"Vintage" accordions

[Caps]

I was looking at some accordion market place ads this morning and I am beginning to hate the word "Vintage" when describing an accordion. From what I can discern, "Vintage" means old, broken, needs parts and I should probably trash it but maybe some fool will give me $1,000 dollars for it. "Antique" seems to mean pretty much the same thing except very old.

Rant over!..

 

[Aaron]

Even if the seller paid the buyer $300 or $400, it probably wouldn't be worth it for most "vintage" accordions. Hard to sell them even in good, restored condition.

 

[Dingo40]

Hard to sell them even in good, restored condition.

Some of us march to the beat of a different accordion!

 

[Scuromondo]

I’ve always interpreted “vintage” to carry a connotation of respect and admiration beyond simply age. When auto enthusiasts seek out specific vintage cars, or audio enthusiasts pay top dollar for vintage stereo components from the 1970s, it isn’t simply because that equipment is “old.”

 

[Aaron]

Dingo, there is nothing wrong with that. I am sort of a rebel myself about such things. Value can be found, and different folks value different things.

 

[Siegmund]

From what I can discern, "Vintage" means old, broken, needs parts and I should probably trash it but maybe some fool will give me....

I don't know if this will cheer you up or depress you... but that's what "vintage" means in all advertisements and 99% of everyday speech now.
The word was a convenient target for marketers, since it once had that connotation of respect that scuromondo mentioned. It's the latest victim of the dysphemism treadmill.

I am a book collector and seller too. And I have pretty much given up buying used books online; it's too much of a pain to have more than half of the 'very good' or 'like new' books have pages and pages of underlining or broken spines, and have to write and complain about all the sellers. Sure, ebay gives me a refund, but it's still a huge time sink, it still doesn't get me the book I wanted, and it doesn't even stop the sellers, who will still have a 99% positive rating after a bad review. (There are people who say not to buy from anyone lower than 99.6 or 99.8 now.) And I've had them demand I ship back to them and then I see them re-list the item with the same description the next week.

 

[debra]

It is sad to see the term "vintage" being abused in this way, when it comes to accordions (and other items that need but do not get maintenance during their lifetime before becoming truly "vintage").
I inherited a "vintage" Crucianelli Super Video, likely from the late 1960's. Apart from having a strong vintage smell (still not completely gone by now) it was in good playable condition but could use maintenance it never received. It needed a very thorough cleaning of all parts (complete disassembly required), new wax, new valves, new bellows gasket tape, new bellows tape, new straps (shoulder straps, bass strap, bellows straps), rejuvenation or replacement of the pallets, new microphones or at least the old non-functional ones removed, and finally tuning. To get this done commercially would likely have cost around 1000 (euro). With a projected sale value of 1500 max that means someone who cannot do any repairs should only be asking around 500 for it, in "original state". The reality is that people selling such an old family heirloom (or attic or estate find) are expecting to sell it for over 1000 without any repairs done. That is just not realistic and the main reason why I almost always advise friends not to buy such Internet marketplace items.

 

[Xiane]

I was looking at some accordion market place ads this morning and I am beginning to hate the word "Vintage" when describing an accordion. From what I can discern, "Vintage" means old, broken, needs parts and I should probably trash it but maybe some fool will give me $1,000 dollars for it. "Antique" seems to mean pretty much the same thing except very old.

Rant over!..

While we're here, if there's some way to keep the plastic kids toy accordions out of my searches, I'd love to know it.

 

[Snoopz]

While we're here, if there's some way to keep the plastic kids toy accordions out of my searches, I'd love to know it

Luckily that’s not an issue over here. Seems like toy accordions just aren’t a thing here in Germany. I have an eBay search for 120 bass accordions within 50km or so and some searches for certain models. That might also help a lot, although I do get „false positives“ on the latter from time to time.

 

[Newbie]

I was looking at some accordion market place ads this morning and I am beginning to hate the word "Vintage" when describing an accordion. From what I can discern, "Vintage" means old, broken, needs parts and I should probably trash it but maybe some fool will give me $1,000 dollars for it. "Antique" seems to mean pretty much the same thing except very old.

Rant over!..

