SELLING AMAZING BOSENDORFER PIANO- NEED HELP!

[beacali]

Hi everyone
I have a Bosendorfer Grand Concert Piano, estimated value around 100K. Trying to find a good home for it- someone that can treasure it and love it. I am a fish out of the water when it comes to this and would greatly appreciate some help. Maybe forum's like this are the perfect place to find a buyer? Or maybe someone knows a trustworthy source I can reach out to. Anything would help! Thank you so much!

[oxy60]

One thing that would help us help you would be for us to know where the piano is located. Transporting it safely to the new buyer is one factor. And distance will be part of the calculation.

[ahinton]

I am assuming (although in the absence of your confirmation I suppose that I shouldn't jump to such conclusions) that the instrument is a modern Bösendorfer 190 in tip-top condition. However, not only have you yet to reveal its location and condition, you've also not confirmed the currency in which you express its estimated value, which can make a whole raft of difference; one hundred thousand British pounds is a great deal more than one hundred thousands US, Canadian or Australian dollars, for example! These and other details will help anyone to decide what to think about it. What age is the instrument and to how much maintenance work of what kind has it been subjected during its history? Did its previous owner own it from new? How often has it been moved?

I suppose that you could advertise it on eBay (people do such things even with pianos such as yours) but you might be better off consulting Bösendorfer agents / dealerships.

Anyway - good luck!

Best,

Alistair

[beacali]

Sorry I am not familiar with what information is most important so bare with me as I am learning
The piano is located in Texas- about an hour away from Austin. It was purchased in 2000 brand new and moved professionally into the home it is still at to this day. It was taken care of and looked after extremely well, I cannot stress that enough. The currency I expressed is in US dollars. I hope this helps, and let me know any other questions/suggestions you have. I have entertained the idea of Ebay, but I would much rather find a different means of selling it.

[ahinton]

Sorry I am not familiar with what information is most important so bare with me as I am learning
The piano is located in Texas- about an hour away from Austin. It was purchased in 2000 brand new and moved professionally into the home it is still at to this day. It was taken care of and looked after extremely well, I cannot stress that enough. The currency I expressed is in US dollars. I hope this helps, and let me know any other questions/suggestions you have. I have entertained the idea of Ebay, but I would much rather find a different means of selling it.

That's all helpful indeed - but you've still not told us what model it is!

Best,

Alistair

[john90]

Minimum info: The length of it, from nose to tail, plus the serial number. Also if you count the number of keys, including black ones. There might be some extra black ones at the left of the keyboard that look as if they should be white. Include those.

Extras:
In terms of pictures, people would want to see the hammers, taken through the strings. On a Boesendorfer, people like to see a picture of the square pegs where the strings finish, and the wood they go into, again under the music rest. Fold the rest flat, and gently slide it out. The music rest should slide out to allow this. Also, with the lid up, a photo inside of the overall strings, plus a photo of the serial number. Finally from underneath, a photo of the sound board, the light pine coloured belly. Then you might think about asthetic pictures of the whole instrument.

Get the name of the tuner/technician that looked after it. It will need a tune every 6 months or so even if not played. You really need to stick with the same person. Can you leave it where it is until it is sold?

Finally, have you thought of learning the piano if you don't play? Opening the lid, and tinkling a few notes purposefully, may relax you both, and keep you reassured that the piano is happy and in good health.

With the economic climate and low interest rates, the dollar falling against the Euro priced new Boesendorfers, investments doing poorly, it could take time to sell, and might sell better/for more next year. Who knows.

Oh, and welcome to the group. Sounds like you have a nice piano.

[lhorwinkle]

The answers given pertain mainly to the question "what is the condition of the piano?"

But I think that's not your question at all. Instead, your question is "how and where can I sell this piano?"

It seems that no one here can answer that.

[scottmcc]

I just moved away from texas, so I can tell you that the best thing to do if you are trying to get a piano sold is to contact one of the various local piano dealers.  there is at least one in houston who is a bosendorfer dealer, and san antonio, austin, and houston all have steinway dealers.  you should have no problem looking them up in the phone book and they will be able to give you a more accurate appraisal of your instrument and offer you advice on how to sell it.  if I were still in texas and in the market for a 100k instrument, I might consider it, but alas, neither of the above is true.  by the way, agree with other people's suggestions about specifics.  right now you might as well have said that you've got a used ferrari for sale, 100k, and not said anything more other than assuring us that it's in good condition.

[john90]

Selling ideas:
 0) Sell via piano technician that maintained it. He will have been talking to other owners, perhaps even about this very piano over the years.
 1) Full description on here with pics. This site gets indexed by Google.
 2) Sell on consignment with local specialist. Possibility of leaving the Piano where it is avoiding needless transport.
 3) Specialist piano Auction house.

I tried to sell a Steinway recently and the dealer offered what seemed like much better, open terms for consignment over purchase. Steinways seem to do well at auction these days, so that was going to be preferred choice for me, as some retail buyers also turn up at these auctions.

So I like the auction approach, or consignment sale from own home. Costs are fixed and more controllable. It can take years to sell a new Bosie in a dealer showroom. Tuning, repairs, dealers relocating and closing down are all risks. If a dealer goes bust with your piano in the showroom best case is that you face some legal and transport costs.

[keys60]

You can try listing it on www.pianomart.com but I would get it appraised first by a good tech/appraiser.