Originally Posted by
Nanny's dollface
There are not many sewing machine shops where I live nor is there a big interest in featherweights for sale so I need to look elsewhere.
thanks!
I'm trying to imagine where you live in so. Cal that has no big interest in featherweights? I watch craigslist obsessively in San Diego and nearby areas. There are almost always several FW listed. The ones priced $250 or less seem to sell quickly, but many hang around for a few weeks priced $350-$400. Orange county listings of vintage sewing machines have lower prices on average than SD county. So I would suggest checking CL if you are willing to drive a little. From the sounds of it, quilt show prices are greatly inflated to allow for the much greater exposure to prospective buyers.
In the past 3 months, my sister has picked up 4 FW off shopgoodwill or ebay for less than $270 each (yes, it's an addiction;-) The one from eBay was packed horribly and suffered damage that she was able to repair. Those prices are still inflated over what I saw a couple years ago, but that seems to be the trend. If you don't want to deal with the travel and interactions of CL, that would be another way to go.