beak wrote:

you cannot drive up prices simply by asking an inflated price.

Sure you can. And I'm not talking about corporate collusion. We're discussing the used typewriter market here, and not new consumer products that are currently being manufactured by numerous companies, so you can't just apply the same rules you would to something like the used car market. 

Most typewriter sellers are people who have dug an old typer out of the closet and decided to get rid of the thing. They have NO idea what the thing is worth; some erroneously assume that because it's old, it must be worth a lot of money, so they list it with a ridiculously high asking price. Others do a little research - little being the key word here - and go online and see what other people are selling typewriters for. And what do they find? They find typewriters with asking prices three times their value and assume that is the fair market price for theirs too.

You're forgetting that the scenario you described is what first happened during the original sale of the typer in this example. The buyer determined the fair price ($41), which is what I might have paid for it too except there were shipping charges on top of this. However, now it's the seller determining the price - artificially - because he needs to make a profit from it. If enough people do this, it drives up the prices of typewriters.

One other thing that you're not accounting for. Buyers in the used typewriter market don't set the price because more often than not they know even less than the seller does about the value of these machines. Many are one time buyers and regard a typewriter as a novelty, which make them easy prey for someone who is trying to make a quick buck.

And for the record, every one of the few machines that I've sold went for a fair price, which means I sold it for what I paid, or at most for $20 more because I had spent time repairing the machine. All were sold to young people who were curious about this old technology that predates them, and I was happy to foster their interest in the hobby. Similarly, other collectors who have sold me machines have almost always done so at their cost for it. Two members here are included in that list having sold me nice machines at fair prices.

I've already stated that I don't begrudge people trying to make a profit, and of course people can do whatever they want, but it none-the-less bothers me that these people who don't add any value at all to our hobby are driving up the prices of typewriters for everyone. For my part I warn as many buyers as possible not to overspend for a machine.

Finally, in this new listing I came across today there's some proof of what I'm claiming:



Here's a seller who has priced his machine based on what he's seen others listed for online - not what they actually sold for. Who on earth would pay $150 for a late-model, extremely common, Olympia SM? 

No sure where the idea that there was any animosity came into play here. I was just trying to make my points as you would in any discussion; that's the problem sometimes with electronic discussions - it's too easy to add a tone to the words we're reading, which I guess is why using emoticons can be important. 

To answer your question about where I'm getting this information from, it is from first hand experience, long discussions with buyers and sellers, discussions with other collectors about their experiences, and close observation over a long time.

When I buy a typer I don't simply hand them the cash and walk awary with my purchase. I ask a lot of questions first. Why are they selling the machine, what do they know about its history, how did they decide on their asking price, and were there other potential buyers? I have talked to many people who sell these machines for profit, especially antique dealers. Where did they find the machine, how many do they sell, who is buying them, how long do they sit on it before it sells, and how much did they pay for it? Believe it or not, some are willing to actually discuss what they paid. 

It turns out that many sellers - as in those who are flipping the machine - buy them for too much money, or at the very least, for what they are worth, as in the subject of this thread. Consequently, to make some money on it they have to at least double the price when they try to sell it, which is the reason I started this thread.

The reason I suggested that you were applying economic principles that didn't apply to this scenario is because some of what you're saying is very true for things such as used car sales. However, the used typewriter market is very different - at least it is here in Canada. There are relatively few typewriters for sale at any given time online in my area, and when it comes to such a small number it is easy to influence pricing especially when you take into account the points I made in my previous post.

I don't expect to convince you of anything, but I do know what is going on in my backyard when it comes to typewriters. Forums are a place to discuss these things, hopefully in a friendly and non-confrontational manner, which has been my intent throughout this thread. It's a shame if you felt something else was going on here, but I promise you that there isn't.

This one gets my vote for today's "shoot for the stars" price for a "antique" typewriter. http://lafayette.craigslist.org/atq/4747464339.html $500 for a Royal Deluxe..... I can see I am going to be looking at lots of machines and not buying many.

Yikes! I do feel bad when people pay the high price for a machine that doesn't need to command a high price. I'd rather see typewriters stay within a price range that people want to use them!

I have only been adding extra typewriters to the house since feb/march this year, and the ebay prices in the UK are mostly completely daft now. Especially in my local area. (Craigs list, here? Ha!) The same common 70s machines (which I am not interested in) are relisted on ebay with the same daft prices month after month. Who they think will buy them is a mystery!