How do I collect a piano from Facebook Marketplace?

What do I check in the listing before I travel?

Ask for photos of the actual piano, taken in that room, including the pedals, the case and any crack. A catalogue photo is not the instrument you are collecting.

Facebook’s UK help page says: Purchase Protection isn't available in your location right now. A Marketplace chat is not proof of payment. Read will it fit up the stairs or in the vehicle.

Facebook’s UK help page, “How Purchase Protection works on Facebook Marketplace”, says: Purchase Protection isn't available in your location right now. Source

Who moves an upright piano?

Agree that before you travel. An upright is heavy, and the route includes the door, the turn and the stairs. Two people who have not moved one before can get hurt, and can damage the case.

If the seller says a friend will deliver it for a fee, treat that fee as a separate question. Do not pay it before you have seen that this piano matches the photos. Read the sofa that is not in the photos.

Should I pay before I see it?

No. Which? reported group and Marketplace posts that asked for a deposit before the item was at the address. Pay.UK says a Faster Payment cannot be cancelled once it has been sent.

Look at the piano, play a few notes if they agree, and check the pedals. Then pay. Read selling locally without cash.

In February 2025 Which? reported ten identical posts, from different accounts, in local and community groups. Each offered a late parent’s vanity table as a family clear-out, priced between £65 and £85, and each linked to a Marketplace post. One buyer was told there was lots of interest, was asked for a deposit, and the item was not at the address. Which? says that if you lose money you should call your bank on the number on your card and report it to Action Fraud, or call 101 in Scotland. Source

Pay.UK says that once a Faster Payment has been sent it cannot be cancelled. Where money was sent by mistake, banks follow the Credit Payment Recovery process. Source

What if we record the collection in an app?

On SilentSale® the buyer pays at checkout, then travels and inspects. Stripe holds the funds until pickup is completed. Share the 6-digit PIN only when this is the piano in the photos and you have accepted it. There is no dispute window after the PIN. You can cancel before the PIN is entered and be refunded in full.

Both sides contribute £0.30 + 3% of the item price to SilentCover® (£0.60 each on a £10 item), a discretionary protection service. It is free to list. Compare the handover with Facebook Marketplace. The PIN records the inspection. It does not move the piano.

SilentSale® Terms: payment is processed through Stripe when the buyer confirms checkout (section 10A.2.1). Stripe holds the funds until the item is delivered or collected (section 10A.2.2). SilentSale® does not directly hold the funds (section 4.1.4). Funds are not released to the seller until pickup is completed (section 10A.2.4). After checkout the buyer is issued a 6-digit PIN (section 7.5.2). The buyer must inspect the item before handing that PIN to the seller (section 7.5.3). The seller enters it in the app (section 7.5.4). Entering the PIN is acceptance, the order is then complete, and no dispute window applies (sections 7.5.5, 7.5.6, 15.2.3 and 10A.7.3). Source

SilentSale® Terms section 10A.5.3: a buyer may cancel a PIN Pickup order in the app until the acceptance PIN has been entered, and is then refunded in full. Section 10A.5.5: once the seller has entered the PIN, voluntary cancellation in the app is no longer available. Source

SilentSale® Terms section 3.1.1: both the buyer and the seller contribute to SilentCover®. Section 3.2.2: it is free to list, and the seller’s contribution is taken only after a successful sale. Section 3.3: SilentCover® is described as a discretionary platform service. Buyer and seller each contribute £0.30 + 3% of the item price (£0.60 each on a £10 item); the app shows the amount in pounds. Source