Rodney

You might try ended Ebay listings. That will generally give you the high end of the range for your machine. We generally don't do appraisals here. There are just too many variables.
Rodney

Freaky_Quilts_Dragon

I once bought something through PMs on a message board, and it worked out well, but I avoid it as a general rule since Etsy is so easy, and even Craig's List leaves a better evidence trail than PMs should something go wrong. Since I do have a shop, I'm being very careful not to offer anything on the boards. I like the idea of a for sale Friday or other set day of the week. Finding parts is hard work and listings about what shops and sites and people have what for sale and trade would help SO MUCH. It took me over an hour to find a bobbin winder tire for my Davis NVF, and then I couldn't buy it because the store had a $5 minimum purchase. (I know I *could* pass the extras along, but buying $5 of them at $0.35 each that would mean a lot of bobbin winder tires to move! *laughs*)

grant15clone

An Old Gear Head's analogy-
I get asked this all of the time. I see sewing machines a lot like a car. No dealership will tell you the value of a car just by a description. If you send them a picture it may help slightly, but until they see it in person, test drive it, and see how much wear and tear it has, if anything is missing or broken, there is no way you can put a value on one. AND some cars are worth more in different parts of the country.

My example-

I have a 78 Cadillac. It was my grandmother's car. What is it worth?
The description may sound like it looks like this,
[ATTACH=CONFIG]520958[/ATTACH]

But it really looks like this.
[ATTACH=CONFIG]520959[/ATTACH]

When you tell them what it is worth they say, "But it's a Cadillac". And "It was my grandmother's car. She used it all of the time."

Now, replace the word Car with the words Sewing Machine, and Cadillac with the word Singer.
I hear it all of the time.
~G~

Sewnoma

And don't forget the collector aspect. That Caddy up on jacks looks like a nightmare to me, I'd pay to get rid of it! A Caddy collector might see a real gem in the rough and not be able to get his wallet out fast enough to buy it.

miriam

Grant we need a like button - so true. I do wish you would post a new thread with the same info though.

Cari-in-Oly

That's an excellent way to put it Grant. We found out the same with a 1975 Lincoln. Anniversary Edition, limited collectors run, etc..my mom loved it and put more money into it than it was worth to get it into tip top shape. Blue book said it was worth XX dollars but in reality NOT. Us kids called it her gangster mobile and offered to buy her the fake bullet holes for the side of it, she didn't think we were so funny.

Another good point your post brings up is you can't sell sentiment, that's a hard lesson for some people.

Cari

Rodney

All very true. I belong to another forum that makes it very simple. It's a rule there: "We don"t do appraisals period. ".
The reasoning is that there are too many variables and someone is bound to get their feelings hurt.
The best thing I know to find out a price for something (not just sewing machines) is to watch your local ads for a while to get an idea of asking prices (definitely not the same as actual selling prices) and check closed Ebay listings for actual selling prices. After a little while you'll get a feel for relative prices in your area.
Rodney

ThayerRags

I went a different way to find out what machines are worth. It works like this:

Buy every sewing machine that you see for a period of a few years. Then, after getting about 3-400 of them, try selling some of them. Once you average the price of what you paid for them with the price that you can sell them for, the value of sewing machines will be evident.

CD in Oklahoma

miriam

like lol.........

Sewnoma

Yep, that sounds like the track I'm on... LOL