Singer 222 for a dollar
 

The other day I was faffing about online loking at the prices of singer
301's just to see what the price of them might be, I am not really
planning on buying one anytime soon.

The prices seemed to run between about $80 and $200-some, which seemed
to be roughly correlated with whether it was just the machine, or
whether it came with the accessories, a buttonholer, a case, etc.

Well, any way, I also happened to see some listings for the Singer 222
(featherweight with a freearm), which I undrstand are quite valuable to
collectors because of their relative rarity, and the prices ranged from
$1000-1500, however there was one where the price listed was $1, plus
shipping of about $50.

There are a few explanations I can think of for this low price:

The machine is beyond repair and thus worth just $1. However, if I had
a sewing machine in this bad a condition, I probably would not bother
putting it on EBAY or some other online auction. Perhaps collectors
will even buy a 222 that is in non-working shape, but if that were the
case I would charge a lot more than $1.

However, according to the information with the listing, the machine had
been refurbished, tested, and was in certified working order, and there
was a picture with sample stitching from this machine.

Perhaps it was simply a mistake, and has been corrected sometime between
my seeing the listing and when I posted this message.

Or, finally, perhaps this was done on purpose, with the hopes that
collectors would see this listing, think something like "wow, a 222 for
just $1," and would get into a bidding war and pushing the price way
above the $1000-1500 range
--
Brian Christiansen