Just bought a piano off of ebay (uh oh!)

[jaboston]

Heres some pictures ive got of it......
I haven't got it delivered yet.... it cost me 230 quid including delivery and tuning.

Heres what I wanna ask
- What do you recon itll sound like?
- Recon its a bad bargain?
- Does it look bad?
- I bet its bad right?

To make things more interesting heres what the seller said about the piano:

"THIS IS A J.J.HOPKINSON CLASSIC ART NOUVO TRADITIONAL UPRIGHT PIANO, ONE OF THE MOST FAMOUS PIANOS MAKERS IN THE WORLD THIS IS A SUPERB GOOD QUALITY PIANO, OVER STRUNG AND UNDERDAMPED IN FAIRLY GOOD STATE OF TUNING, 7 OCTAVES (I BELIEVE), LOVELY TONE QUALITY. SLIGHT RETUNING REQUIRED.

PLEASE SEE PHOTOS, HAS BURR WALNUT CASEWORK HAS A FEW MISSING WOOD PIECES TO THE FLORAL DESIGN AND IS SMALL A BLEMISH ON WHAT IS A BEAUTIFUL PIANO,APART FROM THAT THE CASEWORK IS IN GOOD CONDITION, AVAILABLE TO VIEW IN ESSEX NEAR HAINAULT, DIMENTIONS ARE APPROX, 55 LONG " X 23 " DEEP. X 44 " BUYER COLLECTS WITH FREE HELP TO LOAD THIS END"

I dont know what overstrung and underdampened means leading to my last question...

what does overstrung and underdampened mean? haha

lol cheers in advanced.

PS: IT COMES WITH COMPLIMENTARY CANDLE HOLDERS

http://www.jaboston.com/piano.jpg

[MarkGoodwinPianos]

If those are the photos from the auction then I'm afraid you've either been lied to or the seller is seriously mistaken. If you have paid the money then you need to get it back ASAP. Hopefully you paid via PayPal which should make getting your money back easier.

The piano in those photos IS a straight-strung and it IS an overdamper and that is a VERY bad thing.

GET OUT WHILE YOU CAN!!!

[jaboston]

If those are the photos from the auction then I'm afraid you've either been lied to or the seller is seriously mistaken. If you have paid the money then you need to get it back ASAP. Hopefully you paid via PayPal which should make getting your money back easier.

The piano in those photos IS a straight-strung and it IS an overdamper and that is a VERY bad thing.

GET OUT WHILE YOU CAN!!!

itll be my first piano. its alright for a first piano right?

[MarkGoodwinPianos]

No it's a scrapper and you'll be victim of fraud because the lies contained in the description.

Cancel the purchase. I'll give you a free piano that is 5 times better than that. Just arrange collection yourself.

[Johnkie]

The description given by the seller on Ebay was way off I'm afraid - It certainly is not either overstrung or underdamped. £230 for a piano of this age and design is nowhere near a bargain. If I were you, I would refuse it on the grounds that the description was misleading, and Ebay would have to ensure that you got your money back. You can get one or two real bargain pianos on Ebay but this is not one of them.

No full iron frame, wooden top bridge, overdamped and straight strung ..... a very old example of an otherwise good make .... but just not up to the mark for today's houses and pretty hopeless overall.

[vernon]

I second that.

[Colin Nicholson]

This is obviously a con and the piano description is false as mentioned.

This is what an overstrung looks like (strings running at an angle), and under-damped, no wires, no puppets - good old fashioned proper piano! The dampers are behind and beneath the strings, and can easily be seen from an aerial view of the piano action.

Personally...... get a refund.

[Johnkie]

If it plays ok offer him about £40 as it isn't worth any more than that- it is beautiful though!
He lied so tell him that- ebay will take him off as a trader!

I certainly hope that he doesn't offer £40 pianolove ..... and perhaps "lying" was more a case of not knowing anything about pianos !! He has been given an inaccurate description on Ebay and that's all that is needed to reject that sale and get his money returned.

I'm sure we all appreciate and accept your particular love of old pianos, and their individual characters seem to stir a great deal of affection in your eyes .... and of course you are entitled to your own personal view.

I do hope though, that the advice freely given by professionals is heeded in this case, after all the author of this post was seeking contructive advice.

