Buying a used piano

The used piano market can be a frustrating mine field of scam artists, price / value inconsistancies, and potentially worthless pianos.

It can also be a gold mine if you happen onto the right piano.  Use the online listings to look for used pianos- you can see pictures.  Your base instinct is usually right when you see a good name brand piano that looks in good condition.  Do research on the mfgr.  If that is good, and you found something that you like, you're almost there.  If you can go see it locally, go play every key.  If you hear buzzes or rattles, or if there are a lot of keys that don't work, that's a good sign to move on to another piano.  If you really like it anyway, have a technician evaluate it and give you a quote to fix the problems.  If you don't hear buzzes or rattles, chances are that it just needs tuning and will likely be a good piano for you.

Don't let comparative pricing distract you.  A $600 piano can be a much better piano than a $1500 piano.  The $600 piano could be 25 years old and a very high quality instrument with 'low miles', excellent tone, and superior action.  The $1500 piano is likely newer, but not necessarily better.

Spinet pianos are typically lower quality pianos that can be good for beginners, but would need to be upgraded after getting to an intermediate level.  Baldwin Acrosonics are spinet pianos, but perform and sound better than many consoles and studio pianos. Wurlitzer also makes a spinet with wooden connectors that is better than most spinets.

Don't buy an old upright with a mirror on the top.  These used to be a normal upright that has been cut down (chopped) to make it look shorter.  Very few of these are worth having, but some can be good.  They are all very heavy.