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Hi everyone,
I saw a Henry F Miller 2011 baby grand piano. It doesn’t have model number and is from a private seller. The size is about 5”. How much is it worth? From what I read online, it seems to be made in China. Does anyone have insight about this brand’s quality?
Thank you.

It's worth what anyone is willing to pay. I would give it a wide berth!

Built by Pearl River in China. Quality would be "fair." This was an entry level "economy" consumer grade instrument. If in good condition I'm guessing a fair price from a private seller might be around $3,000.

I can’t remember what factory these were coming from at that time. Definitely an entry level piano for a beginner, hobbyist, or interior designer.

I must remember that! It's a good one!

Cheers!

I have an older Henry F Miller spinet upright that my late wife inherited from her mother. In fact, my late wife and her sister bought the piano for their mother back in the early 1970s. Not a top of the line piano, but would be a good starter piano for someone. I keep it as a family heirloom, but thinking about giving it to my late wife's sister to make room in my piano shop.

As for the later model Chinese made stencil HFM models, I agree with the others in that it is not likely a high-quality piano. But that doesn't mean it might not sound nice or play well. It is possible it could meet your needs for the moment. I don't think I'd pay a lot for it if it were me.

Good luck!

Rick

Since your 10 yo is already an intermediate player, I don’t think this will serve him well. I would advise against buying.

Thank you very much for your help, everyone.
I do feel it might be too small for my son. So I think I am going to pass on this one.
His teacher has recommended us to get a Kawai 5’5” or above since last fall. A new one is not in my budget at the moment. So I am going to keeping looking for a used piano with a decent quality and hope it will serve him for a long time.

The two Kawai models that would be used but too old at the 5’5” size are the GE-30 and RX-1.

The Young Chang PG185 you were considering is infinitely better than the small Henry F Miller.

I meant to say, “NOT too old”. Voice to text didn’t catch a very important word...

We did look at a used Kawai GE30 in local piano store. It wasn’t played much and was priced at 17k, which exceeds my budget..

I do agree..

"...We did look at a used Kawai GE30 in local piano store. It wasn’t played much and was priced at 17k, which exceeds my budget.."

It is perfectly acceptable to negotiate. Especially if you've prepared, and have reliable information about the market and the pianos, make a counteroffer. The worst they can do is say No... and, so what; they just heard it from you. Negotiate with a smile; it can be fun. The bottom line is, you're shopping in a major buyer's market

IF you like the shop and the attitude of the staff, it can be worth your while to be frank with them about what you're looking for, and your budget. Leave a contact number or e-mail, and suggest that they call if something comes their way that you might like.Then look in anyway, every so often. In your back pocket, keep handy the line, "It sounds good, but I'll have to talk it over with my husband." Or wife. Whatever. This is for cases where they press you to buy NOW, TODAY, the deal is going away tomorrow.

No. The deal is not going away tomorrow. And in fact, you might do better across the street, or from a private seller. Piano technicians sometimes know when their customers are ready to move up the piano foodchain, and know that a piano is coming into the market that might be right for you. You will be needing a tech anyway, so this is a good chance to shop for them.

https://www.ptg.org/home

Piano Technicians Guild can refer you to its members, based on your Zip code. They must meet at least a pretty ambitious standard for proficiency, and subscribe to a code of ethics in order to belong and receive these referrals. While you're shopping, especially from private sellers, I really advise that you have any serious candidate inspected for condition before you make up your mind. You will pay for about an hour of the tech's time, and they will examine your candidate piano and tell you what they find. They will know its age, read its history, determine its quality and tell you what repairs it will need. And, they will know what price is reasonable in the local market.

And BTW, please forget that Henry F. Miller. The specimens I have seen are of very poor make, and one of them is a candidate for the worst piano I have ever seen. You can do better.

I wish you the best of luck! If you have questions, write back and ask.

Jeff, thank you so much for such thorough information! I just found out the technician I hired to check out pianos for me happened to be one of RPT in the area. His name is Michael Gill. I had him inspect a Yamaha G1 and a Young Chang PG185 (2000). G1 was from a private owner and asked for $7500. he said it was in very good condition but was overpriced. The seller won’t lower the price. He recommended a Kawai KG2 (1970) from a piano restoration store he worked with frequently. It was priced at $6000. After checking Young Chang PG185, he recommended it over KG2 for the reason that PG185 is 30 years younger. However, after he gave a very good feedback on the PG185, the shop owner became very firm on the price, even removed the previous offer of free delivery for 5 steps stair level floor.
I realized that piano stores and piano technicians in the area all know each other or worked with each other for some degrees. I think it might be better to get some opinions on the prices from independent parties and hope to get more objective opinion. So here I am.
I do have one very naive question..although a music lover, myself I don’t play any piano. I saw from online discussions, many piano players have always upgraded pianos across years. I know there are some reasons due to the affordability at the different time. But, if it is purely from a technical perspective, is it better to get the best and the biggest piano we can afford at the beginning or should we gradually upgrade in terms of size, quality and price? My son is 10 and has learned piano for almost two years. He has progressed very fast. Based on his teacher he was already at intermediate level last September. Last week, I let him play Chopin’s Waltz in A Minor and Yiruma’s River Flows on a used Kawai RX6 with very nice external condition (tentative price of 20k+) in a store, it definitely sounds much more beautiful than Young Chang PG185, especially for the trills ( according my untrained ear). My son likes it too, but he felt it may be too much for him because of much heavier keys and much deeper tone than Young Chang PG185 for his taste. I don’t know if I should make a decision solely based on his thoughts, after all he is too young to know what type of piano will serve best for him in a long run. So I am wondering if I should do a big stretch to get a better one like RX6 now or buy a smaller and cheaper one and upgrade down the road.
I guess it is down to the question, what kind of piano will benefit him most from a technical perspective and help him improve his skills faster?
Thank you.

Are you serious? The shop owner reneged on his offer? If so, what a jacka$$.

Yes, it definitely didn’t motivate me to make a purchase. I am not sure how reliable it is with their warranty, for a company has only been around for over a year.

There are all kinds of people in this world, and it is not my place to judge, but if I were you I would not buy anything from this dealer, nor ever recommend him. It sounds to me like he is the kind of person who's word is not worth much. That means his in-house warranty would not be worth much either. What a pity.

Good luck!

Rick