You might have an old piano handed down to you by a relative, obtained from a garage sale, disposed of by Kindergarten Church or school, purchased on a whim from some second-hand furniture shop.
However, you must understand that the piano fair value might not reveal its true quality as a musical instrument, and the older a piano is the more this rule commonly holds. Piano appraisal might thus help to resolve a reasonable market price for a piano, but it might inform you little about how good (or bad) the family valuable possession actually is.
Since prices of piano change with supply and demand, piano appraisal is only important when purchasing or marketing a piano. Any appraisal can only evaluate an existing fair market price for a piano, not its inherent value. Thus, it is important for the appraisal of your piano to be updated.
When you're opting for antique pianos, you should consider the historical selling data in a bluebook of pianos to determine its fair price. This piano appraisal might be of limited advantage: the Blue Book has data going back fifty or so years, and an antique piano is even more sensitive to the factors that account for piano value, and fair market prices for two pianos of the same model may have differences.
Good antique pianos are sometimes put into market by their possessor - but there is a lot of "firewood" out there, so be careful! There may be a huge number of antique pianos that might be in poor quality, while some of them can be repaired or even restored. (It might be often worth the money, the price of rebuilding a piano. It might hide the real value of a similar used piano in better condition.)
Some have a passion for restoring old pianos. They work with excitement and great care, devoted appropriately for their time and trouble. While for others, they will not do it anymore since this is all too tedious. This work makes them go cross-eyed and tests their patience.
Because of these reasons, antique piano appraisal needs to be done by an expert piano technician. This person can suggest any important maintenance or repairs as well as offer proper management to both buyers and sellers.
Anyone with such expertise is allowed to be compensated for their capacity and skill.
A good piano restorer is a perfectionist, knows how to do piano appraisal, and can usually be trusted on to look after someone who sufficiently values his / her skills to buy the piano for their family to use and to treasure.
Without a professional opinion or skill, how will you obtain relevant information about a piano's true market value? Some are ready to accept the seller's description of what they want you to purchase. Are you? Better check for piano appraisal before making your final decision.
Christine Merrell has been writing articles about gifts and gift accessories and appraisal for two years now. She has been publishing recommendations on her favorite gift stores online. She also writes about online stores that offer piano appraisal.