The price difference between upright and grand pianos

[Eine Alpensinfonie]

A piano is a highly complex musical instrument, and are generally worth every penny spent on them.
But I am puzzled by the price difference between upright and grand pianos. In any range, the most expensive upright is significantly cheaper than the smallest grand. Grands may take up more floor space, but their mechanism is simpler, and therefore cheaper to manufacture.

Have I missed something?

[Dave2002]

A piano is a highly complex musical instrument, and are generally worth every penny spent on them.
But I am puzzled by the price difference between upright and grand pianos. In any range, the most expensive upright is significantly cheaper than the smallest grand. Grands may take up more floor space, but their mechanism is simpler, and therefore cheaper to manufacture.

Have I missed something?

Buying new one can pay more than for some high performance sports cars - eg Steinway, Fazioli grands. Second hand many pianos, including grands, are often hard to give away.
I bought a grand piano at an auction for £150 - bit of a mistake really.

[Tony Halstead]

Buying new one can pay more than for some high performance sports cars - eg Steinway, Fazioli grands. Second hand many pianos, including grands, are often hard to give away.
I bought a grand piano at an auction for £150 - bit of a mistake really.

Why a 'mistake'?
Did it not work/ play ( Freudian slip) OK?

[Eine Alpensinfonie]

Second hand many pianos, including grands, are often hard to give away.

That depends on the piano. Old Steinways still fetch good prices if they have been well maintained.

But my OP was about why grands cost so much more than uprights.

[teamsaint]

That depends on the piano. Old Steinways still fetch good prices if they have been well maintained.

But my OP was about why grands cost so much more than uprights.

At a guess , Its probably because Uprights are a volume market, Grands a niche market, with all that this means in terms of costs, pricing, etc.

[Dave2002]

Why a 'mistake'?
Did it not work/ play ( Freudian slip) OK?

Trouble with auctions is that if you go to sell stuff, you're almost bound to buy at least one thing. I bid on an antique piano - or at least tried to. This was not a modern style piano in any way, more like a square piano. The bidding went way above my limit quickly. That left the small grand piano, I think from around 1920, and I decided I'd go up to around £150 or at least start there. There were a few starter bids, then I put in my £150, expecting to be overtaken - and all other interest lapsed!

I had it tuned since, and the tuner said it was reasonable given the cost, plus the extra cost of his work. The main issue for us is the space it takes up - and it's all related to a house we had to clear, so unfortunately it's just not really very useful at all as one of our rooms is now full with stuff we should perhaps try to rid ourselves of. It's also gone out of tune again, so not even that much fun when one has clambered over to the "driving seat".

[Eine Alpensinfonie]

It's also gone out of tune again, so not even that much fun when one has clambered over to the "driving seat".

Was this a recent purchase? Most pianos need tuning every 6 months. Neglecting them leads to permanent decay.

[MrGongGong]

So tell us Alpie (as i'm in the Alps and after my rather entertaining alphorn lesson earlier this week which i should have recorded and sent to you ) what sort of piano have you got then ?
No ...... don't tell us
let me guess ?

Yam......... ?

[Eine Alpensinfonie]

Without going into detail re the make, I have the largest upright model, but the baby grand version of the range is 75% more expensive, and the top of the range model is 400% more expensive. That's what I don't understand.

[MrGongGong]

I know its a St st st st st................... radivarius ?

I hear the new Dysons are good and not the "largest upright model" either

[Eine Alpensinfonie]

Look here, you're only jealous, but to make you more envious still, my oboe is world class.

[MrGongGong]

Look here, you're only jealous, but to make you more envious still, my oboe is world class.

I miss Sid James

There was a Bosendorfer in the room at the primary school I was at today (though it is the holidays and i'm sure it was put there specially for mr Kissin )

[richardfinegold]

That depends on the piano. Old Steinways still fetch good prices if they have been well maintained.

But my OP was about why grands cost so much more than uprights.

Because they are Grander?

[Dave2002]

Was this a recent purchase? Most pianos need tuning every 6 months. Neglecting them leads to permanent decay.

My pianos are decaying, perhaps gracefully, and have been for many decades. Occasionally they get tweaked. If I could fix all the other problems life throws up, then naturally tuning these would leap to the top of my priority list!