I talk to the trees Posted October 18, 2012 Share Posted October 18, 2012 We have a very large upright piano that was purchased 6 years ago in the hopes that dd would learn to play. After 2 l-o-n-g years of lessons, we waved the white flag, and let her focus on the art that she loves: ballet. We have a very small house. The only place where we could set up a portable ballet barre for her to practice daily is the wall/room where the piano lives. This is what she has requested as a birthday/Christmas gift. I think it's perfectly reasonable, especially given that we have three other keyboard instruments in the house (harpsichord, virginal, and synthesizer.) So the piano must go. We knew that we wouldn't be able to sell it, but you'd think we would be able to *give* the darned thing away. And you'd be wrong! Nobody wants a piano, not even a free one. I did find one shop 40 minutes away that would be glad to take it off our hands....if WE pay the $375 piano movers' fee. Ummm....you're joking, right? I guess I'm going to have to pay a fee for the removal (hopefully less than $375, since the landfill is only a couple of miles away), but part of me (a very large part, actually) wants to get out a hand saw, and hack the old thing into parts that I could haul to the landfill myself! :tongue_smilie: No thank you, I don't care for any cheese to go with this whine. It's just frustrating that we can't even afford to give away the dratted old thing! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elegantlion Posted October 18, 2012 Share Posted October 18, 2012 Wow, I'd take it, but I'm not a huge fan of travel in Mordor. :lol: Seriously, I do check for free listings from time to time. Most people charge even for ones that should be free. Not sure where we'd put one either, but I'd love to have a piano again. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Leav97 Posted October 18, 2012 Share Posted October 18, 2012 I'll take it if your in MN. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spryte Posted October 18, 2012 Share Posted October 18, 2012 Can you freecycle it? Or post it for free on Craigslist? Just state in the posting that they must bring strong people to do the moving, and a big truck. Good luck! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mommymilkies Posted October 18, 2012 Share Posted October 18, 2012 That's crazy! Why can't anyone just move it in a truck and get it retuned, too? That's basically what we did when we bought one. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
I talk to the trees Posted October 18, 2012 Author Share Posted October 18, 2012 I'm considering a digital piano instead. A very wise move indeed! Especially since most of the nice ones now have weighted keys, so it feels so much more natural. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thescrappyhomeschooler Posted October 18, 2012 Share Posted October 18, 2012 Dh had a baby grand piano that his grandfather had given them as kids. I don't have the energy to type out the whole story of trying to get rid of that thing, but suffice it to say that I sympathize with you entirely! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
I talk to the trees Posted October 18, 2012 Author Share Posted October 18, 2012 Wow, I'd take it, but I'm not a huge fan of travel in Mordor. :lol: Seriously, I do check for free listings from time to time. Most people charge even for ones that should be free. Not sure where we'd put one either, but I'd love to have a piano again. Travel in the area has greatly improved since that Aragorn fellow's coronation. ;) In all seriousness, digital is the way to go with keyboards. I can haul dh's synthesizer under one arm, and its amp under the other. The harpsichord and virginal are both 2-man jobs, but they're both very light in comparison to a piano. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wildiris Posted October 18, 2012 Share Posted October 18, 2012 I was given a baby grand Steinway because the person who owned it couldn't sell the darn thing. I paid $500.00 to have it moved. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kim in Appalachia Posted October 18, 2012 Share Posted October 18, 2012 Travel in the area has greatly improved since that Aragorn fellow's coronation. ;) In all seriousness, digital is the way to go with keyboards. I can haul dh's synthesizer under one arm, and its amp under the other. The harpsichord and virginal are both 2-man jobs, but they're both very light in comparison to a piano. I do like digital because it's more portable, but a digital dies. A piano has a life span of at least 50 years. But the real ones are very difficult to move. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
plansrme Posted October 18, 2012 Share Posted October 18, 2012 Do you not have Craigslist? I gave away an 8' x 10' storage building with a HOLE in the roof in Craigslist--surely you can give away a piano??? Terri Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arcadia Posted October 18, 2012 Share Posted October 18, 2012 Nobody wants a piano, not even a free one. I did find one shop 40 minutes away that would be glad to take it off our hands....if WE pay the $375 piano movers' fee. Ummm....you're joking, right? Our piano movers fee was less than $200 and two guys came with a van. One of the mover is the boss of his small piano movers company. I gave away my first upright piano to a non-profit that helps educate down syndrome late teens to adults. They get vocational education and music is for their relaxation. