Just a word of caution - if you aren't a sewer (one who sews, not one who smells!) and are selling a sewing machine you might not mention the presence or absence of a bobbin case just because you don't know. Likewise if the seller plugs it in and steps on the pedal and the needle bar goes up and down, well, to him/her it works! They don't feel the need to see any real stitches. I don't necessarily think they are out to get you. They are just uninformed.
I have bought many, many sewing machines on e-bay and only got corkscrewed once and that was shipping damage not misrepresentation of the machine. If you see a machine you're interested in and you don't see a bobbin case or have any doubts - ask the seller. It is a buyer beware world on ebay. If it's missing ask if they will deduct the cost of a replacement bobbin case. The worse they can say is no...then you go on to another auction.
Originally Posted by Candace
FYI folks, I've looked on ebay and I'd say about 50% of the machines don't have bobbin cases or don't mention if they have them or not. And not one of the ads states that the case is missing! So, there are going to be lots of unhappy folks receiving machines with missing bobbin cases.