Bernina 830
10-25-2010, 04:13 PM
#11
Super Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: Jan 2010
Location: At my little house, buried under a pile of fabric.
Posts: 2,034
This amazes me..I never realised that the Bernina was worth that much. I will watch ebay and then set the price. You ladies have really helped ThankYou
10-25-2010, 08:27 PM
#12
Super Member
Join Date: Aug 2010
Location: Piedmont Virginia in the Foothills of the Blue Ridge Mtns.
Posts: 8,562
Before I bought my first Bernie 830 back in the 1990s, I called John Flynn (Flynn Quilting Frame) to ask his opinion on price. I had heard him tell my class that he did the majority of his machine quilting (at that time) on his 830. I then bought one for slightly less than he told me I might have to pay....$550. I have bought and sold several since then, for other people, and always found them to be around the same price. I lived in Ft. Worth/Dallas TX at the time.
The more I looked for them, the more I came to realize that they are indeed a collector's gem like the Featherweight. I used 2 for classes in my shop and told wary customers that it was definitely okay to use them because they were truly work horses! I often recommend them as a first sewing machine when someone wants to buy "a good used sewing machine".
They are solid metal, no plastic. You can do a lot of the maintenance yourself with the top of the machine that opens. It's heavy as heck and the red plastic "suitcase" carrier is bulky, but I'd rather drag my Bernie 830 around to classes any time than a sensitive, mother-boarded, computerized, plastic-encased machine.
As a matter of fact, I even bought the later 1990s version, the 1031, and they are virtually identical in stitch and function. I'm a major fan!
Don't sell yourself short!
The more I looked for them, the more I came to realize that they are indeed a collector's gem like the Featherweight. I used 2 for classes in my shop and told wary customers that it was definitely okay to use them because they were truly work horses! I often recommend them as a first sewing machine when someone wants to buy "a good used sewing machine".
They are solid metal, no plastic. You can do a lot of the maintenance yourself with the top of the machine that opens. It's heavy as heck and the red plastic "suitcase" carrier is bulky, but I'd rather drag my Bernie 830 around to classes any time than a sensitive, mother-boarded, computerized, plastic-encased machine.
As a matter of fact, I even bought the later 1990s version, the 1031, and they are virtually identical in stitch and function. I'm a major fan!
Don't sell yourself short!
10-25-2010, 08:30 PM
#13
Power Poster
Join Date: Jul 2010
Location: SoCal
Posts: 11,900
It is worth its numbers in dollars. I bought a used one beat up not running. A good running one with case and feet could fetch around $800 in our area. Don't sell it. It will be harder to find another one then it would be to find a feather weight.
10-26-2010, 03:14 AM
#16
Super Member
Join Date: Nov 2009
Location: Ontario, Canada
Posts: 1,991
I bought my Bernina 830 Record new in 1976. It was the first machine that I bought new and was just over $1000 Canadian. My brand new husband was not impressed and thought the money should have made mortgage payments. The machine still sews well and I use it as my back up machine. This past weekend I was offered $400 sight unseen by the Bernina dealership who had a booth at our guild's quilt show. They said that they are very popular with their Mennonite customers and always have a list of people wanting one.
10-26-2010, 09:23 AM
#17
Super Member
Join Date: Oct 2008
Location: chicago, IL
Posts: 9,589
Originally Posted by Jan in VA
Before I bought my first Bernie 830 back in the 1990s, I called John Flynn (Flynn Quilting Frame) to ask his opinion on price. I had heard him tell my class that he did the majority of his machine quilting (at that time) on his 830. I then bought one for slightly less than he told me I might have to pay....$550. I have bought and sold several since then, for other people, and always found them to be around the same price. I lived in Ft. Worth/Dallas TX at the time.
The more I looked for them, the more I came to realize that they are indeed a collector's gem like the Featherweight. I used 2 for classes in my shop and told wary customers that it was definitely okay to use them because they were truly work horses! I often recommend them as a first sewing machine when someone wants to buy "a good used sewing machine".
They are solid metal, no plastic. You can do a lot of the maintenance yourself with the top of the machine that opens. It's heavy as heck and the red plastic "suitcase" carrier is bulky, but I'd rather drag my Bernie 830 around to classes any time than a sensitive, mother-boarded, computerized, plastic-encased machine.
As a matter of fact, I even bought the later 1990s version, the 1031, and they are virtually identical in stitch and function. I'm a major fan!
Don't sell yourself short!
The more I looked for them, the more I came to realize that they are indeed a collector's gem like the Featherweight. I used 2 for classes in my shop and told wary customers that it was definitely okay to use them because they were truly work horses! I often recommend them as a first sewing machine when someone wants to buy "a good used sewing machine".
They are solid metal, no plastic. You can do a lot of the maintenance yourself with the top of the machine that opens. It's heavy as heck and the red plastic "suitcase" carrier is bulky, but I'd rather drag my Bernie 830 around to classes any time than a sensitive, mother-boarded, computerized, plastic-encased machine.
As a matter of fact, I even bought the later 1990s version, the 1031, and they are virtually identical in stitch and function. I'm a major fan!
Don't sell yourself short!
12-04-2010, 07:30 PM
#20
Power Poster
Join Date: Oct 2010
Location: Mississippi
Posts: 25,991
Don't know if anyone is still reading this thread, but another thing to consider is if your 830 has the hi/low gear option. This is a little white switch found just below and to the right of the feed dog knob, on the base of the machine. Switching the machine into low gear gives it something like 10X the penetrating power (or was it 30X?) which makes it wonderful for sewing hems on jeans over those thick outseams. If your machine has that switch it's worth more.
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