Whats with the kenmore 148's??
 

I recently discovered the white model 628.. and decided i wanted a real basic treadle worthy ZZ machine, got a bug in my behind and decided maybe white made a kenmore similar to that...WOW Flea bay has Gone NUTS it seems like all of the old kenmores have taken off in asking price quite a number of them over 100 bucks some "industrial" advertised closer to 200! I would have thought the older kenmores would be in the decent buy about $20 dollar range. what happened are they the "new" hot collectible?

It's not just the 148's around here. The 117's even on Craig's List are $100 and up. They aren't being snapped up at that price so maybe the listers will see the light.

When I watch for "Dashboard" machines, they are often in the $75 to $200 price range on eBay. Moer in line with $25 - $75 on the local Craigslist - with the occasional dreamer. When it comes down to pricing - older straight stitch machines sell for the least amount.

Start watching older Viking, Pfaff and Bernina, if you think the Kenmore are over-priced. However, in my 2-3 collecting, I've rarely seen decent Kenmores in the $20 range.

Do the White-made Kenmores have a White sized base or a Kenmore sized base anyway?

Why can't the administration take the ugly writing of people off this machine? Do we need it?

The 148 series was made by Soryu....not White. White made the 117s. Maruzen/Jaguar made the 158s. And Janome made the 385s.

And yeah, the 148s...& especially the 158s go for fairly high prices. They're real workhorses....& great machines.

well what I really wanted was a White model 628, which was made FOR white in Japan....and the kenmores came the closest to matching, looking slightly plainer than the dash board.....think necchi BU style levers

Soryu is in/was (?) in Japan....Maybe they were making Whites AND Kenmores.

After WW2, White stopped making their own machines, so it's very likely you can find a White and a Kenmore that were made by the same company. I've got four post war Whites, and they are all made by different companies.

I've noticed that too, seems REALLY recent. I picked up a 158 not long ago at the thrift shop and when I was researching it I didn't really see them going for more than $100. Now I do. (I paid $15 for mine and it's in nearly perfect shape, I got SO lucky!!) I was hoping to find another similar machine to give to a friend but not for $100+. I like to be generous but I can't be THAT generous! (And I'm not letting go of MINE! I've fallen too far in love to let it go now.)

They deserve the respect though. I'm pretty impressed with the one I have; it's not a complicated machine but it's very solid, in every meaning of the word. Maybe we should stop talking about how great they are, LOL.