It isn't just music.  I also collect and restore old radios and TVs,
and it is absurd how proud most antique stores are of these.  They
usually ask 2 and 3 times the reasonable price.

However, I once offered a lady less than half of what she wanted for
a grandfather clock radio after I told her that I had seen it in her
shop for a couple of years and that if she really had that much in it
then she was never going to sell it.  She took my offer.

It never hurts to ask, though often 10% to 15% is the best they will
do, and that is frequently still way high on the items that interest
us and that we are trying to preserve for the future.  As least we don't
(as far as I know) see them making bars and tables out of the pianos,
like I sometime see with what would have been nice old radios and TV
cabinets.

Julian Brook