Shopping For A Piano? How To Spend The Least Green For The Most Ebony And Ivory

Pianos are a major investment. It is not like buying a violin, where you might spend a few hundred to a thousand dollars for a mid-range instrument. It is not like buying a standard nickel-plated flute for a few hundred dollars. Most people who buy a piano are committed to learning how to play it, and/or having other members in the house learn how to play. It is something that is passed down through families for generations until someone eventually sells the piano, or something happens to it to render it unplayable. If you are shopping for a piano, here is how to spend the least green to get the most ebony and ivory worth the price. 

Instrument Shops Hold Annual Piano Sales

Piano-specific shops and instrument shops both hold annual piano sales. Usually, they are attempting to sell off some floor models. Customers may have come into the store, played a few keys or even a song, and while these pianos were on display, they were cleaned and tuned regularly. Yes, the piano is slightly used, but only because it was a demo for all of the new pianos that customers bought after trying it out. The bargain is that you can get an amazing and well-maintained piano for a fraction of what it cost new because it stood in the shop for as long as it did. 

Another part of these annual piano sales is a deep discount on brand-new, never-been-played pianos still in the warehouse. They may have been in the warehouse a long time, awaiting purchase and delivery, or they may be new inventory the shop owner wants to sell at a discount for the annual sale. Whatever the cause, case, or reason, you can get a very nice piano at these sales. 

Concert Hall Sales

Concert halls and orchestras are notorious for upgrading their pianos almost every other year. Sometimes, if it is an especially nice and very expensive piano, or one that someone famous has played (think Liberace!), then the concert hall or orchestra may hold onto the piano a lot longer. Eventually, however, even these pianos are sold off to make room for newer pianos. Check with your local concert hall or city orchestra to see if they are going to sell a piano anytime soon. 

College Conservatories of Music

Colleges have conservatories of music where students practice on used pianos and keyboards, and where they perform on the nicest pianos around. The colleges frequently update their pianos, retiring the used performance pianos to practice halls or storage rooms. Sometimes you can convince them to sell you one of their grand pianos or baby grand pianos as part of their fundraiser for the conservatory.

If you're looking for pianos for sale, contact a company like FRANK AND CAMILLES WEST.