More Ebay humor....

Check out this auction, it claims this piano is 'Bosendorfer' quality....

Better snap it up quick~!
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem& item=898673429

<< Check out this auction, it claims this piano is 'Bosendorfer' quality....

Better snap it up quick~!
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem& item=898673429 >>

That's the famous KAPS piano, Knute. KAPS is an acronym for Keys Are Permanently Stuck, and it's the precursor to our computer keyboard's 'caps lock' function.

This Sesame Street educational moment has been brought to you by the letters B and S, and the number 2.

Does it also come with training wheels? If there's one thing I can't stand, it's a lyre! They could have put another pedal on it and then said that because of the extra pedal, that it's comparable to a Bosendorfer. *snicker*

Hey, I have a 'genuine antique mirror piano' for sale. Original finish! It even has THREE pedals! They just don't make 'em like this anymore! Only $6,000 US. What a bargain! *cough, gag, snicker, snork* Perhaps I could do with a nice glass of water...

Although the KAPS and many of the others appear to be duds there is a 1915 Knabe concert grand for 6,500 which looks like a good buy. Any thoughts?

My personal thought, especially with something as expensive and personal as a piano, is that it's caveat emptor. Personally, I would like to go to the location, try out the piano, examine the condition of the hammers, the action, and the overall condition, (and I'd probably take along my handy-dandy piano tuner/tech) and give the piano a thorough going over. I guess people DO buy pianos through Ebay, though. People buy cars, boats, jet- skiis, and all sorts of other stuff, so why not pianos too? Just my own opinion, for what it's worth.

I agree. I would never buy a piano over the internet, but compared to the ridiculous prices for the other pianos on ebay, the Knabe looks like a steal!

Sometimes you see some pretty neat deals. Somewhere, there is the Blue Book on pianos that should give you a better idea of what its worth is, if it's in good condition, but right now, I don't know where to find that resource. I'm sure someone else here does. Hey, if you decide to buy it... Wow! Let us know!

Best Wishes,

Gawd... What a gorgeous piano!

Is that all? Jeez... In that case, give me TWO of them! <G>

I don't have a dog in this fight as they say, but reading both your posts I think 'what we have here is a failure to communicate'.....

In reading Richard's reply, he says he 'sees what does and doesn't sell'. Then he says 'I am amazed at what junk is purchased - and for what high prices'. You are associating these statements together, and arriving at a wrong conclusion as to what he meant.

As I see it, he didn't say the Bosey is crap. He said he 'sees what sells and what doesn't sell'. His point, if he's noticed the same things I've noticed, is that the Bosey falls in the category of a piano that most likely isn't going to sell on ebay. He wasn't making a statement of the quality of the piano, he was making a statement regarding the likelyhood of its selling on ebay. This piano will not be sold anywhere close to the 15K bid on it now. The reserve will be quite high, and no one will likely meet it.

Likewise, his statement 'I am amazed at what junk is purchased - and for what high prices' again is not talking about the Bosey, or its quality. Now, instead of talking about the likelihood of the Bosey actually getting sold on ebay, he's talking about the pianos that actually *so* get sold on ebay. And I agree with him that the majority of pianos that get sold seem to be old worn out junkers at ridiculously high prices for what they are.

I will never forget the ebay ad I once saw for an old upright where the guy had cut the center out of the front panel and put in plastic stained window, painted the piano electric blue, then called it a priceless antique in the ad and had a reserve of one million dollars.

Most always, if you find the ad is placed by a piano dealer, his main objective isn't to sell you the piano in the ad. He's after your name, address, phone #, and email address. Then you will have a phone conversation with him that will go something like this : 'Mr. Hestness, I see that you made an offer of $25,000 for our Bosendorfer. That's far too low to meet the reserve on that piano, but I *do* have several other pianos that would fall in that price range......could I interest you in a.........' . You are now a 'prospect for a piano' and he will contact you over and over offering you all kinds of stuff in the 25K range or so until you either buy one, tell him to get lost, or he simply gives up. They are simply using ebay to drag the internet for prospects.

Larry Fletcher Dealer/technician

Doing the work of three men.....Larry, Curly, & Moe

Larry, You will also have the family who's great uncle died and left all his belongings to his niece who is 25 and has no clue what a Bosendorfer is worth, so thinking they can get rid of the darn thing put it up for auction on ebay and get maybe $20,000K for a $45,000 piano. Not every seller is a dealer trolling for potential contacts.

Yes I agree there are weird people who buy old jars and various other things for $50 to $100 a pop. I guess I felt that a dealer was taking a stab at a geat new marketplace. Just like any other marketplace there are bone heads selling snake oil, but you may just find some good deals here and there. It's kind of like the stock market.

I recently purchased some veneer to use on an old piano case that I am turning into a digital music work station. I picked up an old piano case that was relatively in good shape, minus the missing piano action. I paid some money to have the harp removed and disposed of and I now have a piano case that I can put my computer, digital keyboard and speakers in.

The veneer if purchase at a dealer would have been in the $200 ranger for just on of the species I am using. I paid $80 for a large quanity of 2 differents species and roughly 1/2 to 1/3 the price I would pay a major distributor.

I know I am babbling here, but the point is that if you do your homework and look for some specific items, you can make some good purchases on Ebay. Provided that the seller is ethical.