I am so pleased with this accordion. At 86 my 120 bass was impossible for me to manage. Just didn’t want to give up playing altogether. This one is an answer to prayer.Thanks Amazon.

I did a fair amount of research trying to find an accordion I could buy and learn accordion with as an absolute beginner. I settled on this one partially because it fit my criteria and partially because it was on sale (you win again this time, Amazon).I was too chicken to try ebay because as a non-accordion player who doesn't know any accordion players, I was worried that something could be wrong and I wouldn't even know. And I'm a little dubious about the ability of local music shops to have anyone on staff who knows anything about them. So I wanted to buy new and hopefully limit those risks.I wanted something I could grow into, so more than the 12 bass button starter model, but not something that was going to be as heavy or intimidating to learn on as a full 120 bass button model. (I would have settled for 30-60, so this 48-button one being on sale settled that part of the debate.)I wanted a good brand. I was concerned when I read that a lot of Hohner models, including this one, are made in China (the really expensive ones are made in Germany). Further looking eased my worries though. As I read it, Hohner shipped an entire factory to China, so you are getting a product built with German engineering and German specifications, overseen by Germans, but cheaper cost of production and cheaper superficial materials -- the keys of this model are made from plastic whereas some of the German models are made with wooden keys. Since this doesn't impact the sound at all, it's purely aesthetics (and cost). The actual mechanisms for generating sound are, as I understand it, the same quality and materials in both the Chinese made ones and the German made ones. I would be a little more dubious of the even cheaper models that don't quite say "Hohner" on them ("Hohnica"?) or have a model number printed on them but I think you're pretty safe with the ones that actually have the Hohner name and model printed on the accordion.So my internet research suggests, anyway.Note that this model is still limited. You can't change the (what's the word?) octave of the keyboard. Some more expensive models have buttons for that. This one has 2 buttons for 2 voices (violin and clarinet) and that is the end of the fancy features. Still, I felt it was a good starting point to see if I could learn to play and if I'd enjoy it and having started with practice I can say I think I'm happy I didn't try to learn on a full one. Intimidation factor aside, accordions are fairly heavy so you might appreciate not trying to learn while also having a 22 pound bellows strapped to your chest.As the other review suggests, compare your prices. The price I paid was way less than other retailers were offering, but immediately after I bought, the price went up. It's still slightly less than I saw other retailers offering but Amazon changes prices regularly so make sure you do some comparison shopping.I would also be dubious of 3rd party sellers. If it says "Ships from and sold by Amazon.com" then you're in good shape. If there's a problem, the usual Amazon return policy should be in effect -- just save your box and materials and it should be super easy to send back if you need to. If it's sold by a 3rd party, you will be subject to their rules, which are usually not as generous.That said, mine arrived in perfect condition and so far so good on trying to learn to play the accordion!