I have just within the last year bought two 1950 featherweights (one for me and one for my daughter). I paid about $250 for each one. Both were in excellent condition(no scratches, gold intact, motors worked fine), had the manuals (which were also in perfect condition) had the original grease tubes and oil, one had the vintage walking foot, all the attachments were in their original box, the carrying boxes were in excellent condition (latches worked, no rips inside or out and were in general good condition for something that was as old as I was - lol).
Yes, while I agree the price varies around the country, my daughter who was in Baton Rouge for many years and had looked at several down there thought that I had gotten a decent deal.