Piano Inspection & Move, combined service
Objective assessment of pianos for purchase, restoration and upgrade options.
Honest advice, based on your needs. Save time & money by hiring ONE
experienced professional to inspect, move & service your new or used piano
purchase.
Schedule Inspection
Once you've seen a few pianos and settled on
something you'd like to pursue, schedule an Inspection appointment via our
online scheduling system.
http://www.smithpiano.com/schedule/index.htm
If you don't see the town in the list of service areas,
email me for scheduling Inspection & Pickup service
DON'T GET BURNED TAKING A 'FREE' PIANO WITHOUT
GETTING IT INSPECTED FIRST!
We are seeing an increasing number of old pianos available for free or cheap, on
the Internet, which have gotten to a point where they are not worth investing
in. Get your piano inspected before you invest in purchasing or moving.
The information below describes the inspection process, combined with options to
move the piano immediately.
Typically the first option for $75 covers most people's need for buying a used
piano. The $150 report inspection covers situations where you need
documented information for various purposes.
OPTIONS FOR INSPECTION
Piano Inspection Report $150
Onsite
inspection with WRITTEN work quote & advice in PDF format.
Includes expanded explanations of work required, digital photos of interior
parts of the piano during the examination, work quotes based on appropriate
upgrade scenarios --all in the form of a written PDF document which you can use
for communicating with various parties concerning the piano. This document
can also be tailored for use as a 'sales flyer' so that you can effectively
represent the value of your piano to the buying market, even if it requires
extensive work.
Piano
Inspection $75
Onsite inspection with VERBAL work estimate and advice.
(No written material). Vital signs: Pinblock torque, soundboard, bridges, ribs integrity,
basic volume & tone
Action & Keys: Condition, wear, repairs needed, functionality
Cosmetics: Case, casters, bench, finish, veneer, wear, damage
Summary & Work Quote: Must Do, Should Do, Could Do
Piano Inspection & Move, combined service
You are welcome to be present at the inspection and get questions answered.
If the piano PASSES inspection, and you wish to have the piano moved
immediately using Smith Piano Services, the inspection service is discounted to
$50.
The other method is to have me call you immediately from the Inspection
appointment, to discuss findings and make a decision whether to take the piano
or not. If the piano FAILS inspection, the $75 fee applies, but
subsequent inspections in
our regular service areas, are done for $50 for the same party, until you
find a suitable piano.
PIANO PICKUP
After discussion, if all is a go, I then go back into the home and remove the
piano. Should you decide to have the piano picked up at this time, you will need
a means of settling with the piano owner to allow removal of the piano. In
almost all cases, if there is time for an Inspection, there is time to load the
piano. If schedule permits, delivery is the same day, as soon as possible after
Inspection and Pickup. As mentioned above, if the PICKUP portion of the
moving can be done immediately after a successful inspection, the cost of the
inspection is reduced to $50.
Typical moving costs
*Moving Uprights $275+ Grands $325+
*Longer distances, weird terrain or stairways of more than 8 steps, additional
fees.
Fill out online form for exact quote:
http://www.smithpiano.com/moving/form/index.htm
In our discussion of the piano inspection, I will give you an exact quote for
moving cost as well as service & tuning costs.In this case, we do the
Inspection, we discuss, you decide to proceed with the move, and schedule
permitting I load the piano immediately. Delivery is then as soon as
possible the same day, or as soon as can be scheduled (usually within 1-2
days).
Delivery Schedule -- Why is it sometimes necessary
to deliver the piano a day or two later?
In order to offer Inspection services, with the option of moving the piano
out immediately, it sometimes means that the day's schedule doesn't allow time
for final delivery to your home. This makes it cheaper to schedule an
inspection because we don't have to recoup the cost of reserving a 4hr chunk of
time for a move job that might not happen due to a piano failing inspection.
The combined inspection and PICKUP service, can be
accomplished in the 2hr space of a typical piano service appointment. This
allows us to schedule inspections quickly, with more flexibility, while offering
you a discount when we can do the PICKUP portion of the move at the same time as
the inspection appointment.
In these cases, I simply bring the piano to my secure work shop space to store
it until we can arrange a convenient time for delivery to your home. This
also allows you the opportunity of having work done on the piano in the shop
instead of your home, which can be an advantage for many of the tasks involved
in servicing an old piano.
Why don't I just hire you to move the piano, and take my chances that it will
be a good piano?
Of course I'm happy to provide piano moving service for those who know what
they are getting. However, I have seen many situations where buyers
or recipients of old pianos have gotten a terribly expensive surprise when we
examine the piano in their home AFTER they have spent money to move it, and
discover that it needs major surgery. This hybrid service is an attempt to
remedy that situation.
Willing to do some research on your own?
With some research, you can rule out a few pianos yourself.
Be careful, the "free" pianos abounding on the Internet are free usually for
good reasons. They can be a 600 pound pet alligator that eats up your limited
budget quickly if you don't know what you are getting. Learn about pianos from
"The Piano Book" by Larry Fine. This book teaches you what to watch for
in old pianos, and can help you rule out some of the pianos you see.
http://www.amazon.com/Piano-Book-Buying-Owning-Used/dp/1929145012/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1205714436&sr=8-1
Schedule Inspection Once you've seen a few pianos and settled on
something you'd like to pursue, schedule an Inspection appointment via our
online scheduling system.
http://www.smithpiano.com/schedule/index.htm
