[pianotech] help with Baldwin L appraisal value

[John Formsma]

Thanks for this real-world example, Terry. And nice to see you back on the
list! I was wondering if you'd let yourself be eaten by a shark. :-)

--
JF

On Tue, Feb 2, 2010 at 5:57 AM, Terry Farrell <mfarrel2 at tampabay.rr.com>wrote:

> Hi John! I might be able to give you a little help. This past spring I sold
> my personal piano, a 1992 Boston GP-178 (5' 10") grand. I think the Baldwin
> L is 6' 4"? My Boston was in absolute showroom condition - well, better than
> showroom because it was finely regulated, etc. and I sold it for $9K. I was
> happy with the sale price because of the poor sales market then. I know they
> were happy with the price because they got a good deal on a fabulous piano.
> When I went to tune it a few weeks after the sale, the pastor walked up to
> me and said (he didn't know I was the one who sold it to them) "why did they
> sell it - it's like new?"
>
> With that in mind, your piano is a bit larger, but a few years older, and
> clearly from your description of condition, it's way down the road from what
> mine was. I'd say your estimate of a realistic market value is something
> pretty close to the mark - or maybe even a little less.
>
> Hope this helps.
>
> Terry Farrell
>
>
>
> On Feb 1, 2010, at 11:02 PM, John Formsma wrote:
>
>  List,
>>
>> I'm writing up a market value appraisal for a 1985 satin ebony Baldwin L
>> grand. Would appreciate any input on the following.
>>
>> It's in reasonably good mechanical condition. No obvious problems, other
>> than what we've come to expect as features on Baldwin grands.
>>
>> There are some finish issues, which I think might cost up to $800 to
>> repair to look fairly nice. Small chips and some cracking developing on the
>> top of the stretcher.
>>
>> 1 mm of crown at the longest rib; none elsewhere. Positive bearing.
>>
>> Bridges OK, some minor checking in places. Sound is typical Baldwin, with
>> sustain of 7 seconds at C6, 3-4 seconds at C7,
>>
>> Tuning pins tight, as expected. Most steel strings are coated lightly with
>> rust, more at the bass end, less at the treble. All string coils are lightly
>> rusted, except in the very treble section. This is the kind of rust that
>> looks bad, but wouldn't necessarily affect tone or cause string breakage. It
>> looks like it was in a damp environment for a while (comes from Florida
>> originally).
>>
>> The action is in good condition -- not excessive wear. Would benefit from
>> minor reconditioning (cleaning, polishing key pins, hammer reshaping) and
>> regulation.
>>
>> According to Larry Fine's depreciation schedule and a 2008-2009 price of a
>> new L at $40K, an "Average" Baldwin L would be valued roughly at $13,600.
>> However, with the rust and finish issues, my "gut" tells me a more realistic
>> market value would be somewhere between $7-8.5K.
>>
>> Input?
>
>
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://ptg.org/pipermail/pianotech.php/attachments/20100202/a2974b57/attachment.htm>