As part of being a complete piano service business, A440-William R. Monroe Piano Services, Inc. provides purchase consultation services to clients looking to buy a new (or new to you) piano for your home. The premise of a purchase consult is similar to that of taking a used car that you might want to purchase to your mechanic and having it looked over thoroughly to ensure there are no surprises once the purchase is made.
Pianos are an extremely complex instrument, and it is a rare situation indeed where both the seller of a piano (including piano dealers) and the buyer of the piano know much at all about the actual functionality and structural integrity of the instrument. This is not a fault necessarily, but a simple recognition of the fact that a well-trained piano technician (particularly one who rebuilds pianos) is the only one that can give you an accurate, complete assessment of the condition of a piano you may be considering for purchase.
When clients begin their search for a new instrument, we recommend the client do most of the “leg-work” of the search. In other words, the client should be doing the searching, identification of potential instruments, asking the initial questions about the piano, and visiting the instrument to see if it meets their needs as far as they can tell. Then, schedule a purchase consult to be done.
When you hire the technician to do your Purchase Consult, you can expect that the piano will be given a very thorough inspection to ensure we have a complete understanding of the condition of the instrument. The purchase consult generates a report that can be mailed or emailed which includes every detail of the instrument’s condition, including suggested repairs or service work and an estimate of the piano’s value so that the buyer can make a well-informed decision as to whether or not to make a purchase.
