McSqueeze
Member
I see Roland Accordions for sale on Alibaba.com at a fraction of the retail price. On the basis that it seems too good to be true then I expect it's some sort of scam. Any comments?
Roland Accordions on Alibaba
- Thread starter McSqueeze
- Start date
Well, Roland accordion is a bit of a scam even if you buy the official one 
Google still shows the alibaba listings, but if I click into them they don't open for me, so I suspect it might have been a scam.
Google still shows the alibaba listings, but if I click into them they don't open for me, so I suspect it might have been a scam.
Overpriced, yes. Scam no. I've got an accordion event Wednesday and a house guest today. It's 7:00 and I can play as much as I want while everyone sleeps.Well, Roland accordion is a bit of a scam even if you buy the official one
Google still shows the alibaba listings, but if I click into them they don't open for me, so I suspect it might have been a scam.
Well, I only have an old FR3, and the only two good things that I can say about it are that
- it's, indeed, great to have a silent instrument that you can play any time you like;
- Despite being about 15 years old the FR3 still works. Albeit it needed some servicing to get it performing well.
Otherwise, imho, it's a very poorly designed product at 10x of what it should be sold for. Some design decisions are outright appalling, like the connection between the air hose and the bellows chamber (the 4mm plastic hose is just pushed through a 4mm hole in the plastic, with no connector, retaining mechanism or any means of preventing air leaks... I wonder how many $k of R&D went into this one...). The headphones jack that digs into your inner thigh if you hold the accordion correctly is another great brain fart of Roland...
Right, I'll stop complaining, perhaps they fixed some issues with the X-generation models.
- it's, indeed, great to have a silent instrument that you can play any time you like;
- Despite being about 15 years old the FR3 still works. Albeit it needed some servicing to get it performing well.
Otherwise, imho, it's a very poorly designed product at 10x of what it should be sold for. Some design decisions are outright appalling, like the connection between the air hose and the bellows chamber (the 4mm plastic hose is just pushed through a 4mm hole in the plastic, with no connector, retaining mechanism or any means of preventing air leaks... I wonder how many $k of R&D went into this one...). The headphones jack that digs into your inner thigh if you hold the accordion correctly is another great brain fart of Roland...
Right, I'll stop complaining, perhaps they fixed some issues with the X-generation models.
True. It was a vanity project that unfortunately does not have the market to support the r and d necessary to overcome the initial design flaws and keep the technology updated. We're stuck with what we've got. Still capable of some amazing music though, as evidenced by some of the posters on this forum. 10 years from now we'll sell them for more than we paid.
I am very satisfied with my Roland Accordion -- For me the value is there -- especially if you can buy one in "mint" condition" used. The Digital Accordion is a “niche” market, resulting in a higher cost per unit.
A person needs to spend some time to become used to the capabilities of the Roland. The satisfaction that you will receive from the Roland will only come from the effort you put into it. I learn something new about my Roland every day. The flexibility of tone modification is limitless. Adjustment of sound parameters such as Attack, Vibrato Rate & Depth, Decay Release, etc. gives a wide range of tone adjustment in addition to the Accordion and Orchestral sounds.
My only complaint is the quality of the L/MONO(TREBLE) Output Jack that caused problems for me. I replaced the Jack with a Switchcraft Conxall Jack that is much more substantial than the Jack mounted on the printed circuit board. No intermittent electrical problems or “loose” fit of Plug into Jack socket now.
A person needs to spend some time to become used to the capabilities of the Roland. The satisfaction that you will receive from the Roland will only come from the effort you put into it. I learn something new about my Roland every day. The flexibility of tone modification is limitless. Adjustment of sound parameters such as Attack, Vibrato Rate & Depth, Decay Release, etc. gives a wide range of tone adjustment in addition to the Accordion and Orchestral sounds.
My only complaint is the quality of the L/MONO(TREBLE) Output Jack that caused problems for me. I replaced the Jack with a Switchcraft Conxall Jack that is much more substantial than the Jack mounted on the printed circuit board. No intermittent electrical problems or “loose” fit of Plug into Jack socket now.
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Gonk
http://mudlark-music.com
A savings of $7k! Might want to jump on that!
Jokes aside...
