Price Guide

Welcome to our Used Steinway Piano Price guide.

What is a fair price for a Steinway piano?

Welcome to our Used Steinway Piano Price guide. What is a fair price for a Steinway piano?

Why are you here?

You are NOT on this page to learn about Steinway quality data.

99%

of all concert halls in the world use Steinway pianos

97%

of all professional solo pianists use Steinways

90%

percent of conservatories, including Juilliard

You likely already know these points.

Unparalleled craftsmanship & sound

90%

Of piano teachers teach on a Steinway

200+

All-Steinway schools in the world

125

Pending patents by Steinway & Sons

12,116

Individual parts that make up a Steinway grand piano

1,600+

Steinway artists worldwide

Steinway Artists are not paid to play a Steinway, nor do they receive a Free Steinway for personal use. Steinway Artists choose to perform on Steinway pianos.

Unparalleled craftsmanship & sound

90%

Of piano teachers teach on a Steinway

200+

All-Steinway schools in the world

125

Pending patents by Steinway & Sons

12,116

Individual parts that make up a Steinway grand piano

1,600+

Steinway artists worldwide

you’ve Tried a Few Steinway Grand Pianos

Maybe visited the Steinway Piano Gallery, or snuck on stage after a concert of a well-known pianist at your local university. You have tasted the rich, exquisite, iconic, Steinway sound, sweeter and finer than your favorite glass of Cabernet. You know the data, you’ve tasted the goods, you just want what every thoughtful, fair-minded, diligent person wants.

Steinway Artists are not paid to play a Steinway, nor do they receive a Free Steinway for personal use. Steinway Artists choose to perform on Steinway pianos.

By Now, You’re Screaming “show Me The Money”!

You’re here because you’re wondering what’s a fair price for a Steinway piano.

When a brand “new” Steinway comes home, that very moment, it immediately becomes a “used” Steinway and is subject to pricing on the secondary market.

Once the piano hits the secondary market, there is competition. With competition, prices come down to earth. We often find that pianos from the modern era of Steinway building 35 years old, 15 years old, to 20 years old are lovingly taken care of, lightly used, and in essentially new condition. With just a lit bit of effort, you can buy these pristine new condition Steinways for a fair price.

Steinways lose half their value when they first come home, and after that moment, they depreciate very slowly over many years.

Compare New and Almost New Steinway Prices by Model


*Mahogany finish chosen as reference point*


*Mahogany finish chosen as reference point*

What Can We Learn By Googling “used Steinway Piano”?

To understand the answer, and see what the fair price means, we need to dig a little deeper.

Let’s start by examining our own natural biases, and evaluate the authenticity and source of the information that is most widely disseminated.

Let’s analyze the first page of google search results together for a simple phrase, “Used Steinway Piano”. First line results of a Google search. This looks like a comprehensive, impartial source of information, right?

Take another look.

As you can see, 4 of the top 5 sites are owned by The Steinway & Sons, including a very impartial-looking web domain, www.usedsteinwaypiano.com, with the following title: “A Grand Guide to Buying a Used Steinway Piano”.

Let’s analyze the first page of google search results together for a simple phrase, “Used Steinway Piano”. First line results of a Google search. This looks like a comprehensive, impartial source of information, right?

Take another look.

The Used Steinway Piano website is owned by the same parent company that dominates the other top results; it’s owned by The Steinway and Sons, and its purpose appears to some to be not only to inform you, but to ensure that you buy a Steinway from them.

"Steinway Village in Queens was a community William Steinway built near his Steinway piano factory in the late 19th Century."

What does a real estate tycoon who owned laguardia airport’s land tell us about the price of a steinway piano?

Introducing the legacy of Henry Steinway, where Pianos were for passion, NOT profit.

Steinway used to be primarily a real estate company, at least as far as money-making was concerned. You may be surprised to learn that Steinway owned much of Queens, including the land that LaGuardia airport currently sits on. That’s how they made their money.

What does a real estate tycoon who owned laguardia airport’s land tell us about the price of a steinway piano?

Introducing the legacy of Henry Steinway, where Pianos were for passion, NOT profit.

Steinway used to be primarily a real estate company, at least as far as money-making was concerned. You may be surprised to learn that Steinway owned much of Queens, including the land that LaGuardia airport currently sits on. That’s how they made their money.

Steinway Village in Queens was a community William Steinway built near his Steinway piano factory in the late 19th Century.

For over a century, they were in the blissful position of not having to worry about making money from the pianos. No, as far as pianos were concerned, the Steinway family was driven by very pure motives and slowly and surely built an iconic brand. It was all about building a legacy, note by note.

The last Steinway family member died in 2008... Where are the family values?

The economics have changed and in the past several decades, beginning with the 1972 sale from the Steinway family to CBS, and more recently with a sale to a private hedge fund in 2013.

There are currently 200 authorized Steinway dealers who operate 300 showrooms. These dealers are in business to make money (understandably so), and that has transformed their rhetoric and talking points.

It has also greatly impacted the information you are digesting all throughout the first page of google results for all Steinway related terms.

