Originally Posted by
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.
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