Piano World Home Page Forums Our Most Popular Forums Digital Pianos - Electronic Pianos - Synths & Keyboards First digital piano for my almost 6 year-old son.

I've been looking through Facebook marketplace for an used digital piano for my son. So far I've seen that they are overpriced, but at the same time I don't know enough about pianos to be able to make an educated decision. There are two pianos posted for $1250 (I would definitely try to offer much lower since they have been listed for weeks), and I wanted to get some input to see if they are even worth it.
The first one is a Yamaha Arius ydp-142 ( I think those were released around 2013, please correct me if I'm wrong), and the second one is a Yamaha clp-430 ( I think release date for this one was 2011). Both owners claim they are both in great condition.
I feel that they are asking too much, but how much do you guys think those pianos are worth. I would appreciate any input you had for me. Thank you so much.

A 10 year old digital would be worth no more than 25% of its street price, when new. Only exception might be for a hybrid digital, which tends to evolve a lot more slowly than a 3-4 year update cycle.

A lot of private sellers are clueless about their older used digital piano value. New may be the better way to go in these situations.

In terms of the Yamaha YDP 142, it is three versions older than the current YDP-145 (released this year) which is about US$1300 on Amazon.com. The YDP-144 is still on the market for US$1200 on Amazon. Just for your reference on the current going price.

I don't know where you're located - which influences how big a used market there is. But, in general, I'd suggest a new unit in whatever price range you're in. You and your son don't need the aggravations of possible problems with a used instrument. (This advice could, of course, change if you had a nice choice of used instruments that were NOT over-priced - but it seems that isn't the case here. And over time a properly performing instrument, with warranty, may be more important than saving a few $$.

Thank you all so much for your input. I knew those digital pianos were over-priced, but I had no idea they were that overpriced.
Now, I'm leaning towards buying a new unit.
The ydp-144 and ydp-145 from Amazon are looking more reasonable now . Are there any other units you all recommend to look into? Thank you all so much!

oh yea, they are extremely overpriced, I took mine apart recently, googled all the parts numbers the chips etc, it's a ridiculously low amount.

Another good option is the Casio Privia PX-870 which is about the same price as Yamaha YDP-144 on Amazon.

Maybe check Roland FP-60x. It is a pity that part of this amount would go to this stand from wood instead of the instrument.

And you can always buy it for Roland with pedals later

As a first digital I'd look for any major brand that's on a clearance sale. Neither of you have any experience choosing a piano that feels a certain way, so just buy whatever is on sale, reasonable quality, and can be resold. I'd stick with Yamaha, Kawai, Roland and Casio. Amazon Prime days are coming up in a week, check that out, or get it from an online place like Sweetwater that will stand behind what they sell in case you have a problem.

New2music, you've received some excellent advice already, but you might want to read this thread "Piano purchase advice for beginners" as well.

http://forum.pianoworld.com/ubbthreads.php/topics/3185478

To summarize:
1. Don't spend your entire music budget on the piano. Set a significant sum aside for learning how to play it with a teacher in person or online (or through books alone, if older and exceptionally dedicated). Else the piano will likely sit unused after a few months. It is only an instrument and your son needs to be trained to produce music with it.

2. The entry-level Kawai ES120, Roland FP30 and Yamaha P-125 will be fine for a few years. Depending on your son's innate talent and time spent practicing, this could be 3 years or maybe even 5 years. If interest in learning the piano dissipates, such pianos can easily be resold due to their price point and portability. If you can find a 1-2 year old piano at a big discount due to someone else losing interest, it could be worth it; else buy new for the warranty.

3. The next big step up, Kawai ES920, Roland FP90 and Yamaha P-515 represent good value for the serious intermediate player, as their key actions allow for more control over dynamics (e.g., gradations of soft to loud volume). But they cost twice as much as entry-level instruments and may not add much value for a rank beginner.

4. Each manufacturer has a range of instruments to cover every price point. It is up to you to distinguish between what is truly important (e.g., key action) vs. what is purely for appearance (e.g., cabinetry). For example, the Yamaha P-515 is much better than the Yamaha YDP-145, though the latter looks more like a "real" piano due to its wooden cabinet. With its optional wooden stand and three-pedal unit, the former could be made to look nice, too, and these options add to stability while playing.

5. I did not mention Casio above, since some of their older (PX series) pianos had better key actions than their newer (PX-S series) pianos. Casios historically have offered great value, packing a lot into instruments that compete well with Kawai, Roland and Yamaha.

All the best to you and your son on your musical journey!
Regards,
Lotus
_____________________________________
Kawai GM-10 grand / Yamaha DGX-660 digital

Since this will be somebody’s first digital piano, i am intrigued enough to wonder what the basis is for your determination that some used DPs you found by way of a web outlet are overpriced. I do not mean to suggest you are mistaken. Those particular used DPs you found may or may not be over priced. The contributing factors that may be involved are not always apparent to anyone regardless of whether or not they’ve been down this road before. It is more a matter of wondering if you arrived at this view simply based on your sticker-price-used-item-shock-value, or based on experience & careful analysis.

If you are in America versus Europe, traditionally, the value placed on the sale of used items tends to differ such that the former is where people are quicker to throw away the old in favor of buying something new. Both sides of the pond tend to give some credence to the age old theory of commerce - how supply & demand works.

Based on widely varied sources of information, be they coming from on-line / rumor-mill / grapevine / word-of-mouths / web forum sources or accurate official reports from somewhere/anywhere, the general supply of new things - from DPs to diapers - is said to be low, disrupted from what was the norm prior to 2020. Some people wanting to buy something may resort to shopping used due to lack of supply of new things. In theory, this may result in some people with something used to sell doing what the theory dictates; trying to take advantage of the used seller’s market created by the disruption in the new stuff market.

So far, you have barely scratched the surface of the DP world; a Facebook Market view of some used DPs for sale in your region. Whether you end up buying anything used or new, i sincerely hope you can determine how to get past this introductory what-to-buy-without-getting-swindled stage, so that the more-important end stage can come to the fore ….. the 6 year old piano student mentioned under title of this thread. 🙂

Almost $1300 for a decade old GHS action keyboard. Wow. Take off the thousands digit and it's be closer to a decent deal. To be honest, same with the Clav. Unfortunately, these used instruments depreciate faster than is frequently worth it for people to sell, and sellers often overprice them as if they are antique furniture rather than consumer electronics.

The current gen YDP-145 is literally the same price brand new (ok, $50 more: https://www.sweetwater.com/store/de...gital-home-piano-with-bench-black-walnut). And you don't have any wear and tear, you get more current features and sound engine, the full manufacturer warranty and the reseller's return/exchange policy.