Some dealers and manufacturers conduct “liquidation” sales at universities, high schools, concert halls, churches, exhibition halls or hotels. The advertising often implies that the school or concert hall is selling their own used pianos. The truth is, there are teams of high-powered liquidators with truckloads of pianos traveling from town to town conducting these “events.” Their travel and advertising budgets stretch well into the thousands of dollars, all paid for by the buyers of these pianos that are moved from town to town.

A common practice of liquidators is to price everything at a “suggested retail price” the first day and it is an incredibly successful practice. With no point of reference, buyers usually pay more for a piano at these events than they would by walking into a locally owned store and talking to the owner. The liquidators gradually lower their prices throughout the event. By the final day (usually Sunday) you may find prices around the same as they would be in a piano store that will still be there on Monday.

Shoppers should also bear in mind that the pianos sold at these events (and often at “liquidation events” at dealerships) are often brand new, out of the box, with little or no prep work done. Good piano stores spend between four and eight hours going over new pianos, so they’re adding hundreds of dollars of value to the piano. Also, when the find a manufacturer defect, they repair it right away. A piano delivered to you “fresh out of the crate” is going to cost you more in the end.

No “deal” is a “good deal” if you are not happy with the piano over time. The best “deal” will be a purchase of a piano you love, even if you stretch your budget a little.