I got this saxophone for my 11 years old son, he is so happy on this instrument. It has been shipped from Japan with original case in two layers of paper boxes when I picked it up in post office, it arrived much earlier than estimated date.

Shipped directly from Japan. But it arrived very fast. Good quality product.

Purchased this for my daughter and her sound went from amazing to incredible. It is authentic and and as pretty as it is in picture. The case is soft but sturdy and super comfortable to carry. She has won several competitions with this. Very happy with purchase.

Arrival: (1 week, with approx $50 freight) the saxophone was packaged well.
Quality: as desired. YAS 480 model made in Indonesia stamped on instrument. I'm told by my student/child it has great sound.
Contains: one saxophone, one neck piece, one mouth piece with ligature, one 2.5 reed, one quality zipper cloth case with formed inlay (as you would find in a hard sided case to hold a saxophone) one no frills neck strap, cork grease, and manual.

Yamaha YAS-480 doesn't disappoint. When the package arrived, I was eager yet apprehensive about opening the package. I had read online that other buyers received Yamaha's made in Indonesia and not Japan. I suppose it doesn't matter where it's made, as long as they adhere to Yamaha's standards. However, I was pleased to see that my horn was made in Japan. Wonderful! I once owned a Yamaha intermediate tenor sax and a Yamaha intermediate soprano sax. Both horns performed extremely well. The sound quality was like, well...imagine a cheap horn's voice sounding like Van Morrison. The Yamaha's sounded like Whitney Houston hitting the highs and Luther Vandross hitting the lows. It broke my heart to have to sell those horns. Well, I decided to give it another go. This time I purchased a Yamaha intermediate alto sax. I compared it to the Seller equivalent which costs $350 more. When I first opened the package, I knew I had made the right choice. The case is a leather composite around a hard exterior. It's sleek and professional looking. The horn is beautiful. Simply beautiful. I must have stared at it for it's elegant beauty. After shaking the stars from my eyes, I decided to play it. The horn comes with a Yamaha 4 C mouthpiece and a box of 10 reeds made in China. I tried the Chinese reeds on the 4 C mouthpiece. The sound was bright and loud. I replaced the reed with a Rico 3.0 and the sound became warmer, more nuanced. When I tried a synthetic reed (Venn 3.0), I started to sound like Dave Coz. (Not kidding!) I can't wait to experiment with a better mouth piece, but this one holds it's own. The keys allow for easy access to low notes. Plus the F# key allows for easy access to high F#. I was even able to reach high G! I feel like I'm just scratching the surface of the potential this horn has to offer. This horn would serve a beginner very well. However, it would better serve a professional or an avid player who knows how to appreciate a finely crafted instrument. The company who fulfilled the order, "Are you not entertained", fulfilled the order the next day after ordering. Great service! I hope this helps with your buying decision.