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I'm selling my baby grand and wanted to know if you guys think it's worth anything. I basically had it for show for 15 years now and ive never had it used. Now i'm no musician by any stretch of the word so i came to you guys. What do you know about this piano and what do you think of it?

eBay Auction

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=380034168061

Hi Wingzrow, and welcome to the PW forum.

I must say that we don’t hear much about a Tokai brand piano on the PW forum. I happen to have Tokai G-180 grand that I am rather fond of, but I’m afraid many of the members here are sick of hearing about it .

As for what I think of my particular Tokai, (which is a larger size and a little younger than the one you have for sale) it is as nice a piano as I have seen or played in terms of what I paid for it. Not only does it sound good and play good to me, but every other person who had visited my home and played it has commented about how good it sounds and plays. Of course, that opinion is purely subjective.

As for as your particular Tokai, it appears to be a 5 foot model and in good condition judging from the pictures; the cream color may not necessarily be the most popular color. Unfortunately, the Tokai brand is not a well known brand (although it is a Japanese made instrument) and may have mixed reviews as to the level of quality. However, I am a firm believer that “beauty is in the eye of the beholder”.

In terms of what your piano is worth, that is a tough one. My first impression is that it aught to be worth at least $1500 to $2500; but that is just based on the fact that, in my opinion, any 5’ grand piano of any make that is 20 years old or less and in good condition is worth that.

Everything I have said here is purely subjective, but I hope it has been helpful to you in some way.

Best regards and good luck with your eBay auction.

Rickster

thanks for the opinion, i may end up dropping the auction if it doesn't end at more than 2000 then. Anyone else have an opinion on this piece?

Welcome to the forums Wingzrow.

I looked in Larry Fine's book and I was stumped! It did mention Tokai stopped exporting pianos to the US in 1989, so I gather these instruments were more trouble for the dealers as the pianos required extensive preparation before sale.

I believe Rickster's quote is in line with what can be expected for this size piano for this age. I would advise finding out the age of this piano through pianoatlas.com which will enable you to see if Rick's quote is reasonable.

If the piano is older (say 25 years for example), it would be even less and Rick's bottom number ($1500) may become the most you could get. Hope that helps.

- Mark

Hotkeys: That is interesting, Mark. I don’t have a copy of the Fine book, but I know that the previous owner of my Tokai grand said he bought it new in 1989 from a Baldwin piano dealer in Lima Ohio. He said at the time, the Tokai sounded better to him than some of the Baldwin grands in the store, but I would imagine his pocket-book had a lot to do with that decision as well .

As far as the quality of construction and the materials, I think the Tokai is probably about equal to some of the other better known brands of that era that I will not mention.

One thing is for sure, brand equity goes a long way and a lesser known brand can be a hard sell. Only the eyes, ears and keytouch can convince a prospective buyer to buy a lesser known brand name piano.

Best regards,

Rickster

If it plays well (action) and sounds good..it should sell.. problem is color! you get more takers if it was black..

Pierce Piano Atlas says Tokai was made from 1973 but only shows serial # dates between 1980-1983 for grands. The serial number (I can see on the plate above) indicates 1983.

As has been said, the color really hurts the value in the midwest. If you were in the SW or on the coast somewhere, it would be a huge advantage.

Good luck!

Wingzrow,

Wow! That is a beautiful piano! Love the color! Love the color! Did I say I "Love the color"!

I say it has a chance! I say it would sell easily!

That baby would go nice anywhere!

I've never heard this before; I thought that white pianos were at a disadvantage generally.

Is there actually a market—geographic or otherwise—in which a white piano is desirable?

Steven

As an item of home decor for someone who is more interested in filling a Florida- or California-style space than playing the piano, I would say that this might be a saleable item.

Regards,

Yes, color can be geographically demanded. When I was a factory rep we sold over 70% of our white pianos in California and Florida. Most of the rest went to Arizona, Nevada, and Utah.

Since we are discussing the Pierce Piano Atlas and the age of Wingzrow’s Tokai grand piano, I was wondering if someone could tell me the actual age/year of my Tokai G-180 grand; the serial number is 41896.

The previous owner said he bought it new in 1989. I’m thinking it is around a 1987 model but I’m not sure.

There appears to be somewhat of a conflict between the serial numbers and ages in the Pierce Piano Atlas and Larry Fine’s comments about the Tokai being imported into the US up until 1989. There is a six year discrepancy between the information in the Pierce Atlas and Fine’s comments.

Oh well, another piano mystery.

Best regards,

Rickster

Is there actually a market-geographic or otherwise-in which a white piano is desirable?
_______________________________________

This piano is cream (off-white), not white. I've seen white pianos, and they are harsh looking! This one must be cream, right!

Again, love that color!

I don't think that most people are going to make much distinction among the choices of Devonshire cream, Vancouver fog, French vanilla or Antarctic shadow; to most it's a white piano.

You can't rely on the rendition of "white" in a photograph made by a single-flash, on-flash camera; ambient lighting and reflections can do much to add colour overtones to the subject that aren't there when viewed in "real life". Just look at the differences in the colour of the piano in every picture, depending on how close the camera was to the piano in each photograph.

Regards,

Beautiful pictures! Never knew that a white (ok, "cream") piano can look this good!

One nice thing..it blends well in a room without overpowering it..some rooms scream piano..others a gentle meow..

I did some part time work for a Tokai dealer back in the early 1980's. To my recollection they did not require any more prep work than some of the best Chinese today or the Japanese grands back then. I always thought they were good little pianos. There was a 5' one and a 6' one as I remember. Re. the age of yours, not uncommon for white grands to linger in stock for several months or even years. Still "new" if never sold before.

Does it have value? Yes. Pianos like this sell for in the $3500-$4000 range at dealers on the West coast.

Good information, Craigen. Thanks.

My guestimation on the value of Wingzrow’s Tokai may have been on the low side, but what do I know. (FYI, I paid $4250 for my 5’11.5” Tokai.)

Of course, I’ve gotten that much enjoyment out of it since I’ve had it; not to mention all the hands-on practice I've gotten for honing and improving my meager tuning and piano-tech skills .

I’ve noticed Wingzrow has gotten a couple of bids on his eBay auction for his Tokai grand piano. I like the way he worded his ad, “Rare brand and hard to find”. Sounds good to me .

Best regards,

Rickster

Rickster, here is the entire grand numbers for Tokai in pierce Piano Atlas:

1980-00001
1981-10110
1982-10278
1983-30622

That would make your piano a 1983 build.

Vertical piano numbers do go back to 1978.

Be well my friend!

Hi PianoPro, and thank you for your response to my question about the age of my Tokai.

However, I’m wondering if Tokai actually manufactured and exported 11,274 grand pianos to the US in 1983 (41896 – 30622 = 11,274). The previous owner stated that he purchased it new in 1989 and Fine’s book states that Tokai imported pianos into the US until 1989, so I’m still a little confused. But that’s okay; I’m not confused when I sit down to play it .

Thanks again,

Rickster