My grandmother told me during the depression many home sewing machines were sold for a few dollars or used to barter when the family had to pack and move. She got her first machine from a family whose truck broke down in front of her house and her father had the part to fix the truck and the man paid him by offering the sewing machine. Sad the sewing machine was the first things to sell but they were very heavy and usually in a big cabinet, hard to pack and move.