You do have to remember though FW's really are not all that rare as a whole. I used to think that they were before the internet came along. Now they are all over the US for sale. Yes some people trashed them and some do not run. They are not that costly to repair either. Not like having a motherboard go out on a computerized machine. But they ARE out there to be bought.
People are still going into Mom, Auntie or Grandmas attics and closets finding these machines and putting them in Yard/garage sales for much lower than a dealer sells them for. They just don't want the hassle of finding someone to buy it and when mourning a death of a loved one I don't blame them. You wouldn't be cheating them by buying at a lower price. It was their choice to sell it.
When you look at the figures out on the Singer site showing production numbers. They made far more sewing machines than even cars in those years.
So all and all there are hundreds of thousands of possible FW machines are out there. No reason that they should be so excessive in price. Remember the price that people put on an object is only their opinion of what they would like to get. That does not mean that they will actually get it unless someone is so gung ho to have one that they will pay an unrealistic price.
In the Pacific Northwest I have seen many FW's for way less than $300.00. Perhaps on the Northeast coast they can command that price.
Always remember too that even if the person selling it SAYS that it works perfectly fine, take it to a reputable Sewing Machine repair shop and have it completely serviced before you use it. That way if anything IS wrong, you have documentation from a professional to go with when contacting seller and or Ebay.
Hope this helps. :lol:
Faith :XD: