Unfortunately, We Can Not Respond Individually To This Question.

We receive about 20 to 50 requests each day from people who want to know what their accordion is worth. Most of these people have an old accordion that they plan to keep. They may have had it since they were a child, received it as an inheritance, from a yard sale, or something similar. If this sounds like your situation we have included the information below to help you determine an approximate value for your instrument. The information below along with the prices we are charging for accordions on our web site http://accordionheaven.com should help give you an adequate idea of your accordion's value.

If you are planning to sell your accordion please read the information below titled ESTIMATING AN ACCORDION'S VALUE. Then read the section titled SELLING AN ACCORDION.

If the instrument is considered 'used' the price must also include the efforts spent by the dealer to bring the instrument up to the dealer's quality standards. This may include any or all of the following: cleaning, bellows repair, reed replacement, reed waxing, mechanical repair, electronic repair, strap replacement, back pad replacement, leather work, keyboard leveling, a case, etc...

If you look at the accordion pages on our http://accordionheaven.com web site, you will notice the retail prices for many accordions. This should give you some idea of the Retail Value of your accordion. But remember these accordions are all in excellent condition, include a decent case, new straps, a one year warranty and are guaranteed playable.

Wholesale Value
Wholesale Value is the price that a reputable dealer is willing to pay based on the premise that he will resell the instrument and make a profit.

To arrive at the Wholesale Value the dealer estimates the Retail Value and then subtracts the value of parts and labor necessary to bring the instrument up to the dealers quality standards.

For the sake of this exercise let's say the instrument is in perfect condition and based on the other factors mentioned above has an estimated Retail Value of $700. If the instrument is in PERFECT condition the dealer may be willing to pay $300 to $500.

The exact amount the dealer is willing to pay at a given time is called the Wholesale Value. The exact Wholesale Value would depend on current market conditions, cost of inventory, lost opportunity cost, dealer's warranty, current demand, current inventory, profit necessary to stay in business and other factors.

Now consider that same instrument with a Retail Value of $700 is in less than perfect condition. Let's assume that it needs new straps, the reeds need re-waxing (most accordions require re-waxing after about forty years) and needs other minor repairs. The dealer must deduct from the $300 to $500 he WAS willing to pay, the cost of new straps, the cost of re-waxing the reeds and any other repairs. As you can easily see, this instrument has a MUCH LOWER Wholesale Value.

It is also important to note that it is difficult to estimate the Retail Value of an instrument that needs extensive repairs before the repairs are completed. If the instrument ends up having exceptional tone and above average playability, the Retail Price will then be higher than originally estimated. The inverse is also true. For instance, even after extensive repairs, an older accordion may not play as well, or sound as great as anticipated. This will cause the Retail Value to be lower than originally estimated.

Some instruments require so much effort to be brought up to the dealer's quality standards that the dealer would not be able to resell the instrument for a profit. In these cases the instrument simply has no wholesale value for the intention of resale. However, the dealer may be willing to pay $50 or so for the instrument to reuse some of its parts. Again this will depend upon the dealers parts inventory and current needs.

After we finish discussing your accordion over the phone, if you choose to sell it to us, we will instruct you as to the proper shipping method.

After we receive your accordion we will phone you within 10 business days to verify our exact offer. Due to the fact that in some cases we will actually need to see and/or play and/or disassemble your accordion to completely assess its condition, our exact offer may be somewhat higher or lower than the estimated offer we give you over the phone.

If you choose to accept our offer we will mail you a check within 48 hours. You can then rest comfortably knowing that you received a fair price. You can also rest comfortably knowing that regardless of your instrument's current condition, it will be in great condition before it is sold to its next owner.

If you decline our offer you will be required to pay all return shipping and handling costs plus a $75 appraisal fee.