[MarkGoodwinPianos]

I've tried to find the auction but can't seem to see any Hopkinson pianos that ended recently.

[AroundAgain]

I'm afraid my gut feeling is that this thread is a 'wind up'.
Of course, I could well be wrong but my instinct is often right ...
Cheers

[MarkGoodwinPianos]

I'm afraid my gut feeling is that this thread is a 'wind up'.
Of course, I could well be wrong but my instinct is often right ...
Cheers

Hmmm. The OP has inboxed me to take my up on the offer of a free piano. So maybe it's real after all.
I'm not prepared to handle that request by PM (cos it's a horrid clunky system that takes up too much time to navigate and reply and monitor etc) so I've asked him to reply in public in this topic.

I don't think it's a hoax but it's strange how the auction isn't showing up.

[jaboston]

Yes unfortunately I'm not trolling... Thankyou for be willing to help me...
Ignorance in this case... Is not bliss... It nice to have so many people be able to give me constructive feedback so fast.
I will gladly take you up on your offer.... Thankyou for your help and advice...

[Johnkie]

jaboston .... Please let us all know the outcome .... did you manage to cancel the sale and get your money returned ?

[MarkGoodwinPianos]

The only condition of claiming a free piano from me is that you hire a tuner of your choice from the oldham/rochdale/manchester area to pop round and choose a piano for you from my collection of slightly tatty partex pianos, all of which are better than the one you almost just bought.

You'd then just need to have the piano collected and delivered. I recommend www.PianoSpeed.com but you are welcome to use whoever you like.

Step 1 is to choose a piano tuner and ask him to EMAIL (not phone) me to book a time to pop round and view some pianos for you. My email is markgoodwinpianos@gmail.com

[jaboston]

The only condition of claiming a free piano from me is that you hire a tuner of your choice from the oldham/rochdale/manchester area to pop round and choose a piano for you from my collection of slightly tatty partex pianos, all of which are better than the one you almost just bought.

You'd then just need to have the piano collected and delivered. I recommend http://www.PianoSpeed.com but you are welcome to use whoever you like.

Step 1 is to choose a piano tuner and ask him to EMAIL (not phone) me to book a time to pop round and view some pianos for you. My email is markgoodwinpianos@gmail.com

ok that sounds fantastic! I guess all together it would cost me about £300...

Thats a fair price for a piano selected by a professional tuner and kindly donated by you!

I will have a search around your area for a tuner to email you asap! thankyou so much!

[jaboston]

A tuner called Neil said he will email you shortly !

thanks again!

*dreams*

[MarkGoodwinPianos]

No probs
Should come in at £250 or less I reckon.

[jaboston]

its £250 from manchester to London for the transportation of the Piano and the tuner only wants £20!

if you ever need me to program software for you let me know! I know a bit about SEO (search engine optimization) aswell so maybe I can help you with that if you want.

[AroundAgain]

I'm very pleased to read the OP isn't a 'wind up'. I do hope nobody has taken offence. My comments were merely my thoughts.

I do hope you get full refund of any monies paid re ebay transaction. Yes, I do hope you will post the outcome as it will be of interest to us, and also, perhaps of use to anyone else wanting to buy a piano.

MGP's offer is very good, as you clearly appreciate. I do wish you well with your 'new' piano. Look forward to hear how you progress, of course.

Good luck

[MarkGoodwinPianos]

£270 all in then. Not too bad.
Do you like a dark wood, medium wood, light wood.
Are you particularly fussy about such things at this stage or will you just take whatever is in good working order and doesn't look tooo shabby?

[jaboston]

well if i have the choice on looks id go for something dark wood! But of course sound is the most important factor for me! Something that sounds nice like this!:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G-FdX1D5hVg

mmmmmm tasty sound...

[Colin Nicholson]

Chopin's G flat etude...... like that & still play it - nice! Not sure tho if the recording did the piano any justice! Mark sells some good pianos, but not sure if he can provide a free grand like this ha ha.... might need to contact Paul Daniels !!

The tone can be improved also by toning the hammers - so further work may be needed afterwards

Good luck with your piano .....

[jaboston]

Thankyou!

Im very excited now...

