Stay well clear of the Corsair; they sell like hotcakes in my area because they look pretty to teenage girls, but they're terrible to type with. The Sabre is a decent machine, but I would opt for the Classic 12. It's a solid model with good performance characteristics. As for the price, it would be insane to spend that much on any of those machines. I'm not sure if I've ever spent more than $25 CAD for a Classic 12 (or either of the other two models for that matter).

 

Hi Auggie

The price of typewriters here in Canada depends heavily on where you are located. Uwe is in metropolitan Toronto where flea markets and antique stores abound, so used typewriters are relatively easy to find. Out here in cowboy country on the bald prairies, it's a different story. Not many farmers or ranchers are what you'd call the literary type of person, so typewriters are few and far between. When someone has one in an antique store, they say it's a rare machine so ask unreal prices.

Where about are you located (province, city), maybe a member of the forum may be able to guide you to a better priced machine. All the best,

Sky

Auggie, that's odd, because Smith-Coronas are among the easiest to find ribbons for; a "universal" drops right in to the Classic and similar series and the Corsair is the same thing on a smaller spool (1-5/8 inch as contrasted with the standard 2-inch spool diameter). Here's  list of sources (for everywhere except specifically Canada, I'm afraid)

Ugh. Now I have to apologize for the huge solid block of text because we cannot edit these posts. I know the situation, Uwe; I just did not remember it. I can understand them not offering editing capability for free but at least they could recognize CRLF in pasted text! Anyway, the info is there and any interested readers can copy this and paste it somewhere they can format it.

Auggie, as Sky pointed out I'm in the GTA and there are plenty of typewriters here. In terms of pricing - particularly on Kijiji (forget Etsy - it's way overpriced), here's what's going on: There are a handful of middlemen in Toronto who have destroyed the market by buying up all the $25-$50 machines they can find, giving them a cursory cleaning, and relisting them on Kijiji for astronomical prices ($150 and up). 

When other people list their machines on Kijiji and have no clue what they're worth, they use those listings from the middlemen for reference and end up asking ridiculous prices too

Here's the secret: patience. Keep your eye on Kijiji for listings in your area - in particular ones that have been on Kijiji for a long time and haven't sold - and make an offer. Also, don't be fixated on a specific model like the Classic 12. There are many great portables that would work just as well for you.

Alternatively, you can also sometimes find cheaper machines in antique markets. I'm not sure what's closest to you, but during the summer months there's a great outdoor market in Aberfoyle. I go there regularly, so if you haven't found anything by the spring I could meet you there and fix you up with an inexpensive machine

The point is that you really don't need to spend more than $50 to get a good, working typewriter in Ontario. It will probably need a good cleaning, but that's a great way to learn more about your typewriter. And don't worry about ribbon, it's readily available (I buy mine in 600 yard spools). Buy the machine first and then worry about ribbon. Michael's list of ribbon suppliers is still very useful for you; regardless of their location, many of the people he listed will ship to you.