piano we get it tuned every 6 months.

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C.N.

answers from Baton Rouge on

Anyhting that sounds too good to be true probably is.

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A.L.

answers from Las Vegas on

I agree with Sheila S. below.. MEASURE............. I too bought a piano years ago and it didn't fit in my house........ :( I was young and dumb.. hahahah anyway, we had to move it to my MILs house where needless to say I didn't go and play it.. lesson learned.. Also, Pianos do come up for sale all the time.. In the meanwhile, although NOT the same.. there are the portable ones.. yes yes I know.. they can and NEVER will sound like a gorgeous REAL piano.. but for now, you could use one , your son could learn the keys and IF after 6 mos to a year he sticks with it, then look into getting a real one..
That is what we did with son who plays the Accordion... we had a rental for a year and then IF he stuck with it (which he did) we bought him his own..

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V.P.

answers from Columbus on

No. It does not sound like a good value or a good bet. Wait - your piano is coming. Our local university holds a piano sale every year - we got a great bargain on a one year old yamaha upright that sat, babied, in a professor's office. You never know where the next good bargain will come from, but sight unseen, this isn't a good deal.

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S.S.

answers from Chicago on

I am a piano player so probably i'd be intrigued, however I might warn you: some years back my family got a new piano and gave away our old one to some neighbors. Well, sad story, the piano didn't fit into their house! So measure. Plus You are going to have to see the piano in person and not just toss out six hundred bucks. There's a lot of pianos on earth and six hundred dollars isn't easy to come by I think. Are you really rich?

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H.M.

answers from Los Angeles on

I'd skip it if you haven't seen it. You can get a used upright at a piano shop for about 600. Or look into an electronic piano. My husband bought me one for about $500. It is a full size keyboard. All 88 keys. Just be sure to purchase one with weighted keys.

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C.V.

answers from Columbia on

No, I wouldn't do it.

I'd find a nice little spinet in the local area that I could go see for $200 before I'd spend $600 to move the baby grand.

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K.F.

answers from Salinas on

How long have you been looking? Free pianos come up on Craigslist in our area all the time and I live in a fairly small town.

We got one a while back, great piano, excellent shape. It was just a few miles away so we just paid some guys to help move it. I think $100. I'd keep looking for one that's close to your home and does need any repair.

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S.M.

answers from Odessa on

NO. I would take a piano tuner with me to see how much repairs cost.

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X.Y.

answers from Chicago on

I personally would drop everything and go see it ASAP. If you can't drop everything then ask for a couple more pics & take a look at the home in the pictures. If the home seem like it's in *good* condition, then just do it.

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O.O.

answers from Kansas City on

I would definitely ask for LOTS of pictures! Any way you can go see it the day before so you can cancel the piano movers if its not up to your expectations?
Otherwise, the price & maintenance cost ( which I'm sure you've had quoted) sounds like a good deal for a baby grand.

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D..

answers from Miami on

Why can't you drive over there and look at it? Just because they are in a hurry doesn't mean that you have to accommodate them without accommodating yourself. Just drive over there this weekend.

You might think that there are people waiting in line to get this piano, but I'm not so sure I buy it. They wouldn't be giving it away if it were worth money. I have a feeling that it's not in good condition.

By the way, sometimes tuning a piano doesn't fix it, according to how old it is and how bad it is...

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J.M.

answers from Philadelphia on

i have found a few pianos within an hour and have the same quesrtion. can a piano be so out of tune thats its worthless?
I have no music knowledge but my 6 year old is taking piano lessons and needs a piano instead of a keyboard, she's outgrown the stinking keyboard in 3 months! what a waste!!

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B.R.

answers from Columbus on

There are companies that rent pianos. There's one in my city that lets you rent at about $20/month for about 2 yrs, then you have the option to buy it. And the rental money goes towards the purchase price. And they move it for you.

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