Hard to say if the typebars would be a problem.  It could be that the padding underneath them is messed up.  I just acquired a royalite from a friend and the typebars are all wonky like that, but it turns out the padding underneath them had fallen out and was sitting inside the typewriter.  I haven't glued it back in yet, but when I set it under them they all even out.

The fact that there is no type sample is unfortunate, because that would give you some information about whether the bars are bent.  Maybe you could ask the seller for a type sample.  Tell him/her, even if it is faint you'd like to see. I think sometimes sellers don't want to post a faint type sample because they think an old ribbon detracts from their listing, not realizing that new ribbons are easy to come by.

I've been able to get 2 sellers to give me type samples when they weren't listed, but yeah.  I do wish more people would just go ahead and post them, even if faint.

Spazmelda wrote:

I've been able to get 2 sellers to give me type samples when they weren't listed, but yeah.  I do wish more people would just go ahead and post them, even if faint.

I know, I really wish they would get posted more often.

Uwe wrote:

tothetrail wrote:

It does look like this might be common for this model.  Now that I look more closely at a few others, I see the same thing. 

I wouldn't call it common - none of my Super-5 models exhibit what is shown in that photo. It could have something to do with the material the keybars rest on, but most likely a few of the type bar linkages requre adjustment. The Super-5s use linkages that vary from small sections of looped wire to bars that clip together, and I've come across a few machines (that must have been well abused) that had clips that were partially apart.

Super-5 models are very robust machines, so I wouldn't be too concerned with what you see in the photo. What would bother me more is the asking price (plus whatever the shipping cost might be). I can see if you live in an area void of typewriters, but if you live in any major urban center you should be able to find this very common model for half the price local to you. I have ten or so Super-5s and the most I paid for one was $26.

Thanks, good information about what to look out for.  Thanks also for the pricing info.
 

Typewriterlv wrote:

Getting type samples is tough. If I email 10 sellers, maybe 2 will respond.

And $75 is not bad for a green smith corona around here compared to what you normally see on CL around Los Angeles. I've never seen a typewriter listed for under $30 and $50 machines are usually sold for parts. BTW, that's a pretty nice green SC.

Yes, that's what I seem to notice.
 

Greetings

Just looked at the eBay ad and shipping within the USA is free. Normal shipping within the US is $20 - $40 so factoring that into the asking price brings the actual price down to $35 - $55 depending on how the seller wants to ship. All the best,

Sky