Are Kimball Pianos Worth Anything? An Honest Answer by Model and Era
Most Kimball pianos are worth little on the used market, but a few eras and models still sell. Here is how to tell which one you have.
By Joey Bouza, Founder, US Piano Connection · Updated October 19, 2026
Kimball is the piano people inherit. The company sold enormous numbers of spinets and consoles to American families from the 1950s through the 1980s, so the question 'is my Kimball worth anything?' comes up constantly — usually from someone clearing out a parent's house. The short answer is that most Kimball spinets and consoles are worth less than the cost of moving them, a handful of Kimball grands and the imported Bösendorfer-era instruments are worth real money, and the only way to know which you have is to identify the model and the era.
Three Kimballs, three very different answers
| What you have | Era | Realistic outlook |
|---|---|---|
| Kimball spinet or console (36 to 42 inch upright) | 1950s to 1980s | Low. These were built to a price and the market is flooded. Many are given away or sold for the cost of moving. |
| Kimball studio upright (44 to 46 inch) or a full-size pre-war upright | 1900s to 1930s, 1960s to 1980s studios | Modest. Studio models in good regulation still sell to students and churches. Pre-war uprights are usually restoration cases. |
| Kimball grand or baby grand | 1950s to 1990s | Moderate. Not a premium grand, but a grand is a grand; a well-kept 5-foot-plus Kimball still finds buyers. |
| Kimball-era Bösendorfer (Austrian built) | 1966 to 2002 | High. These are Bösendorfers, not Kimballs. Kimball owned the company; it did not build the pianos. |
| Kimball 'Viennese Edition' or other Bösendorfer-influenced grands | 1970s to 1980s | Moderate to good. Better scale design than ordinary Kimballs; condition decides everything. |
Why so many Kimballs are worth so little
- Volume. Kimball was one of the largest piano makers in the world by unit count, and the spinet was its bread and butter. Supply on the used market still exceeds demand decades later.
- The spinet action. Spinets use a drop action to fit the short case. It is harder to regulate, feels less responsive than a full upright action, and technicians charge more to work on it. Teachers steer students away from spinets, which caps what any spinet is worth regardless of brand.
- Build quality was aimed at the furniture buyer. Case styles sold these pianos; the instruments inside were adequate, not durable. Fifty years on, many have loose tuning pins, cracked bridges or worn hammers that cost more to fix than the piano is worth.
- Moving cost. A piano is heavy and awkward. When the moving bill approaches the resale price, buyers walk away and sellers end up paying to have it taken.
A Kimball that has been tuned regularly and lives in a stable climate is worth more than its brand suggests. A Kimball that has sat untuned in a garage for twenty years is usually worth nothing at all. For this brand, condition matters more than the model number.
How to identify your Kimball
- Measure the height of an upright from the floor to the top of the lid. Under 40 inches is a spinet, 40 to 44 inches is a console, 44 inches and up is a studio or full upright. Height is the first value signal.
- Find the serial number on the plate under the lid. Our serial number guide shows where to look and how to date it. Kimball records are grouped by era, so expect a year range rather than an exact year.
- Look for a Bösendorfer or 'Viennese' badge. If the fallboard says Bösendorfer, stop reading this article and talk to a technician who handles premium grands.
- Check the action. Press a key slowly and watch the hammer. If the hammer sits below the keys and lifts via a wire, it is a drop-action spinet.
What Kimballs are asking right now
Rather than quote a static number, here are the current asking-price medians by brand from live listings on this site. Where Kimball appears, that is the market today, not a book value from years ago.
| Brand | Median asking | Lowest | Highest | Listings |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Yamaha | $8,470 | $400 | $85,995 | 510 |
| Steinway & Sons | $54,500 | $1,500 | $230,000 | 305 |
| Kawai | $8,990 | $648 | $185,000 | 218 |
| Baldwin | $8,970 | $10 | $54,385 | 142 |
| Steinway | $65,000 | $1,699 | $250,000 | 117 |
| Roland | $3,100 | $400 | $18,650 | 69 |
| Schimmel | $29,238 | $6,500 | $172,363 | 57 |
| Young Chang | $5,245 | $1,500 | $19,996 | 52 |
| Samick | $4,212 | $999 | $15,380 | 50 |
| Boston | $14,450 | $4,795 | $49,200 | 38 |
| Casio | $2,799 | $650 | $7,500 | 36 |
| Mason & Hamlin | $22,990 | $1,495 | $65,000 | 36 |
| Wurlitzer | $2,995 | $100 | $8,880 | 33 |
| Pearl River | $6,795 | $1,500 | $21,437 | 31 |
| Kohler & Campbell | $5,194 | $1,499 | $9,995 | 30 |
Our Kimball brand guide tracks the Kimball listings currently for sale with their asking prices, and the value guide lets you filter by type and decade. If Kimball is missing from the median table above, there are too few Kimball listings live right now to compute one, which is itself a signal about demand.
What to do with a Kimball that isn't worth selling
- List it free on this site and let a local buyer decide. A playable spinet still has a market among beginners and people who want a real piano for the price of moving it.
- Offer it to a school, church or community theater. Many will take a tuned, playable upright. Most will not take a spinet that has not been tuned in years.
- Sell the bench and the lamp separately. A solid bench often sells on its own.
- If it is not playable, budget for removal rather than expecting a sale. Movers and junk haulers price pianos by the flight of stairs.
Frequently asked questions
- Are Kimball pianos good pianos?
- Kimball consoles and studios were serviceable instruments for home practice. Kimball spinets are the weakest of the line because of the drop action. None are considered fine pianos; the Bösendorfers that Kimball owned are a separate story.
- How much is a Kimball spinet worth?
- Usually very little. Playable, tuned spinets sell for a few hundred dollars in many markets, and many are given away. Check the live brand medians on this page for what sellers are asking today.
- Is a Kimball baby grand worth anything?
- Yes, more than any Kimball upright. A baby grand in good condition with an even action sells to families who want the look and feel of a grand without a premium brand price.
- Did Kimball make Bösendorfer pianos?
- No. Kimball owned Bösendorfer from 1966 to 2002, but Bösendorfer pianos continued to be built in Austria by Bösendorfer. A Bösendorfer from that era is a Bösendorfer.
- When did Kimball stop making pianos?
- Kimball ended piano production in 1996. The company remains in the furniture and electronics businesses.
- Where is the serial number on a Kimball piano?
- On the cast-iron plate under the lid, usually at the top right, or stamped into the wood at the back or the keybed on spinets. See our serial number lookup guide.
- Should I restore a Kimball piano?
- Almost never on a spinet or console; the work costs more than the finished piano is worth. A Kimball grand with a sound case and soundboard can justify regulation and new hammers.
- How do I sell a Kimball piano?
- Price it against the live listings for Kimball on this site, photograph it well, state the height and the serial-number year, and list it free. Buyers for this brand are local and price-driven.
About the author
Joey Bouza — Founder, US Piano Connection
Working musician and founder of Prospects International, the marketing firm behind appointment-based piano sale events across the country.
Prices and counts in our guides come from live listings on this site and are recalculated hourly. Where we quote industry-typical figures (mover quotes, tuning fees, rebuild costs) we say so, and we never publish a number we haven't measured or sourced.