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Greetings to all!

I signed up on PW in 2001 to learn about pianos because my then 15 YO daughter had outgrown our beloved Landfill upright. She's all grown up now and getting married next year. We've decided to sell the piano to help pay for the ceremony.

It's this piano - from the party at my house in 2007. The action was sluggish the night of the party but it's all better now:



When I bought it we talked about it here, and the cracks in the finish on the top are no better (or worse) than they were before:
http://www.pianoworld.com/forum/ubbthreads.php/topics/94734/Top_o%27_the_Bluthner.html#Post94734

And this thread brings back fond memories:
http://www.pianoworld.com/forum/ubbthreads.php/topics/202926/2.html

That was then, this is now.

As before, there is precious little to go on as far as how much I should ask for it. S/N is 142960, ca. 1970. The strings are original and due for replacement at some point. Ditto the hammers. That said, it still sounds like it's supposed to sound - a mellow, romantic kind of piano. The keys are ivory and look great. I've had some work done over the years, but not a lot. There is a matching bench of no particular pedigree. I have an offer on it but am not inclined to take it just yet.

So - how much do I ask? How much do I take?

Should I throw another party for old time's sake and a chance to kick the tires? (I'd like that, but I am not really hooked in here anymore.)

Hi Steve,

Sorry to hear you want to sell your piano, but most everything we own, man-made, is for sale at some point I suppose.

As far as what you should ask price wise, or what you should accept, that is a tough one. I'm certainly no expert on piano prices.

Maybe some of the dealers or rebuilders will chime in with some usful info; or, you can search the net for similar pianos for sale and see what averages you come up with.

Congratulations on your daughter's wedding!

All the best,

Rick

Fun reading about your adventure getting this piano for your daughter, Steve, and how she played it for a long time that first night!

Sad to see the end of your enjoyment of it now though.

I see that several of our mutual friends responded to your purchase. I wasn't around then. Glad that we are still together on our chatroom forum!

LL

It's a beautiful piano, Steve. It's interesting to see the straight-arm design that Bluthners used to have back then. (Nowadays only Bosendorfer and Grotrian still have the straight arms, as far as I know. Everyone else uses curved arms.)

I guess that Kasimoff Piano Company in Hollywood would be the Bluthner dealer closest to Yorba Linda. Perhaps you should contact them about selling it on consignment. They might even buy it from you outright.

You say that there are cracks in the polyester finish of the lid. I am not in the refinishing business, so I have no idea what it would cost to fix it. How much would it cost to refinish the lid, by the way?

When I bought the piano one place estimated some $2K to have the top refinished. That figure seems high to me, although it is specialized work and it wouldn't surprise me if the guys who do it are able to command top dollar.

hi Steve..not sure if your interested in selling to dealer or putting it up for consignment, but Kim's piano in Orange County now is an official bluthner dealer (garden grove, Stanton).. Benjamin Kim (the owner) is a good guy to deal with..

So metropolitan LA now has TWO Bluthner dealers - Kim & Kasimoff. Hmmm. The metropolitan NY area has only ONE Bluthner dealer. So much of the country - even big cities like Chicago and Houston and Atlanta - don't have any Bluthner dealers at all.

Unfortunately, most of the performance-grade piano companies have spotty U.S. dealer networks. Steinway is the exception in this regard.

Careful with that lid prop in the wrong hole!