Singer Sphinx treadle
 

I have a friend who does estate sales and he has a treadle Singer with a Sphinx decal in almost pristine condition. The entire house was like a step back in time - really fun digging for treasures. But my question is, what would be a reasonable price to ask for one with decals looking so great? Mother and then her daughter were the original owners. I know the machine will only be of interest to a collector and i think it may be of more value than a 66 treadle. I will attempt to attach the pictures he sent me. Thanks for any suggestions about pricing in advance.

Cindy

I have discoverd there are quite a few treadlers using their machines regularly, so it's not just collectors. I suppose a lot of us tend to have more than one machine, and it's hard to say when a collection starts. I wonder how many of us that acutally use our treadles?

I have seen nice condition machines go for $300 (and those are the common 12, 15 or 27) but I have also seen very nice machines go for next to nothing (almost flawless under a layer of dirt, but you don't always know until later). Old machines aren't always easy to sell in a jiffy. The more elaborate decals are (almost) always much more worn for some reaso so it's quite a nice find you have. I guess the age plays in, the additional 30-60 years gives room for a lot can happen to a machine. I have never seen a machine with Sphinx decals in good condition around here, earlier this summer there was a very nice Tiffany model 15, but not flawless, a bit of rust but decals were nice. Worn but still nice often goes for around a $100 in my area, and price doesn't always reflect condition even if it should.

It will be interesting to see what the experts have to say :- )

In our area of St. Louis Metro, treadles don't go for anything much at all. DH bought me one for $40 and now I will gift it to a thrift store as it won't sell on CL.

FWIW - I bought a beautiful Sphinx 27 treadle a while back for $50. It had the original buy's paperwork included. Also a couple well worn 27s for $10 each.

Around here they ask an arm and a leg for treadles but after months and months they disappear off CL anyway. What they sell for who knows. Look at eBay sold.

Didn't know eBay had that feature - I'll check there too. Thanks!

A really nice red eye went for $225.00 at an estate sale in Dallas a couple of months ago.
bkay

I have never seen one go for more than $100, and those were in excellent condition. Even those can go for as little as $10. Unreasonable sellers often list them for a year or more because they cannot accept how little they are worth. I think his best bet is to put it in a busy antique shop. The more folks see it, the more likely it is to sell. Most shop owners don't want to bother with them, so he might have to offer a substantial percentage, and not ask too much.

Ebay has millions of viewers, so, IMHO, it is not a good indicator of local selling price. Of course, one can always start high and lower the price if it doesn't sell. Providing stitch samples is a necessity....beauty is as beauty does.....LOL

My cousin has a Singer model #AF295121 with a knee control left to her by her mother. She used to sew with it when she was a child, she is now 78. Could anyone here tell me a website to find out information on what year it was produced etc. Thank you in advance. Marie

I use ismacs, they list model number too. Your cousin's turns out to be a model 128 made in 1939. It's a nice little machine, is it sill in use?