How were you able to tell it's the exact same machine? There are a lot of those Singers out there. 

I would buy it for $15 just so that it could go with my two vintage Singer sewing machines...

Shangas wrote:

I would buy it for $15 just so that it could go with my two vintage Singer sewing machines...

Singer typewriters were sold through Singer Sewing Machine stores, so one of their private label typewriters would be a nice accessory to your sewing machines.

JanetLand wrote:

I like those little Singers/Royalites and would like to get another one (I gave my first one away to a typewriterless person), but I sure as heck wouldn't support that kind of price gouging.

I would never begrudge someone who is trying to make a living out of buying and selling products, but people like this do irk me as they don't add any value whatsoever to the process and the only result of their actions is to drive up prices across the entire used typewriter market.

What I can appreciate is someone who buys an inexpensive typer and puts many hours of labour into restoring and improving the machine before selling it at a much higher price to be compensated for his efforts. However, all this seller is doing is taking a fairly priced machine that someone new to typewriters might have wanted to purchase, and tripling its cost. The fallout is that other sellers see this and consider his infated and ridiculous price to be normal, and price their machine accordingly.

The other day I bought a Remington Super-Riter from a woman who had advertised the machine for $30. We agreed on a time for me to pick-up the machine from her house. However, when I reached her house after a 45 minute drive she said there was a "dilemma"; she said the machine was worth a lot more and that she wasn't going to sell it for the price we had agreed to. Naturally, I became a little irate. I asked her why she thought it was worth more (it wasn't, the machine is filthy and well-beaten) and she lead me to her computer and pointed to an eBay auction with the same machine. The seller was demanding a $200 Buy It Now. I laughed and explained at length why her machine had been fairly priced - and why those crazy appraisels you see online are whimsical and hopefull attempts to make money from what the seller erroneously assumed was a precious antique.  

As I mentioned previously, there are a number of people in Toronto who are doing this now, and I know who a few of them are. One recently bought a machine from a friend and gave him a song and dance about wanting to buy the typer as a gift for a friend, but he recognised the buyer and knew that the truth was he was buying the modestly priced typewriter for the sole purpose of selling it as quickly as possible.

Very, very true. Even then, those numbers will be skewed. I'm amazed what some people will pay for a typewriter, typically one time/first time buyers who haven't done their homework. I see the occassional ad that will say something like "paid $175, but will let it go for $100" to describe a $25 Smith-Corona Clipper from the '50s.