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DarlaS Posted October 18, 2012 Share Posted October 18, 2012 That's crazy! Why can't anyone just move it in a truck and get it retuned, too? That's basically what we did when we bought one. Moving an upright piano in anything less than an enclosed trailer is a bad idea: ) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DarlaS Posted October 18, 2012 Share Posted October 18, 2012 I've also been trying to get rid of a piano since July. No takers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Farrar Posted October 18, 2012 Share Posted October 18, 2012 Moving an upright piano in anything less than an enclosed trailer is a bad idea: ) Ha! But we just rented a U-Haul truck when we bought one. It was cheap. And then I paid some of my alley guys off to help us move it into the basement. I admit my arms and back were sore, but now we have a piano. ETA: Oh, and today Mushroom just spontaneously played Mary Had a Little Lamb at a random place with a piano! Hey, a month of lessons! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mommymilkies Posted October 18, 2012 Share Posted October 18, 2012 Moving an upright piano in anything less than an enclosed trailer is a bad idea: ) Ours was a rented u-haul. They're cheap. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DarlaS Posted October 18, 2012 Share Posted October 18, 2012 Ours was a rented u-haul. They're cheap. Right. I even offered to rent a U-haul trailer and move the thing myself since my vehicle has a hitch (to a friend). Still a no-go. My mom may take it to her house. That would be nice since she is the reason we have it. She bought it about 12 years ago when a friend of hers moved since she could not bear the thought of her friend's piano being given away. I would have never bought a 600 lb piano. It's probably about 80 years old. We now have a nice digital (Yamaha Arius) and oldest ds has a Casio stage piano in his room (a Privia). I took it because like a good daughter, I tend to go along with things. (I'm working on that...) Three pianos in one house is two too many. :tongue_smilie: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
I talk to the trees Posted October 18, 2012 Author Share Posted October 18, 2012 I gave away my first upright piano to a non-profit that helps educate down syndrome late teens to adults. They get vocational education and music is for their relaxation. Ah! Thanks for the idea! I hadn't thought to contact local nursing homes! I might as well give it a try! The real problem with moving this old guy is that it's more a piece of furniture than an instrument. It was made in 1910, when the piano was the "entertainment center" of the day. It's so large that it has to be turned on its side just to get out the door. And then our door has to be taken off its hinges, and part of the porch rails removed. That's where the extra fees come in. *sigh* Heck, if it were just a little spinet, dh and I could probably get it out the door ourselves! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michelle My Bell Posted October 18, 2012 Share Posted October 18, 2012 Did you try advertising it through your local homeschool community or even a non-profit group? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
QueenCat Posted October 18, 2012 Share Posted October 18, 2012 This thread is worrying me.... I have a ten year old piano that I'm thinking about getting rid of since ds doesn't play anymore..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DarlaS Posted October 18, 2012 Share Posted October 18, 2012 This thread is worrying me.... I have a ten year old piano that I'm thinking about getting rid of since ds doesn't play anymore..... It's really only a problem with huge awkward heavy old uprights. Usually a baby grand is worth moving, and the consoles and spinets can be moved by anyone even with just a pick-up truck. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tap Posted October 18, 2012 Share Posted October 18, 2012 (edited) I would call around to some piano teachers or at the local music schools. Offer them a $50 finders fee if it can be gone in 30 days time. LOL You may try putting up signs in your neighborhood, so someone doesn't have to move it far....just out of your house. :0) You might want to get an estimate from a piano company for general delivery within a 30 mile radius. Then post it again on Craistlist for $500 with free delivery* within 30 miles. You can * note that delivery must be within 30 miles, staircases or special delivery options, to be paid by the person recieving the piano. Edited October 18, 2012 by Tap, tap, tap Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
I talk to the trees Posted October 18, 2012 Author Share Posted October 18, 2012 I'll tell you another hesitation I have with going with a free piano. It's still a good deal if all I have to do is pay to ship it right? Well I know nothing about pianos. So how would I know if I'm getting a lemon? Then I'd be stuck with the thing and either have to pay to have it fixed or trashed. Ummmm, it's not just the quality of the instrument. It's the instrument's potential tenants, if you take my meaning. :ack2: So yeah, I guess I understand folks not wanting to snap up this bargain! ;) Still......I just hate to *pay* for it to go to the *dump*, ya know? To a church or a school, sure, but that's different. It's going to be used. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Forget-Me-Not Posted October 18, 2012 Share Posted October 18, 2012 Have you put it on FB as "free for pickup"? That's how I got rid of my old piano, and it was a serious beater. