Vincent Morgan wrote in 100820 MMDigest about affording a piano.
I don't remember just what I paid for my Marshall & Wendell Ampico B,
but re-doing the Ampico cost $2000, refinishing was $1500.  It also
required a new pin block and strings, I don't remember the cost of
them.  This was in about 1997.

A couple of years later I acquired a Stieff Welte; it required only the
Welte rebuild and by this time I had the knowledge to refinish it myself,
which I did.  I paid only $800 for it and the owner brought it from
Florida to Indiana for me.  I wasn't able at that time to pay for
refinishing so I did it.

The cost of living in New York City is much greater than here, I don't
know what people do to afford to live there.  Around here you can still
buy an older, very decent house in a good neighbor hood for $55,000 to
$80,000.  $125,000 will buy you a very, very nice house.  Same for
California -- I couldn't afford a dog house there!

Jay Merrill
Indiana