MAJUSCULE Posted March 9, 2023 Share Posted March 9, 2023 What do you think, am I gonna come out of this with a free Petrof grand? Looks scammy as hell, of course. I would naturally expect to pay moving expenses (probably where the scam would happen) and would probably have to store it with someone for a couple years until my roommate moves out and I move things around in my house. But! What if this is actually real and I get it??? Kijiji ad for free Petrof grand Quote Eric Website Gear page Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RABid Posted March 9, 2023 Share Posted March 9, 2023 I was searching Reverb for a Eurorack module, hoping to find it for $300. Found a listing for $280 and looked. They wanted $277 for shipping. (Must have been using the UPS store.) Quote This post edited for speling. My Sweetwater Gear Exchange Page Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ProfD Posted March 9, 2023 Share Posted March 9, 2023 Brotha Eric, there are a few what ifs in your present situation that would make this free piano untenable. 😁 Otherwise, if *I* were truly interested in providing a home for this free piano, I would do the following: 1) invest in taking a trip to wherever it is located 2) inspect and play the piano 3) sign a contract with the seller/offeror even though it's free 4) make my own shipping arrangements prior to leaving Where I come from, if something seems to good to be true, it's either ignored or approached with 2 pounds of caution.😎 2 Quote PD "The greatest thing you'll ever learn, is just to love and be loved in return."--E. Ahbez "Nature Boy" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JamPro Posted March 9, 2023 Share Posted March 9, 2023 It may now be a moot question: I clicked on the link, and it says the item is no longer listed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MAJUSCULE Posted March 9, 2023 Author Share Posted March 9, 2023 Haha yep, they referred me to the mover, who somehow had a very similar writing style. I did use my email, which may not have been a good idea, but oh well. The mover asked for my address for delivery and I asked for their address to come try it out before I agreed to anything. We rinsed and repeated a couple times til I stopped answering. Maybe one day someone will gift me a free grand piano! 1 Quote Eric Website Gear page Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom Williams Posted March 10, 2023 Share Posted March 10, 2023 The ad was gone by the time I looked, but see if I get it close: the owner was a widower, it reminded him of his wife, just wanted it out of the house to a good home. Doesn't mention the brand name, but you can read "Yamaha" above the keyboard. I responded to one of those, ready for a scam. The funny coincidence was that when he said that he was in Davis, I responded "Oh, no trouble -- i live in Philippi. I'll get a truck!" (The ad had posted in Morgantown WV CL) He responded, perhaps a bit spooked: "Philippi in LA?" -- it turns out there is a suburb or community in LA county not too far from Davis CA. Part of the scam is to post online to a local site far away from the supposed location. The money is stolen under the guise of prepaying shipping. 1 Quote -Tom Williams {First Name} {at} AirNetworking {dot} com PC4-7, PX-5S, AX-Edge, PC361 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TommyRude Posted March 10, 2023 Share Posted March 10, 2023 I was hoping for a positive outcome, throwing a little joy into the universe Quote Some music I've recorded and played over the years with a few different bands Tommy Rude Soundcloud Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KuruPrionz Posted March 10, 2023 Share Posted March 10, 2023 Could just be a random photo of a piano for that matter so the brand doesn't really matter. If you can't get there in 20 minutes, it's useless. Quote It took a chunk of my life to get here and I am still not sure where "here" is. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom Williams Posted March 12, 2023 Share Posted March 12, 2023 On 3/10/2023 at 12:38 AM, KuruPrionz said: Could just be a random photo of a piano for that matter so the brand doesn't really matter. If you can't get there in 20 minutes, it's useless. Oh contraire(sp?), the brand does matter -- part of the scam is that the "seller" doesn't appear to realize he's letting a $20K Yamaha grand go for free -- the scam is tuned to appeal to the buyer's greed. "Ooh, what an idiot -- I'll snatch this up before anyone else notices it." You won't see this scam with a Wurlitzer or Kimball picture, for example. Quote -Tom Williams {First Name} {at} AirNetworking {dot} com PC4-7, PX-5S, AX-Edge, PC361 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KuruPrionz Posted March 12, 2023 Share Posted March 12, 2023 1 hour ago, Tom Williams said: Oh contraire(sp?), the brand does matter -- part of the scam is that the "seller" doesn't appear to realize he's letting a $20K Yamaha grand go for free -- the scam is tuned to appeal to the buyer's greed. "Ooh, what an idiot -- I'll snatch this up before anyone else notices it." You won't see this scam with a Wurlitzer or Kimball picture, for example. It does matter, I guess I didn't express my thoughts very well at all. I meant, in the context of it not being for sale at all it could be any photo. You are right, a Yamaha or a Steinway etc. is going to draw more victims to the scam. Quote It took a chunk of my life to get here and I am still not sure where "here" is. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MathOfInsects Posted March 12, 2023 Share Posted March 12, 2023 Moot now, but I've seen this scam before, and it is one. It never seems to go away. It's like the "piano lessons for my daughter" scam. "Two times a week for a year and I'd like to pay in advance. What is your Venmo, we can start tomorrow. Whoopsie, sent too much, can you Venmo back the difference?" This stuff still works on people I guess... 1 Quote Now out! "Mind the Gap," a 24-song album of new material. www.joshweinstein.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AUSSIEKEYS Posted March 12, 2023 Share Posted March 12, 2023 45 minutes ago, MathOfInsects said: Two times a week for a year and I'd like to pay in advance. What is your Venmo, we can start tomorrow. Whoopsie, sent too much, can you Venmo back the difference?" No problem dear student I've instead credited it to your next years lessons. Isnt that peachy. See you tomorrow for your first lesson. Please bring cash for rental of the piano seat. Signed...10 dancing fingers Academy. (Formerly...Five Finger Discounts for Bass & Treble) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