[MarkGoodwinPianos]

It will sound more like this kind of thing
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qtx7l9aVuA8

[jaboston]

Hahaaa brilliant! Must say that's a pretty good ditch piano! (Says the guy found it in a ditch in the video description :d)

out of interest... Did the tuner email you?

cheers!

[MarkGoodwinPianos]

Hahaaa brilliant! Must say that's a pretty good ditch piano! (Says the guy found it in a ditch in the video description :d)

out of interest... Did the tuner email you?

cheers!

No tuner has been in touch about this yet no.
Please make sure they are emailing me at markgoodwinpianos@gmail.com

Thanks
Mark

[jaboston]

Just thought id update this thread and tell you all how things are. I had a good streak of luck. Although the guy who sold me the piano refused to take it back I sold the piano to someone who lives 2 roads up for double the price (!!) so I broke even. Then the same day my neighbors across the road gave me a piano! Its in brilliant condition an apparently was bought in the 1970's.

Chuffed.

thanks for all your help and advice.

[siontw]

I wish i had read this post earlier...

Hi all... i think i may have done the same? i bought a broadwood circa 1880, it seems OK to my very poor experience but the one thing i did recognise with earlier advice in this post was the lack of an iron frame? It just has a wooden one which, like you mention may not survive in a modern house?

have posted some pics in an earlier post (pending approval) regarding non playing notes. Would really appreciate any advice?

or then again, do i want to know!

thanks,

[Colin Nicholson]

Siontw

Buying a piano "blind" and without having it inspected first is a risk. To a novice, many are lured by the looks alone, and the complete "balony" in their descriptions! I recently browsed ebay, and someone is selling a Model Z Steinway - with a late 1800's backframe/3/4 cast frame & soundboard.... and simply mounted onto a modern casework!!.... even I had to look 3 times to spot it. The seller then said it was 1920's.... however, stupidly - this comment was questioned, and a viewer said it was 1885!! The seller then said.... "oh well, it was what I was told" ..!!!! and this guy is selling through a trade.

Buying overdamped/ straight-strung & wooden framed pianos is a thing of the past - unless simply to act as a piece of furniture, or become a talking point within a few mates. Piano tuners usually dread them (as quoted in Reblitz).... and after seeing your photos.... they are fine to have a play around & have some fun, but not for any serious musician. Many old pianos like this will never see concert pitch again.

If you PM me, I will send you an interesting article about choosing to buy 2 items..

1. Beautiful china cabinet with broken china cups inside...... £100

2. Victorian piano, beautiful carvings, sconces.... free to a good home.

Which one would you have? and would you look inside the china cabinet? .... of course, so why not look inside a piano !! Problem being - its online, and the seller would never dream of taking pictures of an overdamped/ straight strung piano.... to be avoided at all costs!

These would usually be bought by the trade, and only if it has historic interest - in some cases the name sells alone.... Broadwood is a good name, well respected - but buying a piano that is over 130 years old ...... mmmm

rest my case.

[siontw]

Thanks for the advice.

I did do some research, but it was into the makers rather than the changes to the guts of the insides. I called a local specialist and asked his advise, but to his credit he hadnt seen it and could only advise on the maker and that it costs 150 to move on, so 180 all in wasnt worth worrying about.

i cant afford to buy another now, so will just have to try and get this one to play as well as it will, and keep my eyes open in the future.

Talk about going from hero to zero. i was totally in love with this piano (being my first) and now i feel massively deflated that i have more chance of getting a tune out of a spoon. Although i am to blame for my ignorance, i think (and im sure most do) sellers should take more responsibility in what their selling, to whom.

[Barrie Heaton]

Thanks for the advice.

Talk about going from hero to zero. i was totally in love with this piano (being my first) and now i feel massively deflated that i have more chance of getting a tune out of a spoon. Although i am to blame for my ignorance, i think (and im sure most do) sellers should take more responsibility in what their selling, to whom.

6 out of 10 pianos I see from Ebay are a right-off of the other 4 maybe 1 is a good piano the other 3 need a lot of work and in most cases the cost is more then the piano is worth.

Barrie

[David B]

I bouoght a little used 1980's Welmar off ebay last year for £600.

No complaints

[fispianoplayer]

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