Help!!! Yamaha U30 BL price to good to be true!!!

[mytreasure]

Hello,

I am writing this to canvas opinion on this add I have found on Gumtree for a Yamaha U30 BL at an unbelievable price!! Please follow the link below to check it out.

URL: http://www.gumtree.com/p/for-sale/1988- ... d/77641564


I am looking to purchase a Yamaha U1 or U3 and at this price I can’t afford to not investigate further.

Very few details are given, but what is there seems to be correct and plausible. The price makes me feel somehow there must be something wrong with it that the seller is not saying, or am I just been sickle!!

I can see from the advert the piano has been advertised for quite a while, this leads me to wonder why it hasn’t been snapped up already!!

What does anyone think?? Don’t want to get my fingers burnt.

Any suggestions what I should ask??

Adam

[markymark]

Well why don't you arrange a visit? You wouldn't find too many people on this forum recommending that you buy an acoustic piano without arranging an inspection visit.

It may well be that someone is needing quick money at the moment - given the financial climate, it's hard to say what some people are thinking.

[mytreasure]

Thank for your reply.

I will definately go and have a look.

Any recomendations on the main things I should check for? ??

[MarkGoodwinPianos]

The main recommendation is that you take a tuner/technician with you or at least hire someone to pop out and write a report about the condition of the piano for you. It does seem ridiculously cheap. The photos and descriptive text seem to have come from a trade source. The language used is quite trady, as opposed to being written by a private individual.

Also, you'll see the little white strip of protective film on the music desk? That's a sign that the piano is fresh back from being reconditioned. If that's the case there is no way that it could be sold for £1200 unless there was something fishy going on. It should be priced closer to £4000 than £1000.

It could well be a fake advert by a trader who is testing the water on gumtree to see what sort of response he gets by placing an advert for a top quality, mint condition piano at a price that would see him make a huge loss.

I'd be asking for the reason for sale and whether the seller is a private seller or in the trade. I hope it goes well for you because if everything is as it seems that you are buying way below trade price and someone is making a huge loss on this.

Let us know how you get on
thanks
Mark

[joe]

Seems a good deal take a reputable local piano tuner to view and check instrument.The protective strip on the music desk shows the piano is an import from the Far-East and is not a sign that piano has been serviced it a sign that it just out a piano container for export.A U30BL is to my knowledge is not a U3 that is Japanese made its a Yamaha made under license in Indonesia,may be wrong?.Check loop-chords,signs of rust,pitch,key coverings,back-bracings,soundboard for shimmed splits and get tuner to turn actions screws and butt springs.If all in order would not hesitate to long, good buy.

[joe]

That Yamaha U30BL looks dodgy,been offered worth with a low cost van.

[dancarney]

It's a scam! The piano is in the USA.

I googled the serial number, and it threw up a dealer in the USA, that sold the piano via eBay.com

The images are also identical. Take a look:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vi ... 236wt_1156

[mytreasure]

Thank you so much, - didn't think of putting the serial in google.

This explains why the seller has not got back to my last email asking to view the piano with my tuner!

I thought it was too good to be true at that price, there are some crooks out there!!

Thank you

[dancarney]

Glad I could help!

I was once scammed, and now check EVERYTHING with a fine-tooth comb

[MarkGoodwinPianos]

Well done Dan

Pretty sure the U30BL is Japanese made though

[NewAge]

Glad I could help!

I was once scammed, and now check EVERYTHING with a fine-tooth comb

Well spotted!
Just another classic example of, 'If it's too good to be true', it wont be!
If buying on-line, ALWAYS try to establish a relationship with the seller, and especially request a photo from a particularly unusual angle. I've done this several times and is an added precaution (although no absolute guarantee) to ensure that the article is available to the seller.
Fortunately to date, I've never been scammed. Having said that I would never, ever purchase a piano without seeing and playing it.