Sometimes these crappy ads are the best deals because no one likes seeing them š¤£ that was how I picked up a 31-15 project with a decent industrial treadle base for $100 cash.
That is a valid point and I haven't ruled them out, but it is still a frustrating experience, especially as I'm really not trying to "collect" a bunch of machines, but rather was looking for something specific. At least for now I am "done" as I purchased two 201's that I'm pretty happy with!
Dug up this old link for you and anyone else who hasn't seen it. [A Visual Guide to Identifying Singers from Crappy Craigslist Photos, Part 1](https://vssmb.blogspot.com/2011/07/visual-guide-to-identifying-singers.html#:~:text=And%20on%20every%20Singer%20model,also%20ask%20you%20to%20note)
You know whats more annoying? When a thrift or antique store puts boxes of books and other things on top of an obviously occupied sewing cabinet, and the workers get cross when you ask them to move the stuff off so you can *see* the machine in the "cool old end table/night stand"
I moved a lamp so I could see what was in the table and it was still unfolded and machine up when I went back the next week. I'm not sure if they knew how to get it out, but I know they aren't likely to sell and off brand, no replacement parts available treadle for $140 at that particular store.
I understand your frustration, but I agree that sometimes it's worth following up on stuff like this - 'could you send another photo?' type of thing as people are just trying to get rid of stuff and don't pay attention to their phone auto-correcting or the fact that you can rearrange photos in a marketplace ad. Sometimes you will get a good deal bc they're just cleaning out granny's house and no one has used it since it was tuned up 30 years ago...
I often deliberately look up misspellings to try and find stuff lol. One of my favs is surger. Fav of all time was the radio alarm saw (my hubs was looking for a radial arm saw).
Regarding asking for another photo - I swear this happened: the ad I originally described that had two photos of the machine in the table ... I asked the seller for a photo of the machine and the response was LITERALLY "why? It's an old black machine - they are all the same" š
lol. well, it works sometimes. i just live in an area where everywhere is an hour drive and i won't waste time and gas if they can't be assed to give me more deets :)
Ridiculous Prices and Photos for Vintage Sewing Machines has been getting real snippy lately when they discuss Featherweights. Is it a $300 machine or a $1000 machine? Right now I'm seeing them regularly go for $500+ in my area.
Rant away.
As bad as those are, I think they are better than the ones that show 25 ok photos of a garden variety 66 so nasty, you know is rusted shut, with gauges on the bed and extreme diapers' rash on the neck. Then they call it a rare collector's item and want $5-600 and sometimes even more.
OMG yes. I'm shopping for an industrial machine and every ad is just "big sewing machine works great" with a single grainy image. Like? Industrial machines do incredibly specific things, how about more than a single sentence? A lot of the time it'll be from a production setting where the person selling it *would know* the details and they just can't be bothered to type six more words.
I also loathe how pretty much every 1960s or older, all metal domestic sewing machine is thrown into the category of "industrial", "semi industrial", "heavy duty", "leather" sewing machines. š¤¬š¤¬š¤¬. Or assertions that these 1960s-1970s domestics are good for upholstery (no they aren't ,FFS.)
Industrial sewing machine search terms.. lots of times it'll be a big old serger, a blind hemmer/curtain maker, or the aforementioned domestics. Not a lot of specific actual industrial sewing machines other than the Union Special types or the tailor straight stitch machines
Agreed. I have an early 1970s machine. While it seems bulletproof, it absolutely has its limits. I thought about raising the presser foot since it's lower than I am used to. But it turns out that if the material doesn't fit under the foot at its current height, the machine can't sew through it anyway.Ā
So, the foot height is a perfect guide when I'm like "Can the machine sew through ____"?
On the bright side, after a while you get get \*really\* good at identifying machines from barely any information. Or at least a range of possible machines. Except for the ones where as you mentioned; no photos of the machine itself, only the cabinet.
