I spotted this machine about 2 months ago at a garage sale 2 doors up the road from my house. The seller wanted $200 and it didn't have the power cord, but otherwise complete. A lady and I found it at the same time and she was raving about the magnificent condition. In front of the seller. Except it wasn't anything special, other than the high condition decals. Other than that, it shows all the signs of having been in storage for decades - it turned stiffly, it was grungy on one side and the shellac is dried. The cabinet I'd rate as quite good. Solid, no cracks, peeling or sagging. The finish has the usual damage to the top (something wet in a spot or two) and a couple of battle scars on the sides but generally in good condition.
So, the lady was trying to scrape up 200 bucks and I left it there. The seller is a nice guy but the machine was something he had bought at auction and he had no idea what it might bring. Somebody had told him it was worth $400, so 200 was a great price to him.
Next day or two, it appears in my local classified for $250. On and off since then I'd stop by his place when I saw the garage sale sign out. By now, he knows I'm a sewing machine fiend. I was perfectly honest with him that in some places it might bring a couple hundred bucks or more but a garage sale in the rural far north probably wasn't it. I also told him of the Rolls Royce connection so he was not in the dark about what he had.
Now it's the middle of July and it's still there. I talked to him on Friday and we stalemated at $100 on my side and $125 on his ..
I left him to see what the weekend would bring and was to check in on Sunday. Saturday, my wife and I stopped past to look at some other stuff he had. Evidently, an overnight soak was all it took and the machine left in the back of my SUV for a hundred bucks.
The cabinet is what I really wanted, I have 2 other 201-2's.
But, how much do we love it when a cabinet come LOADED with goodies? This one has the original manual, in great shape, all the original attachments (in their slightly damaged box and with just a hint of rust), the original oil can in it's bracket, a plastic tube of Singer lubricant and a same vintage bottle of oil. This machine was lightly used but taken care of during it's working life.
With a new foot controller attached, the motor turns very slowly so it'll need to come apart. There's plenty of brown varnish to clean off where it was well oiled over the years.
All things considered, patience paid off this time!