Originally Posted by
Monroe
Thank you for the pictures. Your machine is gorgeous! I hope you will have many years of happiness with your rare beauty.
Thanks Monroe! I do too
How is the featherweight market in your part of the world? Are they difficult to find? Do you have passionate collectors as in the US?
I've just started following them in Australia to be honest, but I'd have to say that the culture is quite different (generally and around sewing machines too). For example, a 222K auction just ended on eBay for a machine in NSW - it sold for $256 with 20 bids. A dusty one with no reserve, similar to what I bought.
I bought this particular machine from a woman who was selling it on behalf of a friend of her mother (elderly, just gone into a home). She only knew that the machine was worth something from looking online; but despite her research, I think she still had a limited appreciation of the potential value of the machine ... It was still "just a sewing machine", if you know what I mean. I think most people would in Australia would be genuinely shocked by the idea of an old sewing machine fetching $900 - $1200. Here they seem to sell between $400-600 (if presented nicely as a collectors item), or you could get a dusty old one from someone who has no idea what it's worth if you're prepared to wait
It's also worth noting that the lady I bought this 222K from had listed it on eBay TWICE without selling it at around the $300 mark... so that has to mean something. But there are also nutters trying to sell old Singer treadles for $500, same as anywhere else. It would be very interesting to know where they all end up, and what kind of money eventually changed hands.
But I was discussing the cultural differences with ManicMike the other day ... I think Aussies are slower to be fanatical about anything as it's much more culturally acceptable to be 'low key' or 'easy going' about things here, but there are obviously still collectors out there. There are also just less people here in general, so it's hard to say whether that accounts for the difference in demand for things. There are certainly a lot of old machines going to the tip or left to corrode/rot because nobody cares or would even think that anybody else might care (it seems that Mike and I are singlehandedly trying to rescue them all!! - LOL).
I was never under their spell until this year. I'd collected a few and no problem selling them when I needed funds. But- I now have 3 white ones and 1 black one, and share them with friends when we get together. They do make a beautiful stitch!
It's nice to know I could re-sell my 222K in the future with a properly worded ad - perhaps even overseas - to another collector or appreciative sewer. But for now, it's hard to imagine ever parting with her!