Have good photography and an active Typosphere helped to inflate prices of used typewriters? You quite often see people on ebay offering, say, a Remington Noiseless Portable with a reserve of £300 - needless to say, they don't sell.
I was I was keeping an eye on a Corona 4 in Duco Channel Blue on ebay - just idle curiosity, you know - and which did sell for a very high price, as did this pretty ordinary-looking Underwood from the same seller. I have ones just like them which cost around £20 a few years ago.
Then there's the article posted yesterday on Technorati about old typers being a good investment. Anyone starting to think about insurance yet? And so much for my dreams one day of finding (and affording) a Lavender and gold C4!
I was I was keeping an eye on a Corona 4 in Duco Channel Blue on ebay - just idle curiosity, you know - and which did sell for a very high price, as did this pretty ordinary-looking Underwood from the same seller. I have ones just like them which cost around £20 a few years ago.
Then there's the article posted yesterday on Technorati about old typers being a good investment. Anyone starting to think about insurance yet? And so much for my dreams one day of finding (and affording) a Lavender and gold C4!
Has the sad day may have arrived when a used typewriter costs many times more than the postage?
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| This is what a £113 Corona 4 in Channel Blue looks like and... |
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| ...this is what a £20 Corona 4 in Channel Blue looks like |
This seller did a good job of posting nice photos and plenty of information. I say he or she earned the good prices.
ReplyDeleteThere are still plenty of sloppy sellers, some of whom can't even spell "typewriter," and if you rummage around through that netherworld you can find great bargains.
Hi Richard: yep - a good sales job, respect. I'm just amazed people kept bidding that much. I can imagine how tempting a blue Corona must be, but a black Underwood for £168? Tempted to try it with one of my least loved machines - but I couldn't bring myself to part with any of them to a stranger for money:-)
ReplyDeleteThat's a pertinent issue for the typosphere... are we inflating the price of typewriters? Have they gone from being attic discards to mass market collectibles in just a few years due to our online ramblings and media-baiting?
ReplyDeleteYes.
ReplyDeleteBut there are still bargains to be had, fear not.
ReplyDelete