[pianotech] help with Baldwin L appraisal value

Avery ptuner1 at gmail.com
Tue Feb 2 14:57:14 MST 2010


I wanted you to show up. Been missing your posts! <grin>

On Feb 2, 2010, at 3:03 PM, Terry Farrell <mfarrel2 at tampabay.rr.com>  
wrote:

> Ha, ha, ha-ha, ha!
>
> Anon
>
> On Feb 2, 2010, at 1:28 PM, Avery wrote:
>
>> Ever heard the old thing about not mentioning someone's name unless  
>> you want them to show up? Hasn't been more than 2-3 days since I  
>> asked about Terry and here he is again! LOL
>>
>> On Feb 2, 2010, at 8:27 AM, John Formsma <formsma at gmail.com> wrote:
>>
>>> 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?
>
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