Good price for a Singer 301A?
 

I have a coupla questions for you vintage singer owners. I am going tomorrow to look at a Singer 301A that was listed on Craigslist and the seller is asking $80 or best offer. When I spoke with the seller today he didn't know the overall condition of the machine but said that he knew it was used over one year ago and has been stored in his garage since then. He only wants it gone.

My questions are: What is an averge selling price of a Singer 301A today? What particular things should I look for when inspecting the machine? Would I be out of line to offer him $60 or less? Is $80.00 a fair price? Anything I need to look out for? Any attachments that should come with this particular machine as I know it slant needle machine? Any help you all can provide is much appreciated.

http://images.craigslist.org/5Gb5K65...3502011a4a.jpg http://images.craigslist.org/5I95K95...67167c1306.jpg http://images.craigslist.org/5I55G75...9adba81b0f.jpg

Wow. The 301 is my favorite vintage Singer, and that LBOW (light beige oyster white) is my favorite color. In fact I have two of them myself. Off hand, without knowing the condition of the machine and the accessories that come with it, I'd still say $80 is a steal, especially if the cabinet comes with it. I paid more than that for each of mine, without a cabinet. I'd also look for the original manual (often found in the drawer) and check to be sure the bobbin case is there. Extra bobbins would be very nice as would a few feet, although the feet aren't hard to find. You can easily get a 1/4" foot and I just got a walking foot for less than $20 from Sew-Classic dot com. If I were you, I'd take some fabric and a needle and thread and test it out. Good luck and let us know how it turns out.

Dorothy in PA

That's a good price, considering I just won one on Goodwill.com for $92.00 + shipping (mine's black...)...so I say go for it!

Sounds like a great price. I paid $150 for mine.

I have sold 4 of them in the last year and depending how many feet are included, what condition it is in, and if it has the case included or not they have sold between $150.00 to $175.00. I have seen others ask more for them but at the price I charge they don't last long. Be sure and check to see if it has the bobbin casing or not. They are interchangeable with the Featherweight so often get taken and are expensive to replace. Bobbins are easy to find.
Ann in TN

Wow, I would love to find one for $80.00. Lucky, lucky you !!

A great price for one in a cabinet. I love mine.

I agree that $80 is a good price, provided that it has a bobbin case and that it doesn't need new power cords/foot control. If it's missing the bobbin case, that will cost about $32 to replace, and the cords and foot control a little more.

If you search for Touch & Sew attachment sets on eBay, you can usually buy them for a lot less than sets sold specifically for the 301, which is somewhat "collectible" in that quilters and seamstresses really love them. :)

If you want to buy a buttonholer for it, you will want the old-style type that was originally sold in the maroon colored plastic "treasure box," not the green or the black boxes of the same rectangular shape. Those were made to be used with the straight-stitch on a slant-needle machine. A later style buttonholer was sold in a pink (for slant) or an aqua (for vertical) "Jetsons" box - oval and very retro looking.

I had a cabinet like this one and I liked it a lot - kind of Shaker style. :)

It's not a good price where I live. I got a beautiful one in a mint desk/cabinet for $12.50. It had been $25, but was marked half off at the end of the house sale because no one bought it.

Great price if it is intact with bobbin case, etc. Try not to drool when you make the buy! Wintersewer- I should move to your part of NY! I'll offer you $60 for just the machine! ;o)