Who knew that even a simple changing of hands for a used pianos could go wrong?

Here’s a true story of what happened to a piano owner who was interested in putting up her piano for donation.

Anna wanted to give her piano away, as she was shifting houses in the short time that was to come. She had decided to donate her piano to someone who would be willing to take it. 

One of her colleagues has a sister, Zoey, whose friend named Bella happened to be also looking for an used piano so that she can start her son's piano lessons with a piano teacher soon. Because Bella wasn't sure if her son would take a keen interest in learning the piano, she decided to get a cheap used piano to "test" her son's interest before she makes a bigger commitment and purchases a "better" piano.

Anna and Bella had a conversation.

It was made known to Bella that Anna did not want to make any profit out of selling the piano. In fact, she wants to donate it for free. So, Bella only has to pay the fees for moving the piano from Anna's place to hers.

And so it happened, the piano was moved.

Unfortunately, a day after Bella received the piano, Anna was told off by her colleague.

Apparently, Bella had complained to Zoey about the piano, and also sent a video showing the defects. In the video, several sticky keys and a few broken strings were revealed as Bella demonstrated by pressing on the affected keys and panned the video camera to the insides of the piano through the open lid at the piano top.

This video was finally forwarded to Anna, and she was extremely upset. 

She was very confident that her piano was definitely in a good condition just before the piano was moved out - without the sticky keys and the broken strings. Thus, she had no idea how this could happen.

She had also contemplated the possibility that the piano was damaged during the move, and the piano mover could be the culprit.

Points to consider:

1. Was there any proof that the piano was indeed in a good condition just before the move? Bella certainly couldn't take Anna's words for it.
2. Did the piano mover really spoil the piano during the move? Is it possible for the piano keys to become sticky, and the string to be broken after the move? 
3. Bella's complaint was one day after the move. If the piano was indeed defective before she received it, why didn't Bella complain straight away? Did anything happen over the one day?

How can we prevent this?

1. Piano Appraisal
   Get a piano appraisal done by a qualified piano technician to assess the conditions of the piano, and give an estimate of its market value. This is mostly initiated by the buyer who has a vested interest in the piano's conditions and market value, and wants to guard against buying a lemon. 

   ThePiano.SG offers a wide range of piano-related services including piano appraisals backed by a team of qualified piano technicians. Our piano technicians have decades of experience in the piano industry and will provide high-quality documentation with clear, easy-to-understand information, no matter the purpose of the appraisal.
    

2. Professional Piano Mover
   Engage a professional piano mover who only specialise in the moving of pianos, and is not a logistics provider who happens to move pianos as well, to minimise the potential risks involved. Get a trusted professional piano mover, with insurance coverage included to protect your valued asset. Learn more about our piano moving service.
    
3. Onsite inspection
   The buyer should make a trip down to have an onsite inspection before committing to the purchase. Saving a trip might not help you to save time and costs. You might even end up with more unnecessary worries, and costly repairs.