I suppose this isn't eBay, but the concept is still the same on shopgoodwill.com.

This early Underwood portable is ending today, and it's in keychopper range. If you want it, you'd better act soon - it ends in a few hours.

http://www.shopgoodwill.com/auctions/Vintage-Underwood-Portable-Typewriter-w-Case-22103194.html

malole wrote:

This is a very interesting Imperial Good Companion that I was watching on the UK site until earlier today

Well, it has a Hebrew keyboard, so I suppose you can imagine what the type sample would look like. Models with less common keyboards/typesets sometimes command a higher price tag - and it looks like the seller figured that out.
 

KatLondon wrote:

There's all kinds of information you can get from a type sample

All kinds of information? The obvious is that it would tell you the exact typeset installed in the machine, but after that I'm at a loss to list any other reliable information you would glean from it.

A type sample won't tell you the pitch, not unless the seller puts a ruler under the type too. It won't tell you the slug manufacturer. You'll get a character set if the seller uses every key, but 99 times out of 100 the photo of the keyboard has already given you that. The performance of the typewriter itself? Not really; I can create a perfect type sample even with a machine that is riddled with problems - if that happened to be my goal. The condition of the ribbon? Is that even a concern when ribbon is so cheap? Type alignment? Sure, but again not something that I think someone who really wanted a Hebrew typeset would be too concerned with. I doubt anyone that had been hunting for this particular machine would even be fazed by the price. 
 

I like to see a type sample myself, though I've purchased typewriters without seeing one. While I suppose it is in the realm of possibility that someone could finesse a decent type sample from a mostly non-functional typewriter, I do think it's a highly unlikely scenario for most Ebay sellers. It doesn't seem likely to me that most sellers have the expertise to get a decent looking type sample from a typewriter with say, a carriage that won't move or line spacing problems. And, most sellers are going to be worried about their feedback, so that helps with keeping them honest (if not knowledgable).

Uwe, one very basic piece of information the type sample gives you is that the machine actually works. It shows whether the letters are in alignment, which I guess might not be an issue with Hebrew. It shoews you what the type looks like. £200 is about $350 and for that money I'd have said if the buyer wants to see a type sample then he's entitled! 

You wouldn't buy a car without looking at the wheels, would you. 'Oh, it has wheels, I know what they're like'.