Along with vintage and antique I see "made in Italy", "I inherited this accordion", "the case is nice", and "hasn't been played in years". In the USA listings, I now take that type of listing to mean that the seller has no background or knowledge of accordions, maybe the accordion was found during an estate sale prep or something similar. I also noticed that there is usually only a picture of the outside of the accordion and the case. I guess it is good to know to look for those key catch phrases so that we can be informed and educated consumers.

 

[Snoopz]

In the USA listings, I now take that type of listing to mean that the seller has no background or knowledge of accordions, maybe the accordion was found during an estate sale prep or something similar.

The story might actually be true — some people do inherit instruments that they didn’t even know their parent or grandparent played. In a phase of grief, you probably don't want to invest massive amounts of time to learn about the instrument you just discovered, you just want to get rid of another thing suddenly cluttering up your apartment. I think it’s better to give those things a new home than to chuck them in the landfill. And what is the seller to do but look at other listings to get an idea of the value and what kind of photos to take? The number of unwanted heirlooms floating around will only increase as the older generations pass on since making music for fun seems to be on a downward trend. And with those the “less than ideal” listings.

It makes me sad to think about all the top-class accordions that ended up in landfills because nobody knew what they had.

 

[JerryPH]

The 2 accordions that I "inherited" are indeed 2 boxes in dire straits and in need of repair. Technically, anything over 50 years old is considered vintage, and I enjoy looking at my vintage collection on the shelf... just before I move my vintage ass back upstairs... lol

 

[JerryPH]

It makes me sad to think about all the top-class accordions that ended up in landfills because nobody knew what they had

Don't worry, it's just the opposite. It's rare we see a good box, but most are landfill with owners thinking they have an unknown Gola.

 

[Valski]

Along with vintage and antique I see "made in Italy", "I inherited this accordion", "the case is nice", and "hasn't been played in years". In the USA listings, I now take that type of listing to mean that the seller has no background or knowledge of accordions, maybe the accordion was found during an estate sale prep or something similar. I also noticed that there is usually only a picture of the outside of the accordion and the case. I guess it is good to know to look for those key catch phrases so that we can be informed and educated consumers.

Very true,
Vintage should only be used when referring to high quality wine, and then sparingly. Antique hints that the accordion isn't up to being played regularly since it is in a delicate state because of its age. The accordions which are presented on this forum are also frustrating because the new owners who post them don't know which features are important and the "made in Italy " is given far too much emphasis. Also because we're a collection of accordion "nerds ", we tend to try to see the positive in each instrument presented to us and that might give these sellers an inflated idea of the potential price. We probably need a new forum just for valuation of these orphaned instruments.

 

[Alan Sharkis]

Just as an example:

When I was in sixth grade or so, and this was mid-to-late fifties, a music school named “Vinnie Roberts” opened in my neighborhood. Many of my schoolmates attended this school, mostly to learn brass or woodwind instruments, which the school also sold. The school also sold accordions with the name, Vinnie Roberts, plastered on the front. They were usually bought for kids who lasted a year or less as accordion students.

Imagine my surprise when one of these turned up on a marketplace with the “GENUINE VINTAGE VINNIE ROBERTS ACCORDION” designation. I don’t remember the asking price, but irt had to be much more than the accordion is worth at this point.

Those accordions, even when new, were nothing special. Yes, they had the “Made in Italy” badge on them, but so did a lot of other music school accordions. My first rented 12-bass came from the Wurlitzer music school, which was a subway ride away, and which gave me my start before switching to a teacher who taught me at home and supplied an accordion for my parents to rent. Unlike the Wurlitzer, it had no school name on it.

 

[Dingo40]

one of these turned up on a marketplace with the “GENUINE VINTAGE VINNIE ROBERTS ACCORDION” designation.

Reminds me of the item listed as being "genuine plastic "!

 

[Caps]

Reminds me of the item listed as being "genuine plastic "!

Yes, but was it Vintage genuine plastic as opposed to synthetic plastic?

 

[pitzelberger]

Here in Germany I often see 50+ years old Hohners, GDR Weltmeisters or the likes being described as „neuwertig“ (meaning „as new“).

 

[Tom]

Yes, but was it Vintage genuine plastic as opposed to synthetic plastic?

It was handmade.

 

[Alan Sharkis]

Reminds me of the item listed as being "genuine plastic "!

Reminds me of the snake oil salesman who proclaimed, “This product is guaranteed to cure anything that can be cured by this product.”