hi
first of all, in your area you must be very careful when buying a used accordion
of any type... they look like NEW in the desert, but they are often dried up terribly inside
and that means cracked wax, curled and dried valves and gaskets
second, buying from across the country is not a good idea as shipping stuff
across the Mississippi is guaranteed to be bounced hard before it gets to you
now, you DO have lots of options in the region... because of the popularity of Norteno
there are lots of places you can find new Gabbanelli, Hohner, Ayala, and then many many
knock off Chinese look alikes between you and the border.
look in the pawn Shops too, as many actually have New instruments as well as used
However, since you seem to have EUro and Pop general musical desires, a more
all purpose approach would be to make contact with Accordion clubs and
after Covid attend some meetings and events and make friends and find out where
the good local dealers and repair shops are...
and if you can make it to El PAso, visit the Music Box... they always had a few
accordions in stock or can certainly give you tips on where to find them
and a visit to Juarez will also reveal accordions !
there are several dealers in Central and Eastern Texas as well, and there
is (was before Covid) a big yearly Accordion event over that way...
watch the monthly news from
Accordion USA is the United States National News Publication for the accordion community, providing an essential link between accordionists nationwide
www.accordionusa.com
as they advertize all that stuff
there is another big convention up in Las Vegas once a year
now if you happen to visit California once in awhile, San Francisco
still has quite a few options for stores, clubs, and things going on
related to accordion, and they all come out for Burning Man too
try not to lock yourself into a physical type of accordion
too soon... even just rent them until you get a real clue
about what is going to suit the music you hope to play someday
i mean, i cannot even imagine playing Under Paris Skies
or Sur les Ponts de Paris or any of the complex wonderful
Meusette Classics on a Diatonic ! maybe Sur les Ponts des Avignon,
but that is simple and switches back and forth
good luck !