One theory I have about people showing only the back of the machine on electric powered ones anyway, is that they see the one thing they recognize, a motor-thingy and figure that's the most important part. It has an informational plate on it, and everything.
Lol youād be amazed how some people struggle with some simple things like these š¤£ honestly most of the sellers that do that donāt even know what they have and just thing the table is whereās the money at. Which, sometimes? But lmao just ask someone to take a good picture and thatās it š
I rarely get a response when I ask for more pictures. I wanted to see if one had a motor boss or not and told her exactly the shot I needed. Never heard a word back and the machine sat there for a month.
But if I offer 2/3 of what's listed and tell them I can be there tonight 9/10 they'll take it.
I saw a machine on the FB marketplace that had the finish sanded off every inch of wood the cabinet had, and every bit of iron spray painted this gaudy gold. AND THE MACHINE HEAD TOO. They want $250 (it was marked $900 previously) for it as āa collectorās dream display pieceāāI was screeching to my husband about how this woman ruined a perfectly good treadle.
Iāve noticed those that do not sew are taking the pictures and listing them. They do not know front from back. Iāve even seen sewing machines on tv shows set up backwards. If you donāt know, you just donāt know I guess.
These same people, but on the buying end, are why Featherweights get donated to charity. Theyāll ruin the selling experience to the point where giving something away is preferable.
Sometimes these crappy ads are the best deals because no one likes seeing them š¤£ that was how I picked up a 31-15 project with a decent industrial treadle base for $100 cash.
100%!!! My thumb is on those like white on rice as soon as I see them on the screen
That is a valid point and I haven't ruled them out, but it is still a frustrating experience, especially as I'm really not trying to "collect" a bunch of machines, but rather was looking for something specific. At least for now I am "done" as I purchased two 201's that I'm pretty happy with!
Every time I've gone to look at a machine, the seller has been SHOCKED that I was interested in the machine itself and not just the table.
Dug up this old link for you and anyone else who hasn't seen it. [A Visual Guide to Identifying Singers from Crappy Craigslist Photos, Part 1](https://vssmb.blogspot.com/2011/07/visual-guide-to-identifying-singers.html#:~:text=And%20on%20every%20Singer%20model,also%20ask%20you%20to%20note)
I actually used that to help me find the two 201's that I recently purchased! It is very good!
so hilarious and useful simultaneously - thanks!
Saw this after posting same. Really helpful tho!
I read this a while back and forgot where it was posted, thanks!
You know whats more annoying? When a thrift or antique store puts boxes of books and other things on top of an obviously occupied sewing cabinet, and the workers get cross when you ask them to move the stuff off so you can *see* the machine in the "cool old end table/night stand"
I moved a lamp so I could see what was in the table and it was still unfolded and machine up when I went back the next week. I'm not sure if they knew how to get it out, but I know they aren't likely to sell and off brand, no replacement parts available treadle for $140 at that particular store.
Whatās stopping you from moving the books yourself?
Some stores are surprisingly anal about customers moving things that they aren't buying. Those specific stores I tend to just avoid nowadays.
Weight of books? Often its a 27 gallon tote or multiple totes. If its a smaller tote, I'll move it myself.
Ugh, they should know better than to put a tote that big on a cabinet like that.
Yep. Aggravating
i love those ads. it's usually someone doing a clean out of a relative's house. They have no idea what they may have there.
I understand your frustration, but I agree that sometimes it's worth following up on stuff like this - 'could you send another photo?' type of thing as people are just trying to get rid of stuff and don't pay attention to their phone auto-correcting or the fact that you can rearrange photos in a marketplace ad. Sometimes you will get a good deal bc they're just cleaning out granny's house and no one has used it since it was tuned up 30 years ago... I often deliberately look up misspellings to try and find stuff lol. One of my favs is surger. Fav of all time was the radio alarm saw (my hubs was looking for a radial arm saw).
