- Max Kuehn
If you’re stuck with an old piano that you don’t need, you may be wondering how to get rid of a piano. Here are a few options for getting rid of your unwanted piano. You can sell it, donate it, or recycle it. Each option has its benefits and drawbacks, so you’ll need to decide what’s best for you. Read on for details!
How To Get Rid Of Pianos
Selling Pianos On The Internet
Listing your old pianos for sale online is the simplest method to get it seen. There are many different marketplaces to pick from. While Craigslist and eBay are well-known for their success, Facebook Marketplace is a newcomer on the scene.
The Facebook marketplace is beneficial because customers may associate merchants with a face and profile. It’s really simple to advertise your products, choose a purchase price, upload photos, and write a detailed description.
You may organize your collection by location, condition, and more. Because Facebook is a social media platform, having good photos or videos of your instrument will boost the shareability of your listing.
To assist your marketplace listing in achieving more incredible momentum, you can run paid Facebook advertisements. Keep in mind that you will essentially be dealing with bargain hunters looking for a good offer on your old piano with any internet ad.
Make an effort to take the greatest images possible when marketing your old instruments online. Most smartphones have excellent cameras that can capture fine details and even compensate for low lighting.
Be honest about the instrument’s condition as well. For example, if the fallboard has a large scratch, please be sure to include it in the description.
The last thing you want is for a buyer to arrive at the piano and discover that it isn’t what they expected.
We advocate intentionally pricing your instrument a few thousand dollars above your desired range. Once you’ve found a possible buyer, you’ll be able to negotiate a fair asking price for the instrument.
Especially if the instrument is on the more costly end of the range, listings can sometimes stay online for an extended period. It’s good to price it lower than other competing sellers to get it noticed.
A typical listing will receive serious inquiries in three days, but it will take at least two to three weeks to sell. If you need to sell your old upright piano soon, you should consider my suggestion: ask people you know.
Consult With Your Friends, Family, And Students
If you have relatives or friends looking to buy an upright piano, they may be willing to accept yours. The advantage of selling your piano to someone you know is that you can rest assured that it will be well cared for.
It’s also a good idea to ask your neighbors if they’d be interested in purchasing it.
Suppose you don’t care about making a profit. In that case, you could at the very least give the piano away or significantly discount it.
You may even ask your pupils whether they are interested in pianos if you manage a piano teaching studio. It’s an intriguing proposition because most pupils only have digital piano keyboards.
If the price is reasonable, serious students would be interested in purchasing your instrument.
Make An Offer To Cover The Piano Moving And Tuning Costs.
Most individuals don’t want to deal with the difficulty of relocating and tuning a piano, whether they’re selling it online or giving it to a friend. Simply including this as an incentive will improve your chances of selling the piano.
Local piano movers often charge $500 to move a piano. Expect to pay at least $2000 or more for long-distance moves. Only do this for local movements, in my opinion.
You might even factor relocation fees into the instrument’s pricing to ensure that you don’t lose any money.
Tuning the instrument is a thoughtful gesture you may make. It’s a great approach to sweeten the deal because most piano tunings cost at least $150.
Donating it
You would assume we just mentioned ancient pianos are useless, but that isn’t the case. To any serious musician, they’re worthless. For a beginning or intermediate player, they may be sufficient. So, depending on where you promote it, you might find someone eager to take the piano off your hands for free.
You might try local classified boards or online classified ad sites like Craigslist or Gumtree. Someone will more than likely be willing to take your old piano off your hands. Offer it to them as-is, with local pick-up only. It’s a first-come, first-served basis. The old piano will be taken away by the first person that arrives with a truck.
You might also accept piano donations it to a local charity shop or a goodwill store. This could be a little more difficult since it depends on the store being large enough and whether or not they want to take such a large, hefty item.
However, we’ve seen various items offered at these shops, including pianos, so it’s worth money a go. If you ask the charity, they will often come and pick it up. This is a win-win situation: you get the piano off your hands for free, and if someone buys it at the store, the money goes to a worthy cause.
Consider websites like pianoadoption.com, comparable to a classified ads site but only for upright pianos. There are others, but this is the most well-known.
However, because individuals are more familiar with and more inclined to utilize sites like craigslist, eBay, and others, the selection may be limited. Of course, someone will have to pay to relocate it if someone is willing to take it off your hands. This should be the piano’s addressee; make sure you specify it.
Turning A Piano Into Art Or Furniture
Even if the piano’s internal components are beyond repair, its cabinet may be a work of art, complete with carvings and high-quality timbers.
Suppose you think sections of your piano’s casing would make a lovely piece of furniture, such as a desk, cabinet, or coffee table. In that case, you may employ a furniture maker or an old piano rebuilder to turn them into something functional and beautiful.
Here are some photographs from the portfolio of furniture artist Frank Bidinger, who has transformed ancient uprights and square grands into stunning works of art. (Bidinger, a former Piano Finders employee, now has his own restoration company in San Ramon, California.) Piano Finders can put you in touch with him.
The cabinet may not be valuable, but the piano’s parts — hammers, keys, legs, strings, and hardware — can be transformed into innovative works of art and sculpture. Impressive examples of this new art form can be found at www.pianoasart.com.
Recyclability
A piano can be recycled by extracting and repurposing its parts, such as wood, steel wire, screws, and cast iron. Due to the high cost of transporting a whole piano, recycling is normally done locally; check to see if someone in your region recycles pianos. Electronics recyclers occasionally accept pianos.
