Value of accordion

[Paigeelizabeth3505]

Hello,I'm new to the group and honestly know very little about accordions,and I'm having a hard time finding someone in my town that does. I'm just wondering if anyone knows anything about an accordion I have! It is giuliette petite! There is a number 2475.
I'm not sure if that is the serial number?
If anyone has one similar or knows about them would be a great help!<EMOJI seq="1f60a">?</EMOJI> Thanks!!

 

[JIM D.]

Pic's would help.

 

[Paigeelizabeth3505]

I thought I posted a couple pics but I'm not seeing them, I will try again

 

[Tom]

Hi Paige,

If your pics are not posting, they may be too large for the forum. You could try reducing the size to 25% and trying again. Good luck!

 

[Paigeelizabeth3505]

 

[debra]

The pic worked now.
Such an accordion can be worth anything between 0 and maybe $300 (US) depending entirely on the state of the instrument. Such old accordions often need much more work to bring them back to a good playable state than their economic value. When an accordion looks good on the outside that says nothing about what you'd find inside when you open it up. (Pics of the insides would help.)
If the accordion is in good shape then it's mostly a matter of finding someone who really wants it. Value is mostly in the mind of seller and customer, and no longer related to the actual cost of materials and the hours of labour that went into building the instrument.

 

[maugein96]

Paige,

That's sound advice from Paul.

Quite often people come into possession of old accordions, then when they realise the price of new accordions, the temptation is to assume that an old accordion is bound to be worth more than a new one because of a perceived "antiquity" factor.

The normal state of affairs is an accordion of that age will need a total refurb and retune, and you couldn't realistically hope to recover the cost from a subsequent sale. All the keys and buttons may work, but the internal workings are very complex, and I could bet my bottom Canadian Dollar that the accordion will no longer be in tune.

Might be worthwhile contacting a dealer (if you can find one) for a professional opinion, or try and find a music store that will make you an offer, but be careful that you make enough on it to justify the cost of gas for the round trip.

In the UK you'd be lucky to get £50 GBP for that instrument on sites like eBay, maybe £150 if it had been retuned and refurbed. A total refurb and retune would probably cost something in the region of £300 for a small accordion like that one, so hopefully you should see what the issue is.

 

[JIM D.]

In the 40's to early 70's there were very many student model accordions imported to the US.
75% of these student models were from makers that set up for making these with poorly made machine made reeds and low quality components and had a short longevity.
25% of these student models were unique and made by makers such as Titano, Excelsior, Guilietti, Pancordion, & Sonola. These student models from these makers were unique in the fact that they contained components from there larger Semi-Pro accordions.
They had quality machine made reeds and well made sturdy
components.
They are well worth refurbishing and will with care last another half a century.
There are customers for these small models such as a young student and small stature ladies wishing to learn & play a 41 key 120 bass accordion.
A true value of your accordion will have to be inspected but refurbished will fetch from $350.00 to $450.00 USD.

 

[maugein96]

Hi Jim,

Should have waited for your input.

It's difficult over here to be positive about old boxes, as there appear to be so many of them, and everybody just wants something magnificent for $100 in playable condition. Finding a repairer within a reasonable distance who doesn't have a long waiting list is starting to become a major issue on this side of the swamp, and a lot of our old relics are just fit for the skip (dumpster).

Appreciate things are different on your (apparently sunnier) side. We obviously live in more of a "throw away" society in Europe, and we're not far off throwing our country away. If they list the UK on US eBay do you reckon somebody could buy it for say $250 with a view to reconditioning it and selling it on for a small profit? Most of us will have little use for it soon and your refugee centres look as though they're pretty full. My relatives in the US have been very supportive and understanding. They've advised me to try Antarctica, as only about 5000 people live there, and there's plenty of room. My only concern would be if I needed a box fixed