Hi,
Glad somebody brought this up, as I reckon we have all considered buying an accordion on-line. Up until about 20 years ago just about every large town in the UK would have a music shop where you could walk in and try out a handful of accordions. Most of them would have been lying on the shelf for a considerable time and any interest in them would trigger a salesperson to appear at your side. They have never been cheap to buy new, and any used "bargain" instruments generally showed signs of wear and tear. Inevitably they would also have a few reeds out of tune, and maybe other issues that were not apparent to a beginner. The current "bargain" instruments offered for sale online will generally tend to be in this latter category. Expect to spend about £200 at a reputable repairer (if you can find one local to you) to bring them up to scratch, provided that there are no issues with the bellows or any mechanical problems with the keys or couplers.
If you are old enough to remember the pleasures of browsing one of the very few well stocked accordion shops, you'd find exactly the same situation, but with a better choice. However, even then there would have been instruments on display that required attention to bring them up to standard. The dealer would not be prepared to have the work carried out until someone had made a firm purchase. When these shops still existed you'd find people who had travelled all day to try out their wares, as there weren't all that many of them even then.
Accordions have never been cheap during my lifetime of 60 odd years, and they are not cheap to repair either. Also, their popularity tended to decline to the point where you'll need to look very hard indeed to find a specialist dealer these days. It seems to be the case that they are becoming more popular, and many interesting attic finds are being launched onto the general online market.
I've never bought an instrument online and therefore cannot recommend any particular online seller. I've seen some beautiful looking instruments that made me want to part with loads of cash on an impulse, but I then realised that if I've made the wrong choice I'm likely to be stuck with something I don't want for a very long time. You have to apply the logic that "An accordion is not just for Christmas" and you might get the picture.
On two occasions I almost bought an accordion online. The first experience concerned a secondhand instrument, and involved a lengthy telephone conversation with a pushy salesman. All of my questions received ambiguous answers, and ended with him suggesting that I should just buy the accordion anyway and return it for a refund, if it wasn't suitable. I suppose that was the best option I was going to get, and perhaps you might consider that option if it is available. All you'll lose is the carriage costs both ways, and in these days of courier service you won't have to take a fortnight off work to re-package it if you decide to return it. However, please bear in mind that you will actually have bought the instrument and the money will be with the seller. You might need to work hard to get your money back, as some of them will try and sell you the paint off the shop walls rather than give you a refund.
On the second occasion I placed a firm order for a bog standard Italian made French specification instrument that would have been available off the shelf, if I had gone across to France to buy it. Just under 20 years ago I paid a deposit of £400 to a supposedly reputable dealer in England (I'd better not identify the shop here as it's still apparently trading), who advised me that they would order one for me. 6 months later nothing had happened and despite regular telephone contact I was variously advised that it was being made as a special order, and they now had it with the wrong bass configuration etc., etc. A whole year later I went through a divorce and had to cancel the order. Guess what, I lost my £400. I should have driven the 250 miles to the shop and taken issue with them, but the way I was feeling at the time I decided just to write it off. It now appears obvious that somebody at the shop was up to some scam, but I couldn't prove anything.
Basically, unless you're buying an instrument that is guaranteed to be in stock and with some sort of warranty, then I'd be very wary indeed.