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bzymom Posted October 18, 2012 Share Posted October 18, 2012 If you have a music education program at a local college, try putting flyers up there. Some of the kids would love to have a piano at their off-campus places and are able to move them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FairProspects Posted October 18, 2012 Share Posted October 18, 2012 According to several music teachers, it is partly that fewer children are learning to play the piano these days and so there is an excess of pianos. The cost of lessons has become unaffordable for many, and we are now in a generation of parents where many of them do not play an instrument or do not value music as a source of entertainment and skill so do not choose to pass the value of playing an instrument on to their children. This is different from my grandparent's generation where many, if not most people played at least a little. I'm not really sure why this is, whether TV in part killed the need for evening musical entertainment or what, but that is my grandmother's theory. She also blames the dishwasher for the loss of an entire genre of songs within one generation. :D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
I talk to the trees Posted October 18, 2012 Author Share Posted October 18, 2012 Did you try advertising it through your local homeschool community or even a non-profit group? Been there, tried that. Unfortunately, none of the families have space for our 2-ton gorilla! I have tried churches (to no avail), and I know that the local college is trying to get rid of some of their old uprights, so that's not an option. I haven't given up yet, though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
I talk to the trees Posted October 18, 2012 Author Share Posted October 18, 2012 I'll take it if your in MN. :) Ah....I wish I were in MN! I lived in Minneapolis for a couple of years, and loved it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ellesmere Posted October 18, 2012 Share Posted October 18, 2012 That reminds me of an article I read in the NY Times about pianos ... you aren't alone! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LisaKinVA Posted October 18, 2012 Share Posted October 18, 2012 I've tried three times on freecycle to get a piano...and each time I lose out. :( Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Laurie4b Posted October 18, 2012 Share Posted October 18, 2012 part of me (a very large part, actually) wants to get out a hand saw, and hack the old thing into parts that I could haul to the landfill myself! :tongue_smilie: No thank you, I don't care for any cheese to go with this whine. It's just frustrating that we can't even afford to give away the dratted old thing! Dh did that--not with a hand saw, but he took apart one we had that was beautiful, but would not stay in tune. It went to the dump in pieces. I hope some parts of it might have been useable to the right people (wood, metal, etc.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AlmiraGulch Posted October 18, 2012 Share Posted October 18, 2012 My husband is the Sales Manager at a piano store in our area. They take pianos from people all the time and sell them on consignment, although admittedly it's often when they're taking it on a trade. Anyway, the point is you may want to try other stores and see if they'll take it and sell it on consignment. They often will, and they'll just back the pick-up cost out of what they would owe you when it sells. As for a digital...you can get BEAUTIFUL digitals that look like the real thing but, like you said, don't way a million pounds. And if you buy it from a reputable dealer, they come with good warranties (10 - 20 years, depending on what you buy and where you buy it). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HappyCrazyMama Posted October 18, 2012 Share Posted October 18, 2012 Interesting, I've gotten rid of three pianos via free, u-haul ads. Most of our pianos have also been delivered and removed via trucks.:) (Very well strapped!) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sherri in MI Posted October 18, 2012 Share Posted October 18, 2012 Yeah it's crazy. I'd like to get a piano. When I go looking on Craigslist there are literally tons of free pianos. But the trouble is moving the darn thing. I'm considering a digital piano instead. Same problem here. We have had the opportunity to get 3 different free pianos over the last year, but dh couldn't find enough help to move it & we can't afford to pay someone to move it. So sad & frustrating! I want a piano (for ds & for me) so badly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Acorn Posted October 18, 2012 Share Posted October 18, 2012 I wish we could get it. My heart dropped reading the article of piano disposal. I have been watching local ads, but I am terrified of unwanted inhabitants with buying a used piano. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pegasus Posted October 18, 2012 Share Posted October 18, 2012 Wow. I guess we got lucky. At one point several years ago, DH decided we needed to have a piano. No one in the family plays or takes lessons. :confused: He bought an old piano fairly cheaply and moved it himself with one friend using a rented U-Haul truck. I let it sit and take up room for a few years until I was able to convince him that it should go. We posted it free with the stipulation that the taker had to move and transport it. We had several potential takers within a few hours and it was gone the next day. BTW, the friend got DH back later by asking for his help in insulating his attic. :lol: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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