It varies. Two from an individual, two from a second hand store, and one from an antique store. The second hand store is the kind where people donate unwanted items and the store sells them to aid the local sheltered workshop. My Underwood Champion came from an auction. It's the time of year when people clean out their closets to make room for Christmas gifts.

I acquired a second Olympia SM4 last week - but not in great condition; absolutely filthy inside.  I'm using it as a learning machine as I tentatively strip it down.

It has the oddest fault; when the paper release lever is operated (paper bale rises and paper is free) the typing key action improves dramatically (actually improves to perfect) but when the paper release is in the normal typing position, the action is a little heavy and stodgy.  This mystifies me becasue I can as yet see no connection between these two things.

The platen is also a little stiff to turn, and though I have removed and cleaned it and all round it, I can make no improvement in that yet.

I just got back from picking up a Singer T.51 that was made in England. The $25 typer had a few problems, the carriage release lever was hanging on the carriage rail preventing the carriage from advancing, and the ribbon reverse mechanism didn't work at all. I've already fixed both and the machine works properly now.

The T.51 is nothing more than rebadged Smith-Corona Skyriter (or possibly a Corsair), and it's a really horrid machine. They were built during the time Brother had flooded the market with cheap (inexpensive) portables and Smith-Corona made a desperate stab and regaining market share by producing its own plastic portables. I've sold a Corsair in the past because I hated the overall cheap feel of the typer, but had to buy this one because it had the Singer badge. They were only sold alongside Singer sewing machines and are somewhat harder to find, and therefore a little more collectable. They T.51 types well enough, but it's a purely utilitarian experience.

This might be my last holiday purchase in relation to this thread as tomorrow everything is back to normal around here, but I grabbed this 1971 Imperial 220 from a local antique dealer today.

If you think that it bears a passing resemblance to the infamous Royal Fleetwood, you'd be right. The 220 is a Royal Fleetwood, or more accurately, like the Fleetwood it's a private label Silver-Seiko machine.

Like Brother, Silver-Seiko is another Japanese sewing machine company that got into the production of portable typewriters during the time when cost was more important that quality. That's not to say that these machines are poorly made or don't type well, they do, but they were built to undercut the competition and flood the market, and that goal is relected in the parts used to build them.

I bought this machine on a lark because it's not what I normally look for, but since I always thought it would be fun to own a Fleetwood, this will provide the same experience, albeit without the fake wood panelling. The 220 cost me $10. The store owner wanted $15, but the fact that it has a broken drawband was enough to leverage a discount out of him. I'm going to spend a little time this afternoon cleaning it and replacing the drawband; I'm actually quite curious to see how it types!