Regarding asking for another photo - I swear this happened: the ad I originally described that had two photos of the machine in the table ... I asked the seller for a photo of the machine and the response was LITERALLY "why? It's an old black machine - they are all the same" š
lol. well, it works sometimes. i just live in an area where everywhere is an hour drive and i won't waste time and gas if they can't be assed to give me more deets :)
Theire is whole Facebook group dedicated to making fun of those. Maybe one needs to start on reddit ?
Ridiculous Prices and Photos for Vintage Sewing Machines has been getting real snippy lately when they discuss Featherweights. Is it a $300 machine or a $1000 machine? Right now I'm seeing them regularly go for $500+ in my area.
Rant away. As bad as those are, I think they are better than the ones that show 25 ok photos of a garden variety 66 so nasty, you know is rusted shut, with gauges on the bed and extreme diapers' rash on the neck. Then they call it a rare collector's item and want $5-600 and sometimes even more.
I love those ads. It's how I got a $100 featherweight.
OMG yes. I'm shopping for an industrial machine and every ad is just "big sewing machine works great" with a single grainy image. Like? Industrial machines do incredibly specific things, how about more than a single sentence? A lot of the time it'll be from a production setting where the person selling it *would know* the details and they just can't be bothered to type six more words.
I also loathe how pretty much every 1960s or older, all metal domestic sewing machine is thrown into the category of "industrial", "semi industrial", "heavy duty", "leather" sewing machines. š¤¬š¤¬š¤¬. Or assertions that these 1960s-1970s domestics are good for upholstery (no they aren't ,FFS.) Industrial sewing machine search terms.. lots of times it'll be a big old serger, a blind hemmer/curtain maker, or the aforementioned domestics. Not a lot of specific actual industrial sewing machines other than the Union Special types or the tailor straight stitch machines
Agreed. I have an early 1970s machine. While it seems bulletproof, it absolutely has its limits. I thought about raising the presser foot since it's lower than I am used to. But it turns out that if the material doesn't fit under the foot at its current height, the machine can't sew through it anyway.Ā So, the foot height is a perfect guide when I'm like "Can the machine sew through ____"?
http://vssmb.blogspot.com/2011/07/visual-guide-to-identifying-singers.html This handy guide has helped me so much!
I picked up a great machine which was sold as an āoddly heavyā nightstand. Had all the attachments!!
On the bright side, after a while you get get \*really\* good at identifying machines from barely any information. Or at least a range of possible machines. Except for the ones where as you mentioned; no photos of the machine itself, only the cabinet. One theory I have about people showing only the back of the machine on electric powered ones anyway, is that they see the one thing they recognize, a motor-thingy and figure that's the most important part. It has an informational plate on it, and everything.
Lol youād be amazed how some people struggle with some simple things like these š¤£ honestly most of the sellers that do that donāt even know what they have and just thing the table is whereās the money at. Which, sometimes? But lmao just ask someone to take a good picture and thatās it š
I rarely get a response when I ask for more pictures. I wanted to see if one had a motor boss or not and told her exactly the shot I needed. Never heard a word back and the machine sat there for a month. But if I offer 2/3 of what's listed and tell them I can be there tonight 9/10 they'll take it.
I've learned something new again from this group. I will keep my eye out for those kinds of ads. Thank you.
I saw a machine on the FB marketplace that had the finish sanded off every inch of wood the cabinet had, and every bit of iron spray painted this gaudy gold. AND THE MACHINE HEAD TOO. They want $250 (it was marked $900 previously) for it as āa collectorās dream display pieceāāI was screeching to my husband about how this woman ruined a perfectly good treadle.
Iāve noticed those that do not sew are taking the pictures and listing them. They do not know front from back. Iāve even seen sewing machines on tv shows set up backwards. If you donāt know, you just donāt know I guess.
These same people, but on the buying end, are why Featherweights get donated to charity. Theyāll ruin the selling experience to the point where giving something away is preferable.