How to get rid of a piano

Piano is in bucks county pa. Near 95 and the jersey line. 

Doesn't a piano have a large cast iron frame inside it, making it so heavy? Wouldn't burning it still leave you with a big chunk of metal to deal with? What are scrap prices? 

My parish did two piano jobs and those are now on the "never again" list.  The first was donated to us to put in our silent auction.  Somehow we got snookered into having to deliver it, but I'm not sure how it got to us in the first place.  We had a truck with a liftgate and three guys and it was still absolutely awful.  The second was donated to us as long as we came and picked it up.  The transaction took place at the same time as the first one, so we made one trip to do both pianos.  Between getting it out of the house and on to the truck and then back off the truck again, it was just an incredible amount of work.  After that fiasco, they've decided that a free piano just costs too much.  So I can see why you'd have a hard time trying to give one away.

If the keys are actual ivory, it's highly likely that is a selling point to somebody. Even if they want to remove the keys and use them for scrimshaw. 

In reply to Brett_Murphy :

Ivory keys are laid over wooden keys virtually the same as plastic. So they aren’t something nice and thick that is easy to repurpose.  

A local garden center has 2 that are incorporated into water features like these.

The only other suggestion I have is put it beside the road with a sign for $25 on it.  It will get stolen.  

RealMiniNoMore said:

Doesn't a piano have a large cast iron frame inside it, making it so heavy? Wouldn't burning it still leave you with a big chunk of metal to deal with? What are scrap prices? 

Yes, they do. We just chopped up an old junk piano in our basement, and it's gut-busting work, and then you're left with a huge hunk of cast-iron to try and move. And, at least around here, crap prices are in the toilet.

And, at least around here, crap prices are in the toilet.

Yes, yes they are.  :)

In 1996 I wanted to buy a piano for my 5 year old son to start playing music.  No free pianos and cheap, decent ones were $1000.  I had minimum cash and sold my '66 Datsun Roadster to fund it and help out with a few other bills.   
 

It amuses me to see the free pianos nobody wants.  Kid only played three years.   
 

Regrets?  No, actually all a blessing.  The kid went on to play the French horn through Grad school in his church.  My daughter started early and is now a percussionist in marching band and her high school symphonic band.  

My M-I-L has an Organ in the corner of the living room.  I have listed it as free on CL a couple of time.  No one has ever even called.  

My Aunt and Uncle have always had a full sized concert grand in their living room. It’s probably 70 or 80 years old. Beautiful instrument- they took playing very seriously. 

As they both got in their 90’s, it was time to sell the house and furnishings. They called an appraiser to give an appraisal of the piano, thinking it had value. 

Turns out, they were right.  Steinway only made a few pianos of Brazilian Rosewood, and theirs was one of them. Steinway bought it back for $75,000. 

Good thing they didn’t make a fish tank out of it!

John Welsh said:

My M-I-L has an Organ in the corner of the living room.  I have listed it as free on CL a couple of time.  No one has ever even called.  

About 10 years ago I heard that my old grade school secretary had a Gulbransen organ she wanted to get rid of, so I called her up & said “Phyllis, I heard you want to be an organ donor?”

While I don’t actually play any keyboard instruments, I enjoy having them around as it allows me to discover/write things I never would on bass. However, the organ did not follow me when we moved. There just isn’t enough room at our new place. 

With organs, if they have vacuum tube amplifiers in them, they are easy to sell. Simply put the word tube in the ad and add guitar amp project in the description and they will sell for up to a few hundred depending on the tubes and transformers. 

As for solid state, Farfisas and some other console variants of 60's combo organs are still in demand and will be cut down to be able to be used by touring 60's style bands. 

Your average Lowery type home organ, well..... sometimes thrift stores will still take them.

In reply to SVreX :

Damn.  Reading through this thread I was mentally composing my post about how my step-mother has a grand piano (my father got it for yer years ago and it's cost them a pile of cash to move, including from MA to FL(!) which gets it's own dedicated room in their house).  My father has passed and my step-mom is fading pretty quickly so I see this piano becoming my albatross soon.  

Now I'm gonna have to find out if it has any actual value instead of just including it with the sale of the house.  (I suppose that is a first world problem)

My wife has an upright piano she paid like $4000 for in the mid 1990's.  She had lessons as a child so wanted one.  She hasn't touched it in over 10 years.   Its always in the way, weights like 400 lbs, I guess its out of tune but I am so tone deaf I could not tell the difference.  I actually tried to play it using some beginner instruction books but it sounded like I was typing music.  Or at least I approached it like I was typing music.

