Second-hand pianos for sale are great for all levels of piano players. Whether you’re buying your first piano, a piano for your children, or your next piano as a professional they are a great investment. As a piano can be an expensive investment, whether new or used, the second-hand market is well worth a look. Before visiting to look at a used piano, you can learn a lot about its history. Ask the seller to tell you the brand, model, year made, and the piano’s serial number. You can also use this to check the piano’s true value before heading out to the retailer or seller. 

Buying A Second-Hand Piano

​There are a lot of questions to ask when looking at secondhand pianos for sale for your home. One of the most important things to find out about a piano you are thinking of buying is its maintenance and tuning history. Ask the retailer how often the piano was tuned, or at least if there is a record of its previous maintenance. Ideally, a piano should be tuned twice a year to keep it properly tuned and prevent it from falling further and further out of tune. Anything less than twice a year could mean you will soon be paying extra money out for maintenance such as specialist tuning. If you do buy an out of tune piano, which should never happen when you use a reputable retailer, you do so at your own risk. You have no way to find out whether the piano is out of tune because of a lack of tuning or because there is a serious internal issue with the piano, making it impossible to tune in the future. 

Next, if you establish that the piano has been tuned, try to find out where and by whom. Has the piano been tuned by a qualified professional or by an unqualified person trying to do so? Cheap second-hand pianos for sale, or those sold by private sellers rather than through experienced shops, might not have been tuned properly. While we’re on the subject of costs, make sure you factor in all of them, including using a piano moving service to get it to your home. As long as the piano has been well maintained, purchasing a second-hand piano should be a happy experience. 

After establishing the maintenance and tuning history of the second-hand pianos for sale, you should next establish where the piano has been stored, who has played it, and whether it has been moved around a lot in the past. Ask the retailer where the piano has been stored, prior to it coming to them. If a piano has been stored in a place such as a basement, other damp areas, or a storage facility, then this can be a cause for concern. 

Buying a second-hand piano, which has been stored in these sorts of places can be a big mistake as temperature and humidity fluctuations can seriously damage the wood of the piano as well as the strings. However, if you purchased from a piano expert or an experienced retailer, these will be concerns that they will have already addressed, and will be able to discuss with you. A piano that has been moved around a lot, particularly one that has not been moved by professionals, will have endured additional stresses. The legs may have been removed and there may be internal and external damage to the piano. Make sure to fully inspect the piano before taking it home and discuss delivery options with the retailer. 

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