The suppliers for these "Rolands" have wildly variable locations, like the UK, Botswana, the Philippines, and...Wyoming. This suggests to me that someone made a large batch of fake accounts for this purpose. None of the accounts have any transaction history or reviews visible, and are remarkably consistent in their content.
Alibaba does offer a pretty robust guarantee on things you buy through their site. (https://tradeassurance.alibaba.com) But my guess is that when you contact these suppliers, they will want to conduct the money exchange outside of Alibaba. And if the business is conducted through Alibaba, I imagine that the scammers hope that immediately after the purchase, they can shut down all avenues by which Alibaba can actually recover the money, and force Alibaba to bear the burden of refunding you.
Thomas N
Well-known member
I'd be lost without my FR-8X. Best accordion I've ever owned.
E-Accordions—like Facebook, TikTok, and Twitter—are solutions to problems that I don’t have, so I’ve never indulged in them.
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In 2013, I ordered an "open-box" copy of FR-1xb from Music 123 for $1760, delivery included. It came as new and with warranty from Roland. I don't think one can find one now, even a decent used copy, from a reputable seller for less than $2500.
Then in 2016, I bought a NOS FR-7b from Roxy's Music (now closed) for $1700. I'm not sure if it's still available anywhere any more.
Also in 2016, I bought a BK-7m with stand from Reverb.com for $550. It a used one can be found now, the price will be somewhere around $1000.
I personally love my Fr4. No better or worse than my acoustics, but a whole different ball game. Not selling either my acoustic or electric guitars either. And I never try to make my stratocaster sound like an acoustic.
Corinto
Well-known member
Yes, while everyone sleeps, or watches tv, or whatever ...
Not a Roland here, just a little custom made midi-accordion same size and model as my acoustic accordion, and yes, it is the best investment I've done to progress in my accordion learning adventure. No more endless same tune for the rest of the house ...
McSqueeze
Member
Thanks for your response. Your suggestions certainly make sense.
McSqueeze
Member
My original post was asking if anyone had any experience of buying Roland accordions through Alibaba.com. Apart from "Gonk" all other responders have simply wasted my (and their) time with irrelevant information. Whether you like Rolands, or not, has no bearing on my question.
You know, it is a proven thing that when you see something too good to be true that it is a 99%chance it is a scam and having a NON-Roland dealer offer new V-accordions for half of what a dealer could even purchase them for is screamingly obvious… not only that, but they are standing on a box with a bullhorn screaming out “SCAMERRRRR HERE!!!!!”
Sometimes even the screaming obvious tends to evade some… those are the people that these predators really enjoy dealing with.
Sometimes even the screaming obvious tends to evade some… those are the people that these predators really enjoy dealing with.
sound advice...............40 years ago I attended British telecom seminar at their research centre . One guest speaker gave a talk that the "crimes of the future" will be committed electronically via the telephone exchange system ....He Was Spot On ahead of his time !!!!!
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Ventura
Been here for ages!
one of the first such scams via telephone was built upon this prize question,
asked in a breathless voice on random phone calls:
"Who is buried in Grants Tomb?"
(in the UK, substitute McNamara for Grant)
correct ! you have won a prize.. just send shipping and postage fee's...
asked in a breathless voice on random phone calls:
"Who is buried in Grants Tomb?"
(in the UK, substitute McNamara for Grant)
correct ! you have won a prize.. just send shipping and postage fee's...
Hmmm...
No, it wasn't.
You've stated that you saw too-cheap-to-be-true Rolands on alibaba, stated that you think it might be a scam and then asked for "any comments", which you got a plenty.
Now you're being a bit ungrateful to everyone who wasted their time replying to the actual question asked.
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Valski
Well-known member
Hello McSqeeze,
Not trying to split hairs, however in your original post you asked "any comments". You received a whole range of comments that admittedly were possibly off topic however that can be expected based on your your invitation to speak on the topic. Concise questions invite concise answers
insert-witty-username
Member
Whether or not that is a fair complaint in this specific case (this is already being discussed in other comments above), I think you raise a very valid general point.
Some threads here have the potential of being highly useful as references for a long time to come, and it seems unfortunate to clutter them with chit-chat of the type "good morning, lovely day here, I just dusted off the case of my accordion" or "I just discovered that my accordion has basses arranged according to the circle of 5ths, never noticed that before", no matter how much joy such conversation spreads in the moment.
Just my 2c of course.
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