Buying & Selling
Used pianos, brands, values, moving, and the honest math of buying, selling or letting one go.
How Much Does a Piano Cost? New and Used Prices in Canada
From free uprights to $200,000 concert grands: realistic 2026 Canadian prices for new and used uprights, baby grands, and grands — plus the costs that come with the piano (moving, tuning, bench).
Buying & SellingKawai vs Yamaha Upright Pianos: A Technician's Honest Take
The two brands teachers recommend, compared from the bench: tone, action, durability, used prices in the GTA, and which suits which household. Spoiler: condition beats brand every time.
Buying & SellingField NotesField Notes: The Estate Piano — What Executors in Newmarket Ask Us
Settling an estate with a piano in it: how to value it fairly, what to do first, the family-heirloom conversation, and the realistic exits. A technician's notes from Newmarket's estate visits.
Buying & SellingField NotesField Notes: The Player Pianos of Whitby and Oshawa
Durham's heritage homes hold a surprising number of 1910s–20s player pianos. What they are, whether the mechanism can be revived, what they're worth, and why the piano underneath is usually the good news.
Buying & SellingSelling Your Home? Here's What to Do With the Piano
Take it, sell it, leave it, or stage with it — a technician's guide for GTA sellers and their agents: staging value, moving costs, the "leave the piano" negotiation, and the tuning that helps showings.
Buying & SellingWho Buys Used Pianos in Toronto? Every Real Option, Honestly
Dealers, consignment, private buyers, movers, charities, or nobody: a technician's honest map of who actually takes used pianos in the GTA, what each pays, and how to get the best result.
Buying & SellingField NotesField Notes: Scarborough and the Second-Hand Piano
Five kinds of used piano we meet again and again across Agincourt, Malvern and the Bluffs — the inherited upright, the Marketplace bargain, the church donation — and how each first visit goes.
Buying & SellingField NotesField Notes: When Brampton Families Move From a Keyboard to a Real Piano
The upgrade moment we see across Springdale, Castlemore and Mount Pleasant: the signs a student has outgrown the digital, what to buy, what changes on day one, and the first-year tuning that follows.
Buying & SellingGifts for Piano Players That Actually Get Used
A technician's gift list for pianists and lesson kids: the $20 gadget every piano needs, the gift that improves the instrument, and the ones to skip. Toronto delivery-free ideas included.
Buying & SellingMason & Risch Pianos: History, Eras, and What Yours Is Worth
Canada's other great piano name: Toronto-built Mason & Risch uprights and grands, how to tell the golden era from later badges, 2026 GTA values, and whether yours is worth tuning.
Buying & SellingHow Old Is My Piano? Finding and Dating the Serial Number
Where the serial number hides on uprights and grands, how to date it (incl. Canadian makes like Heintzman and Mason & Risch), and what the age does — and doesn't — tell you about value.
Buying & SellingHeintzman Pianos: History, Eras, and What Yours Is Actually Worth
Toronto's own piano maker: how to tell a golden-era Heintzman from a later badge, what they're worth in 2026, and whether yours is worth tuning or restoring. A technician's guide.
Buying & SellingYamaha U1 vs U3: Which Used Upright Should You Buy?
The two most-recommended used uprights in the world, compared by a technician: size, tone, touch, 2026 GTA prices, the grey-market question, and which one actually suits your home.
Buying & SellingBaby Grand vs Upright for a Small Home: The Honest Trade-off
A 5-foot baby grand vs a 48-inch upright: real floor space, sound in a small room, the "tall upright beats a small grand" rule, and how to decide for a Toronto condo or semi.
Buying & SellingThe House Came With a Piano — Now What?
Bought a home and inherited the previous owner's piano? A technician's plan: the 10-minute check, what the first visit costs, whether to keep, sell, or remove it — and the one thing to do before you decide.
Buying & SellingThe Best Used Piano Brands in Canada: A Technician's Honest Tiers
A GTA technician's honest tiers for used pianos: the brands that hold up, the Canadian makes worth knowing, and the names to skip. What to expect to pay in 2026.
Buying & SellingDigital vs Acoustic Piano: An Honest Comparison From an Acoustic Guy
A piano technician's unusually honest take on digital vs acoustic: where digitals genuinely win, where acoustics remain irreplaceable, and how to choose.
Buying & SellingWhat Piano Moving Costs in Toronto — and Why the DIY Version Costs More
Professional piano moving in the GTA runs $250–$600+ depending on stairs and size. What drives the price, how to vet movers, and the tuning that follows every move.
Buying & SellingShould You Repair an Old Piano or Replace It?
The technician's rule: fix wearing parts on a sound structure; don't fund structural surgery on an ordinary piano. How to decide, with real GTA numbers.
Buying & SellingBuying a Piano on Facebook Marketplace or Kijiji: The Questions to Ask
The exact questions to message a piano seller before you drive across the GTA — and the answers that should end the conversation. A technician's field guide.
Buying & SellingRenting vs Buying a Piano in Toronto: The Real Math
Piano rental in Toronto runs $60–$150/month. When renting beats buying, when it quietly costs more, and the third option most families overlook.
Buying & SellingThe Best First Piano for a Child Starting Lessons
A technician's honest guide for lesson families: used upright vs digital vs keyboard, what teachers actually require, and the mistakes that stall beginners.
Buying & SellingHow Much Is My Used Piano Worth?
Most used uprights sell for $0–$2,000 in the GTA; condition and brand decide everything. A technician's honest guide to valuing — and actually selling — a piano.
Buying & SellingHow to Get Rid of an Old Piano in Toronto & the GTA
Donate, sell, give away, or dispose: every realistic option for an unwanted piano in the GTA, with honest costs ($0–$500) and who takes them.
No guides match — try ‘humidity’ or ‘pitch raise’.