PIANO MOVING SOLUTIONS

I do like solutions.

And this is definitely a terrific solution.  Pianolift2, a French company with warehouses I am sure located in the U.S., sells these ingenious lifts.  They have "partners" in the U.S.: Colorado, Montana, Seattle, and more.  As to price, you'll need to call them.  Or you can email them at pianolift@orange.fr.  Might'n't the cost be worth turning this into a piano moving business?  One would still need to put the piano up on the lift itself.  Apparently, that is an easy procedure as well.  According to their page, it is quite easy to load onto the mover.  They write 

Handling is made easy.  Only one person is required to load and unload a concert piano from a vehicle and set it up on stage. 

So it looks good. 

The subscriber who recommended this wrote

I phoned the company in France that sells the gadget that manufactures this machine. It weighs 320 Kilograms and costs 14900 Euros, roughly $17 700 US. Quite the price tag but it allows one man to move a piano virtually anywhere with little more physical exertion that putting a blanket covering on a grand piano and tightening straps. 

At that price, tag, If you could charge $500 to move a piano locally, you'd need to move 36 pianos to pay for the machine and then mostly profit. Unique selling Property, guaranteed no damaging falls, or shocks to the piano. Men who physically move a piano by lifting it, can't always guarantee this. 

So there's that.  Another subscriber asked a great question, "Can you rent it for 6 months?"  That same subscriber wrote his cautions with buying a lift for a business adventure.  He raised one of the points I had thought of--that only concert halls seemed like the most likely customer and they might even go about buying one themselves, them and a piano retailer.  

As far as I can see in general musical instruments and especially pianos are not very popular. You cannot give pianos away, even to salvation army type thrift shops. A thrift shop near me has had the same player piano for years. Not something people want. So I doubt you will find 36 pianos to move. Does it move anything else? 

36 pianos x 2 people is 72 people. 3 hours for each move is 216 man hours. $20 hr plus expenses is say $5000. If you are a moving company you might have guys hanging around sometimes with nothing possibly on the payroll. 

The robot might make sense at a concert hall like lincoln center NYC and elsewhere. A business plan would help in that case. If you are not near such a facility see what goes on in the local school system and other government institutions. Moving a piano around a high school might be amazingly expensive and time-consuming because of the way the system is organized. High schools are more likely to hold onto the tradition of having musicians. 

Another subscriber asked a good question, "What about steeper stairs?"  At what grade does this lift run into problems?  

Wow!The initial positioning would be important. I would like to see this done in personI am curious about the steepness of the steps where it still worksBalance and center of gravity are crucial. Automatic or human judgement?Again way cool!

I have moved a piano upstairs with ten guys who did not know what we were doing. I gladly paid someone a couple hundred dollars to move it the next time!! 4 men and a piano board. 2 big guys could have done it.$500 seems high in the Midwest but it was at least $200 6 years ago. 

This subscriber made the key point (pun accidentally slung out there) that this business model at least targets wealthy people, the one and main criteria for any successful business.  

Perhaps I'm wrong for thinking... 

1. Only wealthy people have grand pianos. Some who don't even play have grands, because their interior decorator recommended them. Limited market, altho with ability to pay.

2. Upright pianos aren't as popular for: a) space they require b) weight they impose on floors c) moving costs d) consideration for neighbors 

I've seen "Free piano, come and get it" ads in classifieds. 

3. Electronic pianos have advantages:a) light and easy to moveb) can be stored in a closet or under a bedc) have headphone input jacks d) relatively low cost (I bought a used one for $17 and sold it for $25 years later) 

And then there's Dr. North to hold subscribers' pragmatic feet to the fire:

Real pianos sound better,( but.....?) 

But only the family members hear this, and how many families still have a member who can play it? Kids learn. Then they move away at 18.

Besides, unless you do an A/B test, you won't notice. You will forget within a couple of hours.

I know a family with as grand piano. Their son won it in a piano competition 20 years ago. He lives in Germany. No one has played it in 20 years. It's lovely. 

Da, da, dum.