Typewriter Talk / Insights into Goodwill

**Posted by Pete E.** 19-6-2022 14:52:17

Agree...this was a $ 9.99 win for me and I was willing to go their initial $ 32 S&H...but I felt this SGW location was playing a game of "slight of hand".

I still do not believe the recent hammer-down of $ 1200 for a Hermes 3000 that you did not even know if it worked or had parts missing. I think some SGW shill-bidding is in play and the selling location might actually win their own auction and then just relist it in the not-too-distant future.

**Posted by Uwe** 20-6-2022 10:51:55

Could the $32 shipping fee be a base charge that is subject to change based on weight and size after the auction closes? I've never shopped with Goodwill online, so I'm wondering if there's something in the fine print about the strange fee change.

**Posted by overwood** 20-6-2022 15:20:52

Uwe wrote:
Could the $32 shipping fee be a base charge that is subject to change based on weight and size after the auction closes? I've never shopped with Goodwill online, so I'm wondering if there's something in the fine print about the strange fee change.

They always list the item weight and shipping weight in the listing.

**Posted by Pete E.** 21-6-2022 09:07:16

They have a shipping estimate tool as part of the listing and you enter your zip code to get the actual costs. Their ads also list the machine/case weight, as well.

I always see what the S&H will be and then decide my maxium bid...knowing the S&H will be part of the final price if I win.

The changes in S&H happened after the auction closed and I won. I was doing the "Pay For It" thing about 1/2 day after the auction closed and I noticed the S&H costs doubled. And after I sent SGW an email to let them know hoe displeased I was, the S&H went up, again.

**Posted by Pete E.** 21-6-2022 09:11:24

FWIW...a 1950's Torpedo typewriter went hammer-down for over $ 800 USD and a Princess 300 went hammer down just a bit under $ 500 USD...just in the past week

Not sure who would put out that much money for an "as-is /where-is" purchase with no confirmation the darn machines actually work and/or are not missing internal parts. And no returns, allowed.

**Posted by Pete E.** 27-11-2022 12:05:31

So I finally managed to snag an Olympia Report Electric (aka SKE-A61) made in Germany.

Should have it here in a week or so.

I plan to add a tan-colour to its ribbon cover...so it will look a bit like my IBM Model D and its colour scheme.

But working on this Olympia Report will probably have to wait until warmer weather returns to Idaho.
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**Posted by OregonJim** 17-1-2023 16:10:37

I have noticed that one of the stores on shopgoodwill (located in Minnesota) has inordinately high shipping rates. Every single item from their store has a shipping cost in excess of $50. No other Goodwill store does that. Something seems sour.

Like others, I have never found a typewriter that wasn't completely trashed in a local Goodwill store. All my local finds come from mom-and-pop thrift stores and private sellers. Goodwill of 20 years ago was a totally different (and better) experience.

**Posted by overwood** 19-1-2023 16:18:30

OregonJim wrote:
I have noticed that one of the stores on shopgoodwill (located in Minnesota) has inordinately high shipping rates. Every single item from their store has a shipping cost in excess of $50. No other Goodwill store does that. Something seems sour.

They have always been super expensive, so I have always just ignored typewriters they list. Other stores are getting worse. One that used to be super priced still ships very reasonably but added a $10 handling fee. And I noticed that a lot of starting bids are double what they were before the pandemic

I don't need any more typewriters so I can afford to be patient and picky.

**Posted by Pete E.** 19-1-2023 19:54:20

The PA store location is the worst. $ 80-95 for a manual typewriter from PA to ID State. I have had machines come to me from the UK for only $ 40-50 and arrive in 1.5 weeks or so.

**Posted by R.A. Stewart** 25-5-2023 12:38:21

overwood wrote:
I've never found a typewriter worth buying at a brick and mortar thrift store of any kind. I don't know why I even keep checking them, but I do.

I found my Royal KHM at a little shop in Chicago's Loop that sold and repaired typewriters. I needn't add that this was a long time ago, in the 1970s. The HH was in a thrift store (don't remember for how much, but a very moderate price). But that must have been at least ten or fifteen years ago. I haven't seen anything recently, but then I don't haunt those stores as often as I used to.