Your child has expressed an interest in piano, and with a little research you’ve quickly determined that a digital piano is the way to go. They are lightweight, they take up less room, and your budding artist can connect to his computer and be his own composer in minutes. It’s the perfect item for any musician dreaming of being the next rock star.

Yet your biggest concern is how much to spend. Instead of buying new, maybe a used digital piano is the way to go. A quick look at Craigslist will show you there are many options out there from people within your own community. But is that the best way to go? Used digital pianos can bring on unnecessary risk if you look to the online world to buy. Here’s why.

Reason #1 You’ll probably pay too much
Think about the last laptop or phone you purchased. You probably spent hundreds of dollars, only to be able to upgrade it in a few months for a big boost in technology, with the price often staying relatively the same. That’s the thing with technology; it changes every day.

The same applies to digital pianos. What was an industry standard a year ago may be something that’s archaic at best today. That means that if someone spent $2,500 on a digital piano a couple of years ago, it may now be worth a quarter of the cost simply because technology has changed. By buying new, today’s digital pianos come with far better features and actions at a fraction of the cost.

So even if you do get the original digital piano in the box, with the promise it’s never been played, there simply is no way of judging how good the deal is unless you first find out what a new digital piano has to offer.

Reason #2 Digital pianos can be easily damaged without showing it
Just because a digital piano looks original and is still in its original box doesn’t guarantee its sound quality. Buying it second hand means the piano may have been kept in the box with little play, or was bought for the kids to treat as a toy piano. You don’t know. What looks good can quickly lose its appeal if a little playtime begins showcasing what was truly wrong. When keys begin to break, the circuit board shorts, and the “extra” noises begin to appear, the heartache begins. And if your budding rock star can’t produce quality music and has trouble getting sound at all, he may give up on his dreams simply because of a lack of opportunity around him.

Reason #3 Technology makes a new one better
Digital pianos come in all sizes and costs, with options to match any budget. If you want to create the best music possible, having access to the best technology possible is important. You wouldn’t use a computer still running on DOS and expect to use programs developed for today’s world. Likewise, choosing a digital piano that is several years old may prevent you from connecting to today’s modern equipment. And what fun is becoming a song writer if the piano can’t connect up with the latest version of whatever sound editor you choose to use? In the digital world, technology matters. And in order to have every opportunity to do what you choose to do, you’ll need equipment that matches up perfectly.