How to Sell Your Piano
You should always begin by thinking of any family members, friends, neighbors, or coworkers who might be interested in buying your piano. Put up notices where people congregate: houses of worship, schools, your workplace, etc. Send out emails to your contact list, and post something on Facebook and other social-media sites you frequent.
I also strongly suggest that, before putting the piano up for sale, you have it tuned, and have any needed small repairs and adjustments made. I realize that you may not want to put any more money into an instrument you are selling, but a small amount spent here can pay big dividends in both the selling price of the piano and in the ease of sale. Most buyers, encountering an instrument that is out of tune and/or in need of mechanical adjustment, don’t know if these issues are major or minor, and so will often avoid a perfectly good instrument that simply needs a little normal maintenance. By presenting the piano in its best light, you can remove any unnecessary obstacles to its sale.
You can also take the opportunity to ask your piano technician if he or she knows of anyone who might be interested in your piano. The technician may also be able to give you more accurate information about the piano’s condition and value.
Some chapters of the Piano Technicians Guild operate a chapter e-mail list or publish a chapter newsletter in which Guild members or their clients can advertise pianos for sale. Sometimes these ads are free; in other cases, a small fee is charged. Ask your piano technician about this, or use the technician-search function of the Guild’s website, www.ptg.org, to locate the president of the chapter in your area. First, click Find a Registered Piano Technician. Then, using the Search by Technician or PTG Chapter utility, choose the chapter closest to your location from the drop-down list, choose Sort by Last Name, click Search, and in the search results, look down the Chapter Role column for "President." You can also use the Zip/Postal Code Search utility to find a qualified technician near you to service your piano.
Also on the Internet, I'd suggest that you advertise the piano on craigslist.org, which is organized by city or metro area; and in the classified-ad section of PianoBuyer.com, which has a national audience but has great searching capabilities, including searching by location. Both are free to list. Sellers pay a 3% commission upon sale via PianoBuyer.com. (A related classified-ad site, PianoMart.com, has exactly the same listings as PianoBuyer.com. When you list your piano with one site, the listing also automatically appears on the other site.) Other online classified-ad sites include PianoWorld.com and eBay.com.
Be aware that there are risks in buying and selling over the Internet, especially since shoppers will want to see and play your piano before purchase. In addition to the physical risks, there are also scams. Do not answer inquiries that seek to purchase the piano sight unseen and tell you that they will send a money order in payment. The money order they send will be bogus. The PianoBuyer.com classified-ad section offers a free escrow service, operated by PianoMart, that will protect you from such scams.