foufymaus

Exactly, even here on the board in the "Will the Real 15 Clone please stand up" thread [ http://www.quiltingboard.com/picture...p-t164361.html ], most collectors pay under $50 dollars for a clone. I wasn't speaking about the quality of her machine just the price of this particular machine that was listed.

I think the most I've ever paid for a machine is $100 it was for a 5 thread pfaff/singer quantum lock 5 serger with an electronic differential feed and does like a billion type of stitches.

miriam

I think it is a bad idea to talk about prices of machines since QB comes up on a search for nearly anything. There are some on QB who do buy and flip. Be fair.

Rodney

I'm a tightwad. I freely admit it. I also don't have any truly rare or expensive machines to show for it. Like anything else, truly good quality and rare machines are worth the money. If that first A.F. Johnson machine shown is all original, it may well be worth the money to a serious collector. The condition is excellent and how many in that condition are still floating around? The second tightwad example is closer to my budget at the moment and certainly isn't in nearly as nice of condition but if you want one of those machines it can get your foot in the door anyway.

The Kenmore may be a 15 clone but a diehard Kenmore collector may be willing to spend the money. I don't think 15 clone Kenmores are terribly common, at least by modern standards. I would be interested in the source code on it. Is it still a "White" machine or is it ordered directly from a Japanese manufacturer? If a White, then it would be an interesting machine in the sense that White had started buying machines instead of manufacturing them but still had the contract for Sears.
Rodney

miriam

Around here Kenmore 15 clones are common. BUT one of the Kenmore 15 clones I have is the one with the needle bar that probably has never worked - the shafts don't line up. The other one was one of the best clones. I also have one I'm holding for DGD Miss G since she was named after the lady that got it for a wedding present - then passed it on to me. It is a wonderful machine.

mlmack

I believe the White machines had a 117 prefix in the model number. I forget which Japanese manufacturer is associated with the 148 prefix, but Joe has a list.

Rodney

I don't know if such a thing as a 117 prefix clone exists. Could be White lost the Sears contract before they started importing machines. I'm not sure of the timelines on that.
Rodney

KenmoreRulesAll

The 148 manufacturer was Soryu.

KenmoreRulesAll

117 machines were produced by several manufacturers including White and Gritzner-Kayser in then-W. Germany. I have several such machines. And as was discussed in another thread, 'clone' is open to interpretation. Many of these machines were rebadged (different colors, types of paint, chrome bits, etc.) but are mechanically identical. I have a 117.740 that was manufactured by Gritzner and was badged in several incarnations: Gritzner, White, Domestic (owned by White at that point), Pfaff, and Kenmore.

KenmoreRulesAll

Just a page ago you wrote: "$50 +- for one like that around here"

Do as I say, not as I do?

There is nothing wrong with flipping machines and anyone who attempts to misconstrue my text as implying as much is looking for something that isn't there. I've never written that buying machines to resell is a bad thing because I don't think it is.

That eBay seller is supplementing her income by buying cheap, readily available machines at thrift store/estate sale prices and selling them to ignorant folks at huge profits. (That likely describes a large percentage of eBay's listings.) A lot of people don't know that they themselves can find these very machines locally for $10 - $50 bucks and learn to oil and maintain them for the cost of several hours of online research and reading the manual. And eBay sellers like this one are cashing in. That's not a moral judgment, that's simply an objective observation.

Moreover, any discussion of vintage machines is going to involve prices from time to time. Until QB moderators inform me otherwise, I will continue to assume the topic is fair game, i.e. to discuss how much I paid or expect to pay for a machine, how much a typical machine of a certain make/model earns in my area, etc. This entire thread is in part devoted either directly or indirectly to this very subject: for amusement, posting listings for machines whose prices don't remotely reflect what's being sold (as well as other listings such as great deals, unusual machines, strange listings, etc.).

Sorry to rant but I don't understand this 'circle-the-wagons' psychology here. If a seller of a machine posts on a public site (eBay/CL/GW), it's perfectly legitimate to point out what is right/wrong/indifferent about what they're doing on another public site (QB). And again, the eBay seller in question may be a very nice person in real life; this isn't personal at all. No personal animus, just professional critique. Were I to begin selling machines on public sites, I wouldn't be surprised to see my listings discussed. Free advertising, I guess. However, I would price and create my listings with the knowledge that I'm exposing my business practice to public scrutiny. It goes with the territory.

/rant over

Macybaby

This one cracks me up every time I see it

http://minneapolis.craigslist.org/hn...693581907.html