quiltedsunshine

Oh, OK. I don't have my glasses on, and can't see that tiny picture.

Thanks!

mjhaess

I was in Michigan in the fall and I seen four different feather weights in an antique store and all were between 500 and 800 dollars.

SteveH

Antique dealers seem to be only partially in this world and partially in some other reality...

I was in a local antique store and saw a BEAUTIFUL New Home treadle. I asked about the price and was told $675!!!

I grabbed my phone, opened my nationwide CL search tool and showed them 10 ads with the same machine in approximately the same condition, all listed for more then 2 months and at less than $300... I asked if they were willing to reconsider, and was told "Nope, I think this price is appropriate and it will sell for that price"

Two months later, it is still there...

J Miller

Antique dealers don't have a lick of sense. I don't know if it's greed, fantasy or ego, but as you said they do not live in reality.

Joe

Macybaby

Sometimes it works out though - when we bought that nice Pfaff 130 in the neat cabinet with the chair - it was sitting next to an old, rather beat up New Home Treadle, priced at $395 that had been there since I started looking a few years ago. The Pfaff had no price, so the clerk called the owner - when she told her it was the "newer one, from the 40's - the owner said $55. I was shocked, but glad. Owner figured the older New Home (antique ) was worth a lot and the non-antique not so. I wasn't about to inform the owner that the Pfaff was worth about $150 and the New Home about $100.

jlhmnj

I've gotten a few bargain featherweights at antique malls but sewing machine prices (and everything else) is generally very high. What I hate most is when I visit the antique stores and the inventory is the same from month to month. I get the idea many of the antique malls are for storage rather than an honest effort to sell.

Jon

miriam

What those dealers don't realize is they aren't running an antique shop they are running a museum. Usually museums have endowments....

miriam

The other possibility is that they are using those items to draw you in to get you to look at other items therefore they don't want them to sell.

SteveH

Nice thought but 90% of the items were overpriced to that level. The few items I bought at reasonable prices seemed to surprise the seller that I was interested, next visit, those were 2x the price I previously paid..

Macybaby

I've come across two types of "dealers" - those that are doing it to make money, and that are acutally hoarders in disguise.

I could easily rent a booth for $35 a month, and then store all my machines in a nice, clean, climate controlled building. And I could put " in my dreams" prices on the, because, well, if someone wants it that bad, I'm willing to part with it.