Occasionally I have suggested we try to sell it or donate it but I get dagger stares.  

I finally decided its her Miata and I would not want her to be suggesting I sell mine.   Peaceful solution. 

We had a baby grand piano in our house.

We put ads on Facebook, Craigslist, etc...

Nobody wanted it.

We asked local schools and piano teachers.

Nobody wanted it.

Somebody said we could pay them 300$ to take it away.

We chopped it up and burnt it in the backyard.

It's hard to unload a piano, and some people will balk at the "real ivory" part.  It's kinda like fur.  Some people will boycott it just because.  While I agree (no reason to kill animals for skin or cut off tusks), the damage is done.

There are ivory collectors who might want the keys, but it's not like you can post a contraband material on CL.  "Free butchered elephants" doesn't sound so good.

Check with local theaters.  Chances are they MIGHT want it if it's serviceable.  My theater has 5 pianos, so if you offered it to me I would say thanks but no thanks.

Check with:

Harrisburg:
Open Stage.  Ask for Chris Gibson
Gamut Theater.  Ask for Ross Carmichael
Oyster Mill Playhouse.  Ask for Susan Oscilowski or Aliza Bardfeld
Allenberry Playhouse (Keystone Theatrics).  Ask for Dustin LeBlanc
Little Theater of Mechanicsburg.  Not sure who to ask for
Pollock Center.  Ask for Kris Krahulec, but anyone can help you out.  You'll probably get Amy on the phone.

Lancaster:
Fulton Theater.  Ask for Bill Mohney
Dutch Apple Playhouse (Prather Entertainment).  Ask for Dominic Lau
Prima Theatre.  Ask for Mitch Nugent
Hershey Productions.  Ask for Ben Rand or Matt Spencer.
Gretna Theater.  Not sure these days who is there.
American Music Theater.  No contacts
Sight and Sound Theater.  Not sure if Taylor Saraiva is still there or not.

That's about as far as my contacts reach between me and Philly.  Of those, Allenberry, Pollock, Fulton, and Dutch Apple are the only ones I can think of with the possibility of picking it up.  The rest you would likely have to deliver, but it's a 1.5hr drive to most of those from the 95 corridor.

For those of you who have pianos in the home, and are considering them being of value at some point, or just don't want them to deteriorate, please be aware that they require service and care.

Even if the piano isn't being played, it has to be kept tuned.

A piano that goes too long without being tuned may not be tunable. Twice a year is about right, yearly may not be adequate. A good piano technician can discuss the details specific to your instrument and the environment of your home.

Humidity is also a factor; here in Florida all of our pianos have always had a dehumidifier installed.

In reply to Floating Doc :Your climate will vary. Desert Southwest it’s not an issue.  Here in the Midwest with heated houses all winter and air conditioning most of the summer the same may be true.  

I had mine checked last fall. It was still tuneable after at least 20 years without tuning ( it’s an early 30’s piano. ) 

My folks had this gorgeous piano when we were growing up.  Upright grand, all Mother of Pearl inlays, matching claw foot bench, ivory keys, etc.  Made by M. Schulz Piano Company  in Chicago.  Same owner and then family since new, etc etc etc.  Ended up giving it to the neighbor who spent upwards of 30k restoring it.  Runs like new, sounds awesome.  But oh man a Casio is so much cheaper and never needs tuning.  

93gsxturbo said:

My folks had this gorgeous piano when we were growing up.  Upright grand, all Mother of Pearl inlays, matching claw foot bench, ivory keys, etc.  Made by M. Schulz Piano Company  in Chicago.  Same owner and then family since new, etc etc etc.  Ended up giving it to the neighbor who spent upwards of 30k restoring it.  Runs like new, sounds awesome.  But oh man a Casio is so much cheaper and never needs tuning.  

That's kind of like comparing a Ferrari to a Toyota.

Put an LS in it and bring it to the challenge!

They're useful for dropping on enemies' heads, but I saw that was already covered.

Friends of ours had a good piano that they decided not to take with them when they moved. They ended up having to split the cost of a piano mover to get someone to take it off their hands.