I’m in the process of downsizing from a house to an apartment. Also apparently I’m
beginning to have arthritis. For these two reasons I have decided to get rid of
my piano. I understand that almost no one is interested in old pianos these days.
If you sold or gave a way a piano how did you go about it?
Would a school not be interested in a piano?
We sold ours cheap on Craigslist. Just make sure you include the words Cash Only!
Must pick up.
I found someone on Nextdoor who wanted ours. Gave it away for free, with the caveat that the taker had to come get it.
A just-starting-out church?
Drag it out into the front yard and throw parties nightly, playing badly until 3am. Your neighbors will make the piano disappear within the week.
Probably not, sad to say.
It very much depends on the brand of piano.
We just sold our 1967 Yamaha upright. It was not a U series, which is quite sought after - was a smaller one. BUT… the Yamaha name , and the fact it was one of the originals made in Japan made it so that a local piano store (yes, they still exist) bought it from us for $900 cash, plus they send three strong men and a truck to collect it. They’ll probably sell it for $2,000 or so, after tuning and mild refurbishment. But that’s fine with us.
When I spoke with them, they said they get 2-3 calls per day from someone wanting to sell a piano, and the vast majority are not worth anything.
Also, they said it’s becoming increasingly hard to even give some of these “no name” pianos away. It costs to have someone move them, and trust me, you don’t want to do this yourself.
BUT… it really depends on what kind it is. “brand names” will still have value, if they have been cared for.
Yes, a school would gladly take a lightly used Yamaha or Steinway. Other brands? Not so much.
That’s a pity. We’ll be in that boat whenever we downsize.
My mother paid a fellow some large-ish amount of money to bring the piano to us, when she decided she didn’t want it any more (and we had just moved into a larger house). I haven’t touched it in years.
If it’s worthless and the alternative is paying someone to take it way, you could try “$500, personal checks accepted” to encourage a would-be scammer to take it away for free.
Senior centers often have a piano. Maybe there’s one nearby that doesn’t have one?
I worked in a building above a neighborhood senior center that had an exact twin of my 1913 piano. There was always someone on it.
Back in the 60s in England, there was a bit of a fad for breaking up old upright pianos. I took part once. It was a fundraiser and the challenge was to break the whole thing up into small enough pieces to pass through a wedding ring.
Here’s an alternative method of disposal:
I’d suggest getting in touch with a church, a community centre, or even a school.
Mind, it depends on the condition of the piano. If it plays well, and can hold its tone with reasonable tuning from time to time, it’s perfect. If not, it might not be suitable.
As others have noted, there are few pianos out there that folks will pay money for. Unless yours is a Yamaha, Kawai, Baldwin, or Steinway, you will be likely have to pay someone to haul it away.
Here is an article about selling or donating a piano.
I bought a piano last year. Part of the purchase price was the removal of my previous instrument. I am sure it was discarded, which still makes me sad when I think about it.
mmm
If the OP isn’t interested in money a Craigslist curb alert might suffice. Depending on the size of your community someone might want it and have access to a large pick up or box truck. I’ve gotten rid of all sorts of junk just by advertising free on Craigs and putting it on the curbage area of my lawn.
Put it on Facebook marketplace for a low price with the cash only and must collect caveats.
You could drop it on a coyote.
I am currently in the process of attempting to put together a crew of friends to help me move a piano to my house that I found for free on craigslist. The quote for a professional move was >$1000. I know it can be done, since there were no professionals involved in moving the full size tall upright that was in my house as a kid, and this piano is quite a bit smaller.
So, try Craigslist or Facebook market. It will depend on many factors, but you might find somebody there.
Put it in your backseat and park in a dodgy neighborhood?