Spicer pianos

[loopsngeorge]

Hi, I'm so glad to have found this brilliant forum and have already benefited from lots of useful info! I am looking to buy a secondhand baby grand but only have a budget of around £2k so I have been looking on ebay (I know.....)
Has anyone heard of "Spicer" pianos? There is a baby grand on there, but I can find virtually no reference to this make of piano on the internet which seems strange. Any further information that anyone has would be gratefully appreciated!
Many thanks, Louise

[Barrie Heaton]

Are you sure its not Spicer Piano There are quite a few Grand in your price range on the UK Piano Page "Piano for Sale GP" see links to the left. The Golden rule to buying any second hand piano is get a Tuner to look at it before you buy

Barrie

[Colin Nicholson]

Hi Louise,
I think this is the piano you are referring to? (copy & paste)

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Spicer-Black- ... 3374705479

'Spicer *' is listed in the piano atlas book (refers to serial numbers/ dates etc) - but regrettably after its name it has an asterisk as above (the * is not actually printed on the piano, just in the book). Also there is nothing else mentioned such as dates, history, address of factory etc.

All pianos listed with this * after its name refers it to being a stencil piano; this means that it could either be a pre war name revived, or in most cases, an alais name purely made up out of thin air by the retailer or wholesaler. (yes it does happen!).... and Barrie says, many names were mis-spelt to sound like well-known makes of piano. (Incidentally, the seller has even spelt 'Steinway' wrong!)

Its not uncommon to look up names on the internet that dont exist, and the chances of you finding another Spicer will be thin on the ground.

Firstly, there is no mention of the origin or age of the piano, and I would take 'mint condition' as 'original condition' (or taken with a pinch of salt). The advert also looks too fabricated to be a 'homely well looked after piano' - and says very little about the piano, but instead what to do with it when you buy it.

Personally, NEVER bid on a piano with both the top lid & fallboard lid closed - its like buying blind.... however, if you are tempted to find out more, why not send them a message requesting more info.... / age/ when bought/ .... and origin..../ bill of sale/ stool included? more photos of inside & name & keyboard/ when it was last tuned & serviced? that sort of thing.

It looks rather Chinese export (ish) to me - very robust legs, and finished in polyester.... so maybe shipped over for the cheaper end of the market. With there only being one photo from a distance - it doesnt show anything inside - which would give away certain things to a tech guy.

Any piano bought unseen, unheard, untouched and un-inspected is a risk, just like Homes under the hammer!

Dont forget that this is a stencil piano (blank piano with name added later) - and there are no references to history, dates, serial number, manufacturers, patent or exhibition dates, address of factory .... NOTHING!.... so even if you did find out anything from above, it cannot be traced.

For a 2nd opinion, why not visit: http://www.piercepianoatlas.com however, they charge in advance prior to giving out any information, whether they have any or not - but for peace of mind, you could try them. (Based in New Mexico, USA)

Finally, you say 'around 2K' .... this is just the starting price, so best to ask what the reserve price is. The piano looks fairly new by the shiny castors - but thats just an incline - for that much money, you need to have it assessed/ partly tuned on-site and thoroughly checked over first ...... and DONT pay cash! .... no come back there.

Hope that helps

Colin

[loopsngeorge]

Thank you both so much for the comprehensive replies. The piano is 3 years old, apparently hardly used and I have asked for and been sent further pictures of it which all look fine from an aesthetic point of view - the idea of having a shiny black grand piano is hard to resist! However,I spoke to a very helpful piano dealer who told me that Spicer was the name given to a couple of crate loads of pianos that an individual dealer had made in China and shipped back here. So your guess about it being a Chinese export was right!
I think it's all a bit of an unknown quantity to spend £2k + on so will probably leave that one and carry on looking. Thank you again, Louise

[Colin Nicholson]

If its only 3 years old it could be fine. May need the mechanism regulating properly, which is separate to a tuning (regulating is the adjustment of the parts inside). If you do change your mind and go for it, check their feedback, and dont forget, once you've paid for it & arranged delivery, there's no going back.

Good luck in your search Louise

[RobinBMTH]

I am the dealer who imported the SPICER piano and it is interesting to me to read all the negative comments people love to write on forums. "A couple of crates" haha. what does that mean?

Have any of you ever imported products from abroad? A shipping container full of products costs around £60,000 which you send to China in advance of your product being shipped. You then wait 60 days for the ship to get from China to the UK, You then have to pay another £10,000 in shipping costs and import charges such a port handing, customs clearance, etc, and 20% VAT direct to HMRC before your goods can move from the docks. ARE ANY OF YOU YOU BRAVE ENOUGH TO DO THAT?

Have a look around your houses and look at all the stuff you have that is made in China. TV, Lap-tops, I-phones, Tablets, PCs, We would all be a lot worse off without the clever Chinese making lots of great products for us. So why are you all so prejudice when it comes to pianos?

These pianos were far better than any piano we ever made in the UK. They also had german hammers fitted to them and had a really lovely tone and good action too. The polyester finish was excellent and to this day I have never received any complaints about their quality except for one problem with the soft pedal on one piano.

They were not a "Blank" piano with the name added afterwards. They were made to order especially for me by a very good factory. You would now have to pay around £4500 for a new piano of this quality so £2000 for an 'as new' one was a bargain. It's a shame all your negative comments deprived someone of getting a fantastic piano at a good price. Still, I guess some else bought it and why should the seller not expect to be paid in cash. Who in their right mind would sell an item of this value and not want guaranteed payment for it? It's the buyers responsibility to check that they are buying what they want. Not for the seller the release their item to a stranger for no money!