Preface to above: Same piano, rebuilt and refinished. Ernestly asked by a viewer: "Why is your piano worth more than mine"? (Your's hasn't been touched by a piano technician in 30 years).

This is the most asked question we field here at our Piano Service. If the caller/e-mailer is here in our home base of New Mexico, we advocate for the home inspection and appraisal by our piano technician . The best way to thoroughly appraise a pianos value is to physically examine, play and listen to the instrument.

Wherever you are, your local phone book is always a good starting place to find a tuner/technician who will schedule a visit to your home. Another resource would be to visit PTG.org (the Piano Technician's Guild)

There are many factors to be considered in what a piano might be worth, it’s type and size, quality, manufacturers name, age and condition. Old and not-so-old pianos are around by the millions in every size, shape, style and condition. Some pianos might be in pristine condition but their quality at the beginning was not particularly good. Other pianos may have come from stellar origins but haven’t been treated well over the years and are coming apart (a candidate for rebuilding). A badly abused high quality piano might be worth less than a well preserved one of lower quality.

The manufacturers name is an indicator of a pianos quality but not always. Names can be misleading in our modern market where many Asian pianos have old American names that are more ‘friendly’ in our market (ex.: Chickering, Knabe, Weber, Wurlitzer, etc.)

If for whatever reasons you cannot have a piano tuner/tech come for an inspection and you really want to know what your piano is worth, here is a quick and affordable alternative to consider. Our on-line Piano Appraisal can reveal a considerable amount about an instrument. With pictures and pointed questions we give you an appropriate price range and include a certificate with pertinent information about your piano. We charge $20.00 for this service.

As in the above pictures, your piano probably fits into one of the descriptions, that's why we never say a piano is worth x Dollars. Condition is everything, inside and out. Just reading through our Online Appraisal will give you some idea of what determines a piano's value and what might make it worth more. One of the very few exceptions would be the piano we show on the front page which is extremely ornate and everything is hand carved. This type of case on an upright or a grand piano would raise it's value considerably, above all other conditions.

It would also be worth reading our Buying A Used piano page as well. It shows case parts on both Grand Pianos as well as Upright pianos.