ThayerRags

This is not to be a political thread, but a conversation about whether current events like the shake-up in the global stock markets and world economic changes are having any effect on your vintage sewing machine hobby. I’ve noticed myself slowing down a little bit on my eagerness to obtain more sewing machines just for the sake of having them, but it may be because I’m narrowing my want-list down to just a few more models that I have my eye out to get.

Some of the VSM (Vintage Sewing Machine) enthusiasts that I’ve talked to say that the lower price of fuel is going to make it more appealing to hit the road more in search of all kinds of collectables including sewing machine goodies. I read an article that said there’s a resurgence of RV activity among the Baby Boomer crowd, and while it stopped short of saying travel would ever get back to the volume of past years, it said that there is a noticeable increase in RV sales and activities. I suppose that includes a sizable number of folks retiring and moving into an RV to live on the go all year. Some of the RVs that I’ve seen are nicer than my home, so it could actually be a step up for some to sell or hand-down their home to be mobile. An added benefit would be having the mobility to live where the best seasonal conditions are. My wife and I don’t have any plans to go mobile, and plan on just staying where we are now.

If the golden crowd becomes more mobile, do you think we’ll see an increase in the number of vintage sewing machine enthusiasts? How do you think that economic conditions might affect your enjoyment of the VSM hobby?

CD in Oklahoma

barny

Well, the vintage machines in this area of Dallas have gone up in price quite a bit. What I used to pay 25 or 30 for are now40 up to 150. They must love them. We have no plans to go mobile either. We are too old to get out on the road. Our Sons say you need to fly, if you are going someplace. Gasoline is much cheaper here[1.99gal.] But we are in the oil business, so that is a bummer for us. But, it is a winner for other folks.

QuiltingVagabond

We are nearing retirement age and have one of the RVs you mention - nicer than our house! LOL And a new truck to match - while we do plan to travel some to see our beautiful country, I doubt there will be alot of VSM acquisitions along the way - no room for that! But we will still look and stop at quilt/fabric shops along the way in our travels.
We don't plan to sell our home however, just do the snowbird thing...

Rodney

Good question. my thought is the price of fuel has pretty well killed the idea of going mobile for retirement for a lot of people. Space rent for RVs isn't cheap either. Between the two, I think it's cheaper to fly where you're going and rent a room when you get there.
Mobility means selling off most non-essential belongings for many people. No room for more than one or two machines in an RV. Someone is bound to tell me they're in an RV and have 20 of them but still in general most mobile people don't have extensive collections of anything with any size at all to them.
We have a very limited budget. Even at the somewhat lower $3.00 per gallon here at the moment I do take the cost of fuel into consideration. It can easily make a good deal into an expensive machine. Shipping is high these days too.
Rodney

ThayerRags

I’ve been noticing what looks to me like an increase in what folks are getting for vintage machines in the “sold” area of that auction site, especially when it comes to vintage industrial machines. I paid dearly for my last home-use machine on the auction site (Singer 431G), but I figured that I’d better get it while I could. I wouldn’t have been happy much longer without one. Now that I’m getting down to the end of my want-list, I’m into the expensive machines....dang it.

I think there are a lot of retirees that keep their home, either in the north or the south, and spend 1/2 of the year in the other part of the country in their RV. In that case, the RV could just be the vehicle that brings more machines back to the larger home. Sounds like a plan to me.

Another article that I read in the past couple of days since the stock market went wonky said that many Baby Boomers are pulling their money out of stocks, but instead of going into bonds or annuities, they’re taking it out for cash and spending it on durable goods. An RV would be considered a durable good. (So would a collection of vintage sewing machines.) If fuel stays down for the decade or so that the crystal ball guys seem to be thinking it will, those RV folks can have the fun of “seeing America” and still end up with something to show for their investment in an RV, while keeping ownership of their regular home. Not to mention the possible protection an RV could offer (roof over your head) if there were to be an economic collapse while they were away from their regular home. I get the feeling that most senior Americans have been just a little bit nervous about the economy for a while.

We’re down to around $2.15 a gallon on gas here now, and it’s supposed to go below two dollars according to the ones in the “know”. (Not good for one of our sons that’s a rough-neck in the oil industry.) Supposedly, the nation now has a rental property shortage, and the rents are going up. Can’t really see it here in rural Oklahoma farm country, but the young family that just bought the house next door to us came from San Francisco and told us that they had been paying over a thousand dollars per month rent out there for a 2-bedroom house. If the number of RVs increases, you’re right, watch for RV spaces to go up in rent cost.

CD in Oklahoma

ThayerRags

I should add that for the time being, scrap metals are at fairly low levels. I got 43-cents per pound for my aluminum cans back in June, but I hear that they’re down to about 25-cents per pound now. If the scrap metal prices stay down, we should be able to compete less with the “scrappers” to buy our vintage sewing machines.

Back a few years ago, when the price of scrap metals was up, I know that I competed with a scrapper at a farm auction for a Singer treadle base that I won the bid on. He was buying anything metal, and bidding high for it....

CD in Oklahoma

jlhmnj

I see lots of doom and gloom political messages and plenty of survival shows on TV which I never pay any attention to. There must be lots of folks that these messages strike a cord and perhaps this affects the people powered SM market. Market is soft in NJ though.

Jon

ThayerRags

Yea, I see the doom and gloom stuff too, but their deadlines never seem to materialize. The market is soft here too. The vintage industrial machines that I watch going for an increase in money are probably due to the number of retirees that want to get into making something as a hobby to take up their new free time, especially the machines that sew leather. And most of those machines are electric. I don’t see much activity as far as people-powered machines at all.

The latest “Top 20” prepper items list that I saw listed sewing at number 16 on the list, and that was “knowing how to sew with needle and thread”, and didn’t mention treadle or hand crank machines at all. Although, sewing was ahead of ammunition (coming in at number 17) for a change....

CD in Oklahoma

MFord

We're nearing retirement age and have talked about getting an RV. I just want to travel around the Northwest and to Colorado and really see the countryside. But DH is talking about a 31' motorhome which we would have to keep in a rental lot...seems like we might not use it as much as if we have a smaller one in the driveway! That just may be a fantasy, though, but I've always liked the idea that you wouldn't have to stop to use the bathroom! And I'd have to get a hand-crank or a treadle...darn! PS, just got a 66 but I don't know if it works yet - need to get it into a case or cabinet, and DH has been busy, and dang they are heavy!

sewbeadit

Our gas today is 3.09, it has been going up and down for the past two weeks, so who knows. I can't help but think that is not cheap gas. We have always, even when gas was 40 cents a gallon combined our trips to save gas and will always do that. After retirement we were unable to travel because of ill health. So stay put is our only option. We have a couple of places for sewing machines left so have to be careful what we buy now.

I don't know if it will help the prices of machines or anything but I know when it is doom and gloom people start looking for treadles and hand cranks. I met my neighbor because of her treadle and hand crank sewing machines, she wants people powered machines in case we have problems and won't have electricity. She is a basic prepper person and is trying to learn how to live without help if something happens. So I know there are a lot of people still interested in these things, but I am thinking it is more of a collecting hobby than anything now days. Probably won't ever make a million selling our precious machines.