Machine Pricing Adjusted for Inflation?
 

Today, I hemmed some frayed pant cuffs with my 201. As I was sewing and enjoying the click-click of the perfect SS machine I wondered if my family could have afforded a machine such as the 201 when they were new. More than likely this question has been answered but I would be interested if any posters have ideas on what a new 201, or other machines sold for when new and adjusting for inflation what would the price be in today's money. Inquiring minds need to know.:D

In 1950, they were sold for $100 or so, which would be close to $1000 today.

The price probably varied depending on what cabinet you got.

Wow! No we couldn't afford a new machine back then. They are bargains on the used market today.

Here is a fun little site that supposedly does inflation adjustments for you.

http://www.westegg.com/inflation/

Singer was top-of-the-line back in the day. Heck, their repairmen even made house calls.

This is a fun site to explain a little of the history of 201's. Unfortunately, he is in England so the receipt and his discussion is in pounds/shillings but he says that for one woman it was the equivalent of half-a-year's wages!
http://www.sewalot.com/singer_201k_sewalot.htm

Mark was right on!

Kathy, thanks for that link. I'm not alone in my admiration of the 201.

The other thing to remember about Singer machines is they were basically the "first" (This is what I read, but maybe one of the first?) company's to do retail financing. You didn't buy a $100 machine outright (usually), you made payments on it. A friend of mine has a receipt for a machine her grandma owned with the "down payment" and monthly payments set out on it.

Singer was the first company, from what I read, to have machines that one bought 'by hire'. Now we would call it, 'buy here, pay here.' They also would take machines in as a trade in for a Singer sewing machine. The 'trade ins' would be destroyed so they couldn't be resold, and a person wanting a sewing machine would have to buy a new one instead.

A guy that works in my local place said that too. He recalled the procedure for destroying them, too. Urgh! Described some of them as "like new". The stuff of nightmares for us, and I can't un-hear it :thumbdown:

Horror Movie Theme
 

Now I can't "unhear" that! I can only imagine the machines being destroyed. Some that I'm not even aware of. It makes for a great Horror Movie Theme.:cool:

I didn't describe the procedure! Don't ask and you still have a chance to avoid the nightmares.

Great Gobs.

Acid and fire?

Now I am curious.

Or maybe beige spraypaint.

:-)

Mocha or beige spray paint is worse than my imagination of monsters with sledge hammers ;-)

Mocha
Cappuccino
Ecru
Champagne
Portobello
Sand


All just polite words for beige.

OK, since you insisted. Three men had to be there: One did the machine in with a sledgehammer, and the other two had to watch. All three of them signed the order as destroyer and witnesses (as mentioned the destruction was so the machines could never be re-sold).
He said that while he worked for Singer he saw thousands of serviceable sewing machines get whacked.

Suddenly my warm and fuzzy feelings for Singer are fading, fading... to a sort of sickly beige.

So they literally destroyed the competition.

Beige spray paint sounds even worse. They tried to soften the Black to beige transition by calling it Mocha. Beige by any other name...;-)

Isn't it amazing where these threads take us?

There's an OSMG about 100 miles from me. He often gives people machines to put in the cars they're sending to the crusher. :( Emptied out a really large shed that way. He wants to sell me a rusted old heap for $60, but he gives them away to someone who just wants them for weight at the metal place. A monster I tell you. ;)

Yes but isn't it just weird that they were their own competition? The executed machines were nearly all Singers too! I'd have expected they'd have more respect for their own masterpieces.

It actually sounds like they're unsalvageable anyway, if the one he thinks will sell is a rusted heap. Do you have a picture? Who's the monster? Him or the machines (not trying to be smart)?
I'm about to graduate to senior, and celebrating with "new" 1940s pinking shears :thumbup:

LOL, mlmack, good one!!!

No, I have no pictures. He's got sheds full of the stuff. They could be salvaged with enough time and energy, but he's not discriminant about what he tries to sell or have crushed. It could be a better looking machine he sends in a car, because it came out of the shed first.

The monster comment (re the OSMG) was a veiled reference to the nightmares? missed I guess. ;)

Woohoo! Happy senior shearing ;) Oh...that sounds bad.

On a lighter note, does anyone know of a site where we can see what our vintage machines sold for in the first place? I think I saw one a while back, but don't know where it was. I'm wanting to know what my 1922 Singer 66 and my 1924 and 28 Singer 99's sold for. Thanks.
Janis

Well if you have space maybe suggest that you look after some. Sheds sounds like he has more than one... you definitely need to take a few.

Yes the reference was too cryptic for li'l ol' me :-)

The older shears weren't salvageable (who'd have thought they can be over-sharpened?). No Tammi, it just sounded amusing :D

Just imagined myself in 30 years as your OSMG and am concerned that it wasn't difficult :eek:

He would want me to pay for them and he wants too much for them. He wanted $150 for a 128 in a cabinet that he alligatored by storing in those sheds. My mental photograph has 4 sheds in it. Most are full of machines and vacuums from when he had a shop. His garage has easily another 50 machines in it.

Yes, knives and scissors can both be ruined by over sharpening. DH has made a couple of my knives perfectly unsharp. We now have an oops proof knife sharpener.

Hopefully, in 30 years, when a lot of our vintage machines are antiques, and the value of an item, instead of the price of it is important, you won't be able to keep machines in a shed, because you won't have any that you need to store out of sight. They'll all be in loving homes that you found them.

Janis - I've seen prices from time to time, but I can't recall a single place with all of them or even most of them.

Just tell him you have 5 or 6 cars you are taking to the crusher.