For guitars and pianos, second-hand is often better value than new at the same price — provided you can check it. For anything with a battery, a screen or a subscription, the calculation changes and support matters.
Where used wins
Acoustic and electric guitars, and weighted digital pianos. They are mechanical, they do not date quickly, and a setup restores most of what age takes.
Where used is riskier
Anything with a rechargeable battery, a companion app or a cloud service. The hardware may be fine while the software behind it is not.
What we do on this site
We only cover what is currently sold on Amazon, because our links have to lead somewhere. Second-hand is a good route and it is not one we can check for you.
The questions players ask
What should I check on a used guitar?
Neck straightness, fret wear, whether the truss rod still turns, and electrics that do not crackle. A setup is expected; a twisted neck is not repairable at this price.
And a used digital piano?
Every key, at several volumes, plus the pedal socket and the headphone socket. Dead keys and worn contacts are the usual faults.
Last reviewed 2026-08-18