Dear Joe,  Greetings from The Bronx.  Regarding market prices of
reproducing grand pianos,  It is truly unfortunate that there are
so many illiterate, uneducated sellers out there.  Many think that
their pianos are one-of-a-kind treasures.  You just have to watch
the expressions on the faces of some of the people on "Antiques
Roadshow", when they've dragged in a family heirloom, expecting to
hear that it's worth hundreds of thousands or maybe a million or
more, only to find out that it's worth maybe a couple of hundred
dollars or less.

The same unfortunately goes for antique stores, who claim to have had
a piano or organ appraised for ten to fifteen times the actual worth
of the item.  eBay is no different, with items illogically assessed
for more than their actual worth.

Piano stores will try to buy pianos for as little as possible, then
sell them for as much as the market will allow, either restored or
unrestored.  They might buy an upright piano (non-player) for $25 to
$50 (or, if the customer is wanting to purchase a newer instrument,
they might be given a discount of $100 towards the new piano).  Then
the store restores the piano and they get maybe $800 to $1200 or more
depending on the make of piano.  Or they might sell it unrestored for
$400 to $500.

As for purchasing a piano through eBay, "Buyer beware!"  Before
finalizing a purchase it is always best to have a reputable
piano/player technician look over and assess an instrument, checking
the pinblocks, soundboards, bass and treble bridges, and most important
of all, whether the player action is complete.

As for the unrestored J.C. Fischer grand, unless it has an ornate case
style with matched veneers, or was originally owned by someone really
famous, $1000 to $1500 would be a more reasonable asking price,
especially since it is unrestored and the buyer might have to lay out
an additional $10k to $20k for it's restoration.

It is unfortunate that people are relying on postings on eBay to assess
the value of reproducing grands, amongst almost everything else.

I do not wish to invoke the ire of any piano retailers out there, but
my assessments are just 'ball-park' figures, so to speak.

Hope this has helped,
Sincerely,
Dale F. Rowe
Bronx, New York