Buying a New Piano…. Where to Buy From?

Photo Credit: T.spang

I hope you are enjoying your summer so far and are managing to stay cool! Here in the DC area it can get quite hot and has been lately. With the intense humidity it can feel miserable outside. Thank goodness for air conditioning!

Lately I’ve been talking about a lot of piano specifics. Three weeks ago I discussed when you should upgrade from a keyboard to a piano. Two weeks ago I discussed what to look for in your new piano. Today I’m going to share some specific places you can buy a piano from.

While some of the stores I recommend are local to the Washington, DC area, they also can ship a piano you purchase to another area if you live elsewhere.

I recommend the following:

• Rick Jones Pianos

A number of families that I teach have had incredible experiences buying a piano from Rick Jones. Of all of the resources I share, I recommend Rick Jones the most even though I haven’t personally purchased a piano from him.

Rick has been in the business of selling pianos for 28 years and many of his employees have worked for him for at least a decade or two. Rick is a pianist himself and very obviously cares about taking wonderful care of his customers and his employees. The store is very welcoming and encourages you to touch everything! They sell mostly used pianos and a small number of new pianos.

They restore and regulate the action (sometimes even rebuild) all of their used pianos so they look, feel, and play like new, but at a fraction of the price. While the physical location of the store is in the DC metro area, they have sold their pianos to customers throughout the US and even all over the world.

I love the very detailed online listing they have of each piano for sale. You do not see so many specifics given at most piano stores. Each piano has a slideshow with photos of the piano taken from every angle. A video is posted where Rick or one of the staff members explains the particulars of the piano and play a piece on the piano, so you can hear how it sounds. As I mentioned a couple of weeks ago, tone does matter, so this is extremely helpful!

In addition there’s a scale of 1-10 for tone (mellow to bright) and 1-10 for touch (light to heavy), so you can see how the piano matches up to your preferences. The list price is given in addition to the price of the same piano if you purchased it new. This really highlights how much money purchasing used saves you.

If you live within 100 miles of the store, they will deliver the piano to you for free. As an added bonus, all of the pianos come with a 10 year warranty. Most new pianos come with only a 5 year warranty. You get a lifetime trade in, so if you ever decide you’d like to upgrade to another piano in the future, you can use the purchase price towards the purchase of a new piano down the road. How cool is that?

• Jordan Kitts

This piano store has locations in Rockville, MD and Fairfax, VA. They offer mostly new pianos, but also some used ones. They sell digital pianos too and give you the option to rent a piano as well. If you rent from them and decide to buy a piano in the future, the price of the rental will go towards the price of the piano purchase. For new pianos, you need to email them to get the prices, whereas for used pianos, the prices are listed online.

• Steinway and Sons

The majority of pianists consider Steinway to be the best– the gold standard of pianos. If you attend a concert with a well known artist, chances are they’ll play on a Steinway and Sons piano. Steinway pianos do not come cheap– especially a new one. If you can swing buying a Steinway, you will not regret it. A piano is an investment, and if you maintain it, you will be able to get a return down the road.

Every piano I’ve ever owned was sold for more than was paid for even after I used it for years. Today I play on a Boston Grand (designed by Steinway) at home. I know for a fact that if I ever wanted to sell my piano or trade it in, I would get significantly more for it than my parents paid 15 years ago, even though the piano has been used quite heavily.

• College Piano Sales

Many colleges frequently sell off their existing pianos and replace them with new ones after just a year or two of use. One of my friends got a great piano from one of these sales. Listen for ads on the radio. This is how I’ve heard about these sales in the past.

• craigslist.org

Many people sell their pianos for a low price or even give them away for free (if you’re willing to move them) on craigslist. You can definitely get a good deal; however, you must be really careful because unless you know what you’re doing, you may get a lemon. It very often costs more to fix up a broken piano than to buy a new or used one in good condition. If in doubt don’t hesitate to call a piano technician to discuss. I recommend Piano Craft. Pianos purchased on craigslist don’t come with any warranty, so do your homework before you purchase a craigslist piano.

I hope this information helps! As always, don’t hesitate to contact your teacher if you are interested in purchasing a piano. I’m always happy to help my students find a piano that works well for them. Leave a comment below and tell me where you purchased your piano from and what you liked about the experience. Please subscribe to the newsletter, “like us” on Facebook, and share this with your friends.

Until next Thursday!

Sincerely,

Cassie