There are currently 200 authorized Steinway dealers who operate 300 showrooms.

Steinway’s internal struggle: brand ambassador or sell more pianos?

In today’s financial environment, some have suggested that Steinway has developed a conflict of interest between brand integrity and salesmanship. The Steinway sales pitch has experienced a drastic shift in recent years.

Steinway’s Fear Machine

The current sales pitch is disingenuous and is designed to cultivate fear in the consumer by scaring them away from pre-owned Steinways.

How is Steinway fomenting fear? Let’s analyze their tactics by breaking down one of their websites, usedsteinwaypiano.com.

Screenshot from Official Steinway Site. : http://www.usedsteinwaypiano.com/

It begins with establishing that genuineness of a Steinway is the most important thing about it.

Many experts believe that Steinway wants to make sure that every piano that is not sold by them will be seen as not genuine, thereby setting up suspicion and fear in the customer.

“Stein-Was” was a brilliant term coined by the Steinway marketing team after it was acquired by a hedge fund. It stresses that if even one of its 12,116 parts is replaced by a non-Steinway part, the entire piano is no longer a true Steinway. This marketing ploy is intended to dissuade customers from buying pre-owned Steinways, in favor of new Steinways.

“The oldest and strongest emotion of mankind is fear, and the oldest and strongest kind of fear is fear of the unknown.”

- H. P. Lovecraft

“The oldest and strongest emotion of mankind is fear, and the oldest and strongest kind of fear is fear of the unknown.”

- H. P. Lovecraft

Steinway Molds Minds and Markets

How Does This Make You Feel?

What happens to you, the customer, as you make your way down their website? It’s only natural for you to develop fears about buying a pre-owned Steinway. After all, this is the work of a very successful and highly-paid marketing team. Please don’t feel like a sucker at being swayed by them. They not only changed your mind, they changed an entire marketplace.

They Transformed Our Company’s Business Model

That’s right, Park Avenue Pianos used to rebuild Steinway pianos (with our preferred parts), much like Chupps, Lindeblad, and Faust Harrison. We proudly stood by our craftsmanship, much like these other companies.

Then we realized that Steinway’s fear mongering had changed the secondary piano market and our potential customers would be out of luck if they ever tried to resell one of our products in the future.

Screenshot from Official Steinway Site. : http://www.usedsteinwaypiano.com/

In this part of their website, Steinway again focuses on the idea that every part of the piano has to be genuine and authenticated. The Declaration Certificate makes it feel authentic, legit, legal, making anything else seem unreliable.

If you purchase a pre-owned Steinway that does NOT have all Steinway parts, prepare to have the following phone call 10 years from now:

You: Hi, my child is off to college now, and as much as we’ve loved having the Steinway we bought from you 10 years ago, we want to sell it.

Piano Reseller: Does it have all Steinway parts?

You: No, but it’s an amazing instrument and we took beautiful care of it.

Piano Reseller: Sorry, no sale. Better donate it to a salvation army.

We Sell Young Original Condition Steinway Pianos

We realized that we can’t put customers in such a position, so our primary business is no longer rebuilt Steinways. We only sell recently new “off the lot” Steinway pianos with all original Steinway parts. We provide the authentication certificate, so that our customers know that if need be, they will be able to resell their piano in the future, thereby protecting their investment.

Screenshot from Official Steinway Site. : http://www.usedsteinwaypiano.com/

What happened to the Golden age?

In this section of their website, Steinway goes on to claim that the “Golden Age” Steinway is a myth. The Golden Age Steinways were built in the 1920s-1930s, when the family was still heavily involved in the building process and before Steinway started out-sourcing its cast-iron.

And, if it’s a myth, it’s one that’s believed by many generations of the greatest pianists of the world.

What happened to the Golden age?

Screenshot from Official Steinway Site. : http://www.usedsteinwaypiano.com/

In this section of their website, Steinway goes on to claim that the “Golden Age” Steinway is a myth. The Golden Age Steinways were built in the 1920s-1930s, when the family was still heavily involved in the building process and before Steinway started out-sourcing its cast-iron.

And, if it’s a myth, it’s one that’s believed by many generations of the greatest pianists of the world.

Steinway used to be proud of the Golden Age reputation, until the hedge fund marketing team realized that it got in the way of selling new Steinways.

Conflicting Messages

Now it’s doing all it can to discredit the Golden Age reputation. But how can you claim that a new Steinway is a great investment, something to pass on to your grandkids, while at the same time slamming the old Steinway? This is where Steinway’s marketing messages are coming into conflict with one another, perhaps exposing their lack of genuineness?

Steinway as An Investment

Steinway & Sons promotes the idea that if you buy a new Steinway piano from them, it will go up in value over time. This sales tactic is relatively new.

Finally, we arrive at the website section that illustrates the change in Steinway’s sales pitch that we believe is the most misleading.

Screenshot from Official Steinway Site. : http://www.usedsteinwaypiano.com/

Steinway used to say that their piano is a sound investment because it depreciates less over time than other brands.

