Steinway pianos are not that heavy.  Try moving a Mason and Hamlin with
its full plate.  Add an Ampico player to the Mason and Hamlin and then
you will really have a heavy piano.

The value of the Mason and Hamlin or a Steinway depends on a lot of
variables.  It is impossible to place a value on these pianos because
you must know what the market in your area will bear and the condition
of the piano.

I sold a refinished rebuilt Steinway L model made in 1954 for $12,000
last month after having it sit on the floor for two years.  I got
tired of looking at that piano.  I sold a 1913 Model O that was
refinished and rebuilt about 10 years ago for $6,100.  The O model had
a nice rebuild but was not completely done in that it needed a new
soundboard.  All the previous work had been done by someone in vain.

Several years ago any Steinway would have sold in minutes.  Today's
shoppers in my market area just will not pay the price a shopper in
Dallas, Texas, will pay.   There are also fewer pianos being sold today
than in the past.  Since World War II the market for pianos has
lessened each year.

You could compare the piano to the typewriter in a very small way.  Years
ago I took a typewriter to college as there were no personal computers.
Many of today's young pianists will take a computer to college and not
a typewriter.  They will also likely take an electronic piano, with all
the bells and whistles, over the more conventional piano.

We now sell electronic keyboards at a ratio of 40 to 1 over conventional
pianos.  We are now taking in fine grand pianos as trade in on
electronic keyboards from churches.  Have you tried to find an organist
lately to play a pipe organ in church?  They have become harder to
find.  There are no longer any organ dealers left in my town; when
I went to college the town had six organ dealers.

I realize this is a mechanical music forum for collectors and feel that
the above information only adds to our disappointment in the market for
mechanical music machines, as both the conventional piano market and the
mechanical music market are both depressed as compared to the 1970's
when any player piano was an easy sale.

Don Teach
Shreveport Music Co.
Shreveport, Louisiana