Just wait til you come to Australia. $200 for an Olivetti 32, anyone? 

The cheapest I've seen for a pre-war typewriter is $70. That was for a Royal QDL. I don't know WHY I didn't buy it when I saw it. I'm regretting it, now. 

The cheapest I've seen for ANY typewriter is...$15.00. And I think that was for an Olivetti Dora. 

The most expensive I've seen is $365, for a Remington 3 Portable. A nearby Remington 16 standard was also going for $365. I don't care if they're in working condition, that's far too much. Case in point, the portable Remington is still in the same antiques shop...six months later. Unsold. 

Last edited by Shangas (29-3-2013 17:49:48)

Valiant wrote:

I don't think it really matters what ASKING prices are or what you see posted; what really matters is what typewriters are SELLING for.

That's absolutely true. The only problem is, with the exception of eBay we most often don't get to see what the selling price actually was. I lost out today on an Erika that I really wanted. The seller initially wanted $150, and I offered $50.

The lady selling it asked me why I thought it was only worth $50. Several emails went back and forth between us and I provided a very detailed explanation of the worth of a typewriter. She decided not to lower her price initially, but with every passing week she lowered her price a little.

Yesterday it was down to $75 and I decided to offer a little more than my normal $50 limit. She refused my $60 offer and explanation that her typer would end up in a very good home. She countered with $70, but before I had time to reply, she sent me another email saying it had sold and that she just got back home from delivering it. Delivering it? I would have picked it up; I guess that extra $15 really meant a lot to her. Anyway, the point is that very few typers that are overpriced sell for anywhere near their original asking price. 

Valiant wrote:

I suppose sites like ebay and etsy are the best reference?

Etsy? Forget about it. Etsy has to have the largest number of overpriced typewriters that I've ever seen online.

I think eBay is a pretty good reference, but even then there are exceptions. I was recently astounded by two auctions that that I had been closely watching. A Splendid 99, which on a good day is a $35 machine, sold for $220 (in Australia), and my Grail machine, one with a Fraktur typeface, went for $880. Madness, just pure madness I tell you!
 

I've seen some odd buying behaviour on eBay. I recently bought a Smith-Corona Ghia Super G. It was a buy-it-now for £25 and the seller was very close by, so I snapped it up. Out of interest I started watching other Ghias to see how much they were going for. Soon after I bought mine, another appeared on eBay for £50. It was a nine-day auction that slipped by with no bids. A few days later, the same Ghia was re-listed for £10. It was another nine-day auction that attracted no interest whatsoever. The seller then re-listed for £1.00, and then the Ghia started to attract bids, a lot of them. At the end of nine days it sold for around £70! The next Ghia on the market went for just under £100, but a few days ago I watched another go unsold at an asking price of 99p. A big factor seems to be the postage, many buyers seem to ignore anything that is pick-up only.

Shangas wrote:

I prefer buying things which are pick-up only. I like to see exactly what it is that I'm getting. When I bought my Underwood on Gumtree, I travelled halfway across town to look at it before I bought it. And I carried it all the way home. 

I agree with you, but unfortunately it's often not practical. Most of the typewriters I want seem to be on remote Scottish islands or on the Cornish coast.

Aside from seeing before you buy, other advantage of the pick-up is that you don't risk your purchase being wrecked by inferior packaging.

Do you ever get a bargain on Gumtree down-under? In the UK it seems to be used by people who think that a working Brother must somehow be worth £120.