Steinway Advertisement mid-twentieth century

When the hedge fund marketing team came onboard, they struck all mention of depreciation from their sales pitches. Instead, “Steinway & Sons pianos increase in value over time,” reads their sales brochure.

It’s accompanied by this chart.

The chart does disclose that it’s showing the price of a new Model B Steinway.

Wait a minute. Of course new Steinways go up in price over time! They set their own prices without competition, plus there’s inflation.

Each price reflects a steinway & sons in the standard ebony satin finish.

D B L M S K 45''
2000 $83,100 $54,900 $42,300 $37,300 $32,400 $19,500 $14,900
2001 $86,100 $56,800 $43,800 $38,600 $33,600 $20,200 $15,500
2002 $89,600 $59,100 $45,600 $40,200 $34,900 $21,100 $16,100
2004 $96,100 $63,300 $48,900 $43,100 $37,400 $22,600 $17,300
2009 $118,100 $77,700 (O)$59,900 $53,100 $46,300 $27,900 $21,300
2010 $123,800 $81,200 $62,600 $55,800 $48,900 $29,200 $22,300
2013 $142,300 $90,600 $69,600 $61,800 $56,600 $32,800 $25,100

the following is a price projection based on a 4% increase per year.

D B L M S K 45''
2017 $161,300 $106,500 $82,100 $72,400 $62,900 $38,100 $29,000
2022 $196,200 $129,600 $99,900 $88,100 $76,500 $46,400 $35,300
2027 $238,700 $157,700 $121,500 $107,200 $93,100 $56,500 $42,900
2032 $290,400 $191,900 $147,800 $130,400 $113,300 $68,700 $52,200

Here is a detailed price chart of new Steinway pianos.

Tricky Wording

Because when you read the sentence “Steinway & Sons pianos increase in value over time” and your eye skims the graph of growing dollar signs, you’ll make that association with the new Steinway piano you’re thinking of buying. Read the wording carefully. It says, “Increase in value.” The appropriate word should be “Price.” But it says, “Value.” Your brain will make the subconscious leap to: my piano will increase in value over time.

Each price reflects a steinway & sons in the stansard ebony satin finish.

D B L M S K 45''
2000 $83,100 $54,900 $42,300 $37,300 $32,400 $19,500 $14,900
2001 $86,100 $56,800 $43,800 $38,600 $33,600 $20,200 $15,500
2002 $89,600 $59,100 $45,600 $40,200 $34,900 $21,100 $16,100
2004 $96,100 $63,300 $48,900 $43,100 $37,400 $22,600 $17,300
2009 $118,100 $77,700 (O)$59,900 $53,100 $46,300 $27,900 $21,300
2010 $123,800 $81,200 $62,600 $55,800 $48,900 $29,200 $22,300
2013 $142,300 $90,600 $69,600 $61,800 $56,600 $32,800 $25,100

the following is a price projection based on a 4% increase per year.

D B L M S K 45''
2017 $161,300 $106,500 $82,100 $72,400 $62,900 $38,100 $29,000
2022 $196,200 $129,600 $99,900 $88,100 $76,500 $46,400 $35,300
2027 $238,700 $157,700 $121,500 $107,200 $93,100 $56,500 $42,900
2032 $290,400 $191,900 $147,800 $130,400 $113,300 $68,700 $52,200

The prices are based on their Boca Raton site and 2019 & 2020 lists.

“Angry Customers Say Steinway Deceived Them”

- The Hatch Institute

Unfortunately, Steinway salespeople have been forcing that leap for their unsuspecting customers. One woman in Virginia said the Steinway salesman told her the piano “will go up in value.” Several Steinway customers were told that “purchasing a Steinway made a better investment than buying stock on Wall Street.”

“Steinway Piano Customers Claim They Were Duped Into ‘Investment”

- NY Post

A 2018 Steinway sales brochures called:

“Your Steinway Investment” claimed that “for more than a century and a half, every handmade Steinway has increased in value.” This brochure is no longer on Steinway’s website, but can still be found in their showrooms.

In reality, a new Steinway loses 50% of its value the moment it leaves the showroom. Just like a new Lexus.

When pressed by New York Post, a Steinway spokesman conceded this is true. Everyone knows that a Lexus drops in value when it leaves the showroom. Lexus salesmen never claim otherwise. This doesn’t stop people from buying new Lexuses. And if you’re one of those people who enjoys buying a new Lexus or a new Steinway, by all means, enjoy it!

But for the rest of you, the question is:

How can you protect your investment if you lose half of it the moment you bring it home?

Let’s be genuine: a piano is not an investment like a stock on Wall Street. It’s an investment into your passion, your art, your family. However, we believe it can also make financial sense.

Cost of use

Calculate your cost of enjoyment

You need to figure out what your Steinway’s “cost of use” or “cost of enjoyment” will be, which means what you pay for the piano, minus what you can reasonably expect to sell it for in 10-15 years. If you do a little work on both sides of this equation (research during buying and selling), your Steinway “cost of use” can be minimal. We believe that by buying one of our gently pre-owned Steinways, you can lower the cost of use. But mainly, we want to give you as much information as we can, so that you make an educated decision and are able to make the most of your financial investment.

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