Piano World Home Page Forums Our Most Popular Forums Piano Forum Help! Need advice for buying on craiglist

I found a good deal for a used Steinway M piano on craiglist. I went over to check it out yesterday. Everything looked good. I loved it and I am ready to buy.

My dilemma is that the owner of the house has already moved to FL. A friend of them showed me the piano and said that she was helping her friends sell everything in the house because the house would go into settlement in a week. I offer to pay with a cashier check when the delivery took place but she insisted that she didn't want to have anything to do with the money. She said the owner wanted the money wired and verified to their account before the delivery. I am just not comfortable with this at all. Craiglist says don't use wrie transfer. It's a lot of money. Once I wire the money, it'll be gone. What if when the moving truck shows up and no one is there? If it was the owner I was dealing with then I think I would have no problem. On the other hand, I could lose the piano if I don't agree with their terms (The friend showed me emails from dealers and other people that offered more than the amount I offered)

I am a nervous wreck right now. I could use your advice.
Thanks.

I recommend you let this go. I do not think at this point you could be assured that the piano even belongs to the person offering to sell it. Claiming that other people are offering more for the piano is a warning sign! You might even call the police non-emergency number about this. It really sounds like a scam.

I wouldn't deal with any third party anyone on anything number one. Has the owner provided you with written proof that the piano she is selling cheap is actually hers? It could be financed somewhere or she herself could have borrowed it. These " Mysterious" sales happen a lot with pianos then later the real owners appear magically from the mist to collect their " lost" piano and then you are out your money and instrument.

I got burned on this exact thing several years ago where the " Renter" or supposed home owner skipped town leaving a piano behind only to find out later after it was in my showroom on consignment that it was a stolen piano from another state.

Tell them you want to see documentation and don't wire any money. When that piano exits the home on movers equipment then you can hand whomever a cashiers check. Security firms do cash hand-offs all the time if they want only cash do it that way.

Run away. Simple variation on a classic con. Run.

That's another thing: the owner said she didn't have any documentation because it's been 20 years since she bought it. She said she would call the dealer and checked with them and then later forwarded me an mail from the dealer stating that the piano was sold to them and that nothing was owed and that the dealer could provide a bill of sale if we wanted. The email from the dealer also said that they were willing to buy the piano for a higher price, sight unseen and had it moved right away. but she said she was already promised to sell it to me first and already deleted the post from craiglist.

I will call the dealer directly to get more info.

I would take the advice of everyone here so far and run away from this one.

As Gilbert & Sullivan said, "There's lots of more fish in the sea, in the sea, in the sea..."

Call the police.

Oh boy..tons of red flags here for sure. I would call the police ...totally agree on that.

Thanks everyone for your advice. Unfortunately there is little fish in the sea where I live. I've been looking for a grand for a long, long time. Really thought that this was the one. If this turns out to be a legitimate deal, I would not be able to recover for a while.

Sorry folks. just not ready to let this go. I did a little research and there are several things that tell me that this might not be a scam

[deleted]

I'm not sure what to do. I think I'm going to tell them that if they agree to do cashier check then I will buy it. I'll be there for the move and give the check to the friend ater the piano is in the truck and see what they say.

I'll let you all know how it turns out.
Thanks again for reading.

Minty,

You certainly have done a thorough job to check it out.

Good Luck and let us know how it all turns out.

Hi MM,

Most of your points match this explanation: a con artist found a vacant but furnished house, did the same research you've done, and has begun selling items from it.

The only point that makes the whole story slightly plausible is the name and voice on the voicemail. The "RPT" could be an accomplice, too.

I suppose you could hire your own RPT and set up an appointment to look at the instrument. If the seller offers any excuses, you can be sure this is a scam.

Absent direct contact with the alleged actual owner; proof of their ownership (a receipt confirmed by the dealer's record of the transaction); a signed bill of sale stating the description including serial number, price, terms, and other particulars (like inspection and pick-up by movers) for the sale to you; and payment by cashier's check or bank draft made out to the owner-of-record... and--- oh yes, an inspection by a tech who is not financially interested in the sale, hired and paid for by you--- then, it's no deal. And the reasons should be obvious enough, even through the delirium of piano fever, which I think you have a pretty bad case of.

These are not difficult or onerous things to prove up. A couple of faxes or e-mails, and a phone conversation or two could save you from a world of troubles and an ocean of tears.

And I hope it works out for you! Just be sure that your proofs actually prove something. There are other pianos, and even other good deals. So...

BTW, we seldom have such unanimity of agreement as the previous posts show, so I'm kind of surprised about that. No one is fighting about this. Be careful.

Curious if people ever use escrow services or the like for pianos. Seems like a good idea on a large purchase like this where both sides are nervous and looking for protection.

Rob

We're lucked out!
The piano is in our home safe and sound. The sales went smoothly.
I will post pictures soon.

Congratulations! Shows your research was thorough enough!

Can't wait to see pictures

Thats great news, congrats!

Rob

Amazing! Totally sounded like a scam. Did they end up taking a cashier's check (or what exactly happened that you decided to go through with the deal?)

Also, pictures please!

Yep! This is the first time I've seen a deal that looked this bad but was actually legitimate. You lucked out! How did the deal end up going down? And pictures, of COURSE.

Congratulations!
Now all you have to worry about is the cops knocking on your front door. Do you have a plan to hide the piano? Maybe disguise it as an overgrown Saint Bernard?
Don't mean to rain on your party.
Just don't go getting a parrot that says: Come in!...When someone knocks on the front door.