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Given this semi-horror story, has anybody used a reputable escrow service to get at least some peace of mind? How much do they cost?

PianoMart has a free escrow service for their customers.

As a seller, can’t you avoid payment issues by keeping the piano until the check clears the bank? Just inform the buyer at the time of the sale.

Good point.

In my case, with the story I just shared, I did explain to the buyer that the funds would have to be credited to my bank account and secured before I released the piano to be moved. She understood.

Of the pianos I've purchased, private sale, I paid the seller cash at the time of the move, before the movers touched the piano. This process has worked well for me, weather buying or selling. The only exception is when I bought my Yamaha C7, in which case I used a certified cashier's check from my bank. In one case, I did pay for the piano in advance and went back the next day to move the piano. But I trusted the sellers.

As j&j mentioned, there is counterfeit cash out there. So, I do not think any private sale piano transaction is absolutely risk free, whether buying or selling. Nor do I think buying from a dealer is 100% risk free, though perhaps less risk than a private sale.

In any case, it is always "buyer beware", and "seller beware", or at lease be careful.

Rick

Oh I don't disagree with you! I was actually pretty worried about all those details, and that's one of the reasons a large part of my piano shopping involved going to piano dealers. But like Dogperson, it ended up working out fine. Again, that's in large part because the person lives in my town, I work at the local university and am easily findable, and over many visits to the seller's house, we connected and I suspect they felt comfortable accepting a personal check from me. Their preference was a cashier's check, but my bank is actually several states away and you can only get a cashiers check if you go into the bank in person. So not only did the seller accept a personal check from me, he accepted one that was from a bank in a different state.

Fortunately, he didn't have the problems Rick wrote about, yikes!

But, buying from a private seller is all around more involved, and the buyer has to really take on a lot of tasks him/herself that you could otherwise leave up to the dealer. In my case, this was the fourth used acoustic piano (although the first grand) for me to buy, and between that and all the info here, by the time I was ready to make the purchase, I had all the know-how I needed. But that's who knows how many years of piano-experience etc., and again, not everyone has that. And that's ok!

That certainly is an option, and I would have felt comfortable doing that with the seller I bought from, but he never even brought it up, and I didn't think of it. I also was so excited I was in a big hurry to get that piano!

His piano wasn't listed on PianoMart (they do take a small percentage of the sale, so not everyone wants to do that), and when I suggested some other escrow, or even a direct wire transfer etc., he said all of those things have fees and he didnt' want to do it.

Since you didn’t include that you still had the piano in your original check deposit story, I was afraid you were at risk of losing the piano and the payment. It’s good to hear that they were some inconvenience but not really a risk of losing money,

Sorry, I thought I mentioned that the mover would not be able to move the piano until the next week after the buyer wrote me the check. I deposited the check (although it took two tries ) the next day.

Another point that might be worth mentioning, that might help someone else, when I bought my Yamaha C7, it was located in a bordering state, just across the state line. The mover, a friend and former school classmate, asked if I would help with the move, and naturally that worked out, because I was going to meet them there anyway. So, I rode with the movers in his truck.

On the way to the location where the piano was located, (about 200 miles) the mover asked me if I was sure the piano would still be there when we got there. I told the mover that I was only sure of death and taxes, but I felt confident the piano would still be there. He said he had been hired to move several pianos for individuals, private sale, and when he got to the location where the piano was supposed to be, it had already been sold to someone else, other than the person who hired him to move it. He said this had happened several times in his piano moving experiences.

I told him that if the piano was sold to someone else, since I looked at it and agreed to buy it from the sellers, I would still pay him the agreed upon fee for the moving expenses. He seemed satisfied with that answer.

So, apparently, all is fair in love, war, and piano acquisitions... (just kidding; or am I?)

Rick

That's horrible! I mean, if a buyer hadn't paid for the piano, at least they're not out that money, but yeah, there are the costs of movers, for one thing. And for another, say you were piano shopping, decided to buy piano A so you stopped pursuing piano B. When you go to piano A, it's no longer available, but in the meantime, piano B was also sold. If you knew you couldn't buy piano A, you would have bought piano B.

We really are at the mercy of the seller when buying from a private seller. But most of the time, I think most folks have good intentions and these more dramatic scenarios don't happen all that much. It's just that they are so upsetting that when they do happen, it looms large in our imagination...

Ebay offers escrow service through escrow.com, or you can just go to escrow.com if you don't want to work with ebay. I've not used it for a piano but I have for a large purchase amount. Paypal also offers escrow service through escrow.com, but I haven't used it. It's probably a few hundred bucks for a piano purchase.

Let's quit yakking and buy a piano...The buyer has $10K. There are pianos out there.

I know the buyer is not wild about Kawai (I like them), but how about a Kawai-built product with a wooden action and different hammers?

https://www.pianocenter.com/gallery...rely-played-immaculate-polished-mahogany

If I could find a recent vintage 5'10" Hailun for $10k, I'd give it a look.

https://www.pianoworks.com/shop/pianos/mid-sized-grand-pianos/hailun-510-hg-178/

Baldwins? I think a R is very do-able and maybe a L. Always have a tech go over a Baldwin. There are some years better than others. The 6000 you found? Have a tech look at the action, but they are very nice sounding pianos. Ain't a grand, though.

I think a 5'8" Petrof or a 5'6" Estonia may just be too much money...If you do find a Weinbach that has the Czech components, I think that's also within budget.

Somebody mentioned the Pramberger. Nice piano, better than you would think.

Those are just some options...Personally, I jettison finish preference (except for white -eww) and concentrate on touch and tone. A good piano is where you find it...

Update-
Thanks so much for all of the advice everyone! This thread was extremely helpful in our decision-making. Despite our intentions to purchase a grand, we ended up opting for the Baldwin 6000 and just had it delivered about two hours ago. Ultimately, the combination of the Baldwin’s musicality, price and space saving were what pushed us in its direction. The whole family has had a chance to play it a bit already and I’m quite impressed with the improved control it grants me, compared to the 60s era Baldwin Hamilton that it is replacing, and its beautiful and unique voice.

Thanks again everyone!

Congratulations on your new-to-you Baldwin 6000 Concert upright piano! Those are very nice indeed. And, as you say, it does have that unique Baldwin tone, only found on Baldwin pianos.

I almost bought a pre-owned Baldwin 6000 upright years ago. The seller lived on the Military Base near Columbus, Fort Benning. I went to look at it, and had to go through a Military Checkpoint, with uniformed solders with side arms. Kind of scary, when not used to it.

The Baldwin 6000 had been moved around a lot and was a little rough, and well used. I actually made an offer, but the seller declined.

Anyway, congratulations again, and post pictures when you can!

Rick

Piparoo, congratulations! May you and your family enjoy many hours of music-making, for years to come!!

Congratulations! I love Baldwins.

Congratulations on your new-to-you Baldwin. I do love the Baldwin sound!