If your local recyclers won’t take pianos but will accept their disassembled parts, you can disassemble the piano yourself or hire a professional to do it for you. (Piano portions are heavy, and strings are under a lot of tension; unless you know what you’re doing, there’s a risk.)
Private companies that demolish buildings and operate on construction sites frequently know who can take the piano’s cast-iron frame, the heaviest portion. Wood can be taken to a piano shop or a high school woodshop and utilized to create new items.
A piano technician or a piano-rebuilding business can help you with your ivories. Steel wires, copper, and hardware are frequently recyclable materials. Finding out where to ship the piano’s various pieces for recycling, on the other hand, can take some time.
You may also approach a local service club — Rotary, Kiwanis, Lions, and so on — to see if they’d be interested in doing this as a service project. Advertise a weekend of piano recycling to the general public, rent a workspace, and employ a piano rebuilder to assist the club’s volunteers in disassembling pianos.
It is often more expensive to recycle than to throw something away, but if people care about the wood, ivory, and cast iron that went into a piano’s construction, as well as the many memories that a piano has contributed to over its lifetime, why not throw a big party to celebrate its transition from life as an old piano to a new life of helping to make other valuable things?
Local dealers, teachers, and technicians may elect to sponsor the event, which may be tied to a sale of new pianos, a concert by a local symphony, or another musical event in the area. The event could be paired with local or county recycling programs to promote recycling.
Contact Piano Technicians In Your Area
When it comes to repairing and controlling instruments, piano tuners are the specialists. Believe it or not, most piano tuners are also accomplished performers.
It would be worthwhile to inform them that you are selling your instrument to evaluate their interest. When working with a tuner, you’ll be more likely to get a fair price for the instrument because they’ll know its worth.
Piano specialists will be able to thoroughly inspect the instrument, making it much easier to sell to them than to someone else. Even if your used piano has numerous problems, a technician’s mindset focuses on repairing it.
Related post:
How To Tune A Piano? Top Full Guide You Need To Know 2023
How To Clean Piano Keys (Made of Ivory, Plastics): Top Full Guide 2023
Post A Picture Of Your Piano On Pianoadoption Or Pianoforums.
There are numerous more online groups where you can sell or give away your piano. PianoAdoption.com is the first option. This is a website where you may offer your piano for sale based on its location.
While this isn’t the most active community, your listing is sure to gain some notice, and you’ll be able to sell the instrument.
You might also use the forums at Pianoworld and Pianostreet. These are massive music forums dedicated to everything piano. There are a variety of discussion boards to pick from, and your instrument is sure to generate a lot of interest.
Because the community on these sites is quite knowledgeable about the piano, be open about your instrument.
You can also gain valuable advice on how to price your instrument on the discussion forums and generate leads for other possible piano buyers. These two forums, in particular, provide numerous networking chances.
9. Hire A Junk Removal Service To Get Rid Of Your Piano.
If you can’t seem to find somebody to take your piano, you might always hire a rubbish removal agency. These firms transport heavy equipment to junkyards and dispose of it for you using garbage truck-like vehicles.
Most services charge a flat fee based on how much vehicle space is occupied. For example, if the truck is half loaded, it may cost $300 versus $125 if it is just a quarter full.
If you’re only transporting it, this will be a reasonably inexpensive price. Because you’re not attempting to safeguard the instrument, you won’t be charged the customary $500 moving cost to properly wrap it, unscrew the legs, and do other procedures.
Instead, you’ll collaborate with a two-person crew who will use all methods required to get your instrument into the truck.
If you’re downsizing and need to relocate your piano, it’s a good idea to contact a junk removal service to get rid of other stuff you don’t need.
FAQs
Is It Possible To Recycle Pianos?
Many pianos are made of various components that can be recycled after they are dismantled, including wood, steel wire, screws, and cast iron. If you want to offer your piano a second opportunity, check with your local recycling facilities to see whether they would accept it and if delivery will cost you money.
How Much Does Getting Rid Of A Piano Cost?
In most circumstances, getting rid of a piano is free. The buyer is responsible for the costs of transporting a complete piano. Paying a competent piano technician to inspect the instrument before listing it for sale is one of the expenditures you may incur. Instrument repairs may be necessary, depending on how much you wish to earn for your piano.
Is It Possible To Donate A Piano?
Yes, a piano can be donated. There are several piano donation websites available online. Furthermore, pianos can be donated to local music societies, churches, underserved neighborhoods, and even a local youth center.
In all of these circumstances, your piano must be in good working order. It should be in good enough condition, or at the very least repairable condition. If your piano is in bad shape, you might not be able to sell it.
What Is The Best Way To Get Rid Of A Broken Piano?
It’s time to get rid of a piano when it’s beyond repair. A rubbish removal agency can help you get rid of the piano. Another alternative is to donate it to a charity that will repair it. You might even break down the instrument into tiny pieces and discard it.
Conclusion
If you have a broken piano that can still be fixed, you don’t have to give it to a charity or throw it away at the recycling center. But if you don’t think you can fix it, you’ll have to get rid of the piano. It can be a part of your project to clean up your house. When you give your piano to a charity in the UK, you can usually get a tax break.
How you get rid of a piano is very different from how you get rid of other trash. It needs to be taken apart before the piano removal or disposal center staff can take it away. Fidlar hope you find this article beneficial, and let us know if you have any questions in the comment section below.
