Are we allowed to ask if an eBay item is fair price for vintage machine part
 

I've found a buttonhole template I want on eBay. I have no idea what a fair value would be.

Is it okay to mention the part and the price to see what others here think?

Caroline I would answer if I knew if it was safe to do so. At the very least I would give my opinion. Unfortunately I am a little confused as to the rules around here on what we can say and what we can't.

I only know for sure we may not post something for sale. As to whether we can safely say "I sold", "I bought", "I am going to sell", "I am going to buy", "I am looking for", "I hope to stumble on", "I am missing X important part", etc. I am at a total loss.

Do you know you can do an advanced search on eBay? Click on advanced search and click on sold...enter a description... And if there has been a sale in the last thirty days, it will show the amount it sold for. Years ago, when bay was young, it gave a full years history...very helpful back then.

still giggling over and just love the "I hope to stumble upon".....that is so cute, needs to be an official categorie !

You are not the only one.

Sometimes I write a thread of what happened to me...not complaining, just telling a story and wanting YOUR opinion and it has been "denied"....can't figure out why.

Depends on the template - Singer ones EXCEPT for the eyelet, are not hard to come by. There are five that come with the unit, another set of four, and the eyelet.

If you do a search and look at "sold" you'll get a quick idea of what they sell for.

Now, if you are looking for something other than the older Singer/Greist set, I don't pay a lot of attention to them.

There's not much you can't get a good feel for by searching sold items on eBay. Once in a while I've not had a clue about something, and in those cases I've PM'd someone I felt might know - like SteveH on really old stuff, or Jon on Davis stuff. But mostly I decide if it's a price I'm happy with - and then I don't beat myself up if I find later I could have saved $5 by looking around more.

And it's it interesting that we will whine about paying $15 for an item that we could have got for $10, but not think anything of paying $215 for an item that we could have got for $210. It's the SAME $5! It's one thing if it's a recurring purchase, but if it's something you are only going to buy once, then saving $5 is the same either way.

Sometimes the additional cost is worth it if is available NOW and one needs/wants it NOW!

I find it interesting that the eyelet template is priced so differently. Way back when - I got a Kenmore buttonholer with extra templates and the extra set had the eyelet template. Recently, I found a set of Greist extra templates and that set included the eyelet template. I have also found extra (but not eyelet) in bags of sewing stuff. I remember one buttonholer I got at thrift store had two of the same size, but I was able to make the original set with one of the singles that I had found elsewhere.

I wonder how many had bought the Singer buttonholer and then got the Greist set so they wouldn't have to buy the eyelet separately.

Janey - Neat people never make the exciting discoveries I do.