o0Ampy0o Posted March 13, 2023 Share Posted March 13, 2023 On 3/9/2023 at 8:19 PM, Tom Williams said: ...I responded to one of those, ready for a scam. The funny coincidence was that when he said that he was in Davis, I responded "Oh, no trouble -- i live in Philippi. I'll get a truck!" (The ad had posted in Morgantown WV CL) He responded, perhaps a bit spooked: "Philippi in LA?" -- it turns out there is a suburb or community in LA county not too far from Davis CA.... "...not too far..." Wherever Philippi is in LA County, California it is 400+/- miles from Davis, California. He could have meant Philippi, Louisiana which is just a little further away from West Virginia. Either are a relaxed Sunday drive if you have ever driven through Texas. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stoken6 Posted March 13, 2023 Share Posted March 13, 2023 On 3/12/2023 at 4:45 AM, Tom Williams said: Oh contraire(sp?) Good effort! L'orthographe est en fait «Au Contraire» Cordialement, Mike 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SamuelBLupowitz Posted March 13, 2023 Share Posted March 13, 2023 On 3/9/2023 at 1:51 PM, MAJUSCULE said: Maybe one day someone will gift me a free grand piano! I've seen a similar scam before as well; so disheartening. However, I casually mentioned to a bass player I work with pretty often that I really want a baby grand one day and he said "do you want mine? It belonged to my parents, I took it when they moved to Florida, and now nobody plays it." May you be so blessed. 1 Quote Samuel B. Lupowitz Musician. Songwriter. Food Enthusiast. Bad Pun Aficionado. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom Williams Posted March 30, 2023 Share Posted March 30, 2023 Pardon me for exhuming the zombie, but here we go again. Could be interesting, as the supposed location is 40 minutes away. Morgantown WV Free Stuff (sure...) Quote -Tom Williams {First Name} {at} AirNetworking {dot} com PC4-7, PX-5S, AX-Edge, PC361 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom Williams Posted March 30, 2023 Share Posted March 30, 2023 Funny thing: it shares a type of resemblance to This one at PianoMart. To quote Peter Shickele, this type of resemblance is called "identity." Quote -Tom Williams {First Name} {at} AirNetworking {dot} com PC4-7, PX-5S, AX-Edge, PC361 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
16251 Posted April 4, 2023 Share Posted April 4, 2023 Here's another it appears. https://boston.craigslist.org/gbs/msg/d/roslindale-free-new-keyboard/7605684464.html Quote AvantGrand N2 | ES520 | Gallien-Krueger MK & MP | https://soundcloud.com/pete36251 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NewImprov Posted April 5, 2023 Share Posted April 5, 2023 TLDR: I "fell" for this scam last week, and actually ended up with a piano! It's a 1926 Chickering 7' grand, it's now living at my studio, and was delivered for free! The story behind it: I've had an 1880's Knabe Grand at my studio for the past few years, it belongs to my former partner in the studio. He bought it as a project piano, and we got about 1/2-way through restoring it, got it up to a fairly playable condition, and have been using it, it's a nice-sounding piano, but it has a cracked soundboard, a relatively uneven key feel, and has not been able to hold a tuning for more than a few weeks at a time. He's been talking about moving it to his new place lately and finishing the restoration. So a few weeks ago, I saw a post on a community FB group for my town, someone was offering a 1926 Chickering 7' Grand for free to a church, school or non-profit, but it had to be soon, as they were moving and the piano had to go. I contacted them, made a joke about running a "not-very profitable" business, and the owner got back to me, and offered to sell it for $1000, which seemed a good deal, but I didn't really have the cash to spare, and still had the other grand in the studio, so I declined the offer and wished them luck. 2 weeks pass, and they contact me again, they've had a bunch of churches look at the piano and offer to take it, but they all backed out, and the owners had to be out of their house by the following Saturday, this was Wednesday. Not only would they give it to me for free, they would move it, for free, but it had to be ASAP. I contact my former partner, he's on a ski trip for a few more days, but will be home Thursday evening. We make plans for him to pack out the Knabe Friday morning. Wednesday evening, I meet the owners of the Chickering at the house they are moving from and play the piano, it's a very nice instrument. The owner's father is a piano tech, who had bought this piano from the local college music department in the mid-80's, and had restrung it, and rebuilt the action. He gave it to his daughter some years ago because he got a Steinway, they are getting rid of it now because they are moving into a larger house with her father and his Steinway. We make arrangements for them to deliver the Chickering to my studio Friday evening. Friday, we get torrential rains even by Oregon standards, but despite that, the plans work out, the Knabe gets packed into storage, and the Chickering moves in. I've been playing it every day since, it needs a touch-up tuning and a little work on the action, but I have a call out to my piano tech to give it a visit this week. 1 2 Quote Turn up the speaker Hop, flop, squawk It's a keeper -Captain Beefheart, Ice Cream for Crow Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MAJUSCULE Posted April 5, 2023 Author Share Posted April 5, 2023 YEAH DAVE!! ! 1 Quote Eric Website Gear page Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jim Alfredson Posted April 5, 2023 Share Posted April 5, 2023 If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is. Also, always have any piano inspected by a piano technician, even if it's free. Trust me. Quote Keep it greazy! B3tles - Soul Jazz THEO - Prog Rock Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BMD Posted April 5, 2023 Share Posted April 5, 2023 I'm the driver for a partially-sighted piano tuner and he's mentioned this scam to me several times The piano will be a pile of crap and not worth attempting to tune. The cost of having such a piano collected for scrapping is high Why not offer it to the public for free and let some sap come and collect it? The problem is passed on Quote Some songs I've written - https://www.soundclick.com/randomguy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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