Singer Sewing Machine Retail Prices
 

So, my wife and I found a Singer 401 at Goodwill for $35 a year ago with EVERYTHING. I probably posted here about it. I just picked up a DeWalt radial arm saw from 1959 with the original receipt of sale of $242. I adjusted for inflation to almost exactly $2000. Of course these machines are built very similar to the Singer's of that age (like tanks). Come to find out the 401s were made right around the same time. So, I was wondering, about how much would a 401 have gone for during that time period? I have a feeling it cost more than this massive saw that I bought. This is sort of a competition, but I think I'm going to lose.

I would love to see a list of our machines with their prices the year they were made. I am guessing that your 401 was less than $242, but in 1959 I wasn't paying much attention to prices.

I don't have an answer for you. Maybe we could contribute to this thread if any of us have a original bill of sale. I'll have to find the one I have for my 15-91.
Maggie

I wish I could find the show that I saw about 8 years ago, it was the history of the sewing machines. And the one bit of information that really stuck with me prior to the 1950's the sewing machine was the second most expensive item bought for a family, the first was the family car. My mom's parents gave her a Singer 15-91 in the cabinet with the matching seat for a wedding present in 1950. They were considered a necessity. I don't know what they paid for it. They didn't buy a TV until 1952.

My mom paid $259 in 1964 for her Brother Prestige.

Cari

I think we paid about $350 for the machine with all the cams. We also got all the feet available. This was in late 1963, and our rent in our apartment was $75 a month, we bought ground beef 3 pounds for $1.00 with a coupon. The machine was a surprise from my husband and it was very touchy with tension. The repairman came to my house to adjust it monthly.

Sears Kenmore model 158 with cams for both decorative stitching and buttonholes, buttonhole attachment and chain stitcher, several presser feet, hard plastic case came in at $188 in 1968. Only machine I ever bought new and I wrote the amount on the back page of the manual. Still sews beautifully, husband rewired it once when the cord became damaged due to user carelessness, has never needed professional servicing. Weighs a ton, plastic case has discolored with age and the handle on the case bit the dust. I still sew on it for heavy duty projects.

I found the original Bill of Sale for my 15-91. It was $291.72 in 1948, including number 42 cabinet plus stool. That's roughly $2917.20 in today's dollars. I guess my purchase price of $74 was a great buy!

My Singer 401A was purchased in June 1959 -- cams, feet, case, square wood table (same size as a card table) with cutout for machine -- cost $425 well worth the cost as far as I'm concerned. What would it cost today?

Here's a link to a really simple inflation calculator so y'all can convert from purchase dollars to today.
http://www.dollartimes.com/calculators/inflation.htm