Selling Very Old Sewing Machines on Ebay

Financial_Savvy

I have two very old sewing machines to sell, and I wanted to try Ebay.

The first is a Singer, and I see lots on Ebay so I am going to see what they go far. How do I ship something so heavy? I see some people charging up to £15, do you send this via ParcelForce?

The second one is a Rhein Gold - can't see any on Ebay has anyone ever heard of this make? It is very old and comes with a desk that the sewing machine fits into.

Thanks for your help

patman99

You will need to wrap the machine in bubble wrap to prevent damage, then box it up and weigh it. Once you know the weight you can get a quote from a company like Parcels2go or Royal Mail.

Don't forget to photograph the machines before packing.

Strapped

Old sewing machines go well on eBay - be sure to describe the condition accurately and take lots of photographs. It matters whether you have the original box and accessories so make sure you mention this. Then wrap, and wrap some more in bubble wrap, put in a double-walled box for shipping (and add more wrap or packing chips so it doesn't move around in the box), weigh and get a quote from one of the courier companies. There is a thread on this section where you may get some ideas for courier companies. If it weighs less than 30kg then you should expect to pay less than £10, + insurance if you need it (most companies include £20 / £50 or £100 worth of insurance - check the small print).

jasmineswhiskers

I have an old Singer which I still use - they are very heavy and I wouldn't like to try sending one. Depending where you live (the Highlands of Scotland probably not the best location) then you could state pick up only. If you wait for a free listing day (they seem to be quite frequent) then you could start at a higher price / price you are willing to accept.

Financial_Savvy

Thanks for the comments.

Has anybody ever heard of the Rhein Gold make of sewing machine? This comes with a desk and the sewing machine fits into some slots on the top.

I can't see any other of these items on Ebay, but lots of the Singer.

Strapped

jasmineswhiskers wrote: »

I have an old Singer which I still use - they are very heavy and I wouldn't like to try sending one. Depending where you live (the Highlands of Scotland probably not the best location) then you could state pick up only. If you wait for a free listing day (they seem to be quite frequent) then you could start at a higher price / price you are willing to accept.

No, pack it - you will make much more.

forgotmyname

Lucky dip on these, I watched some a while back & they sold for 99p or £2.99, Postage charges put some people off.

Dont start it for less than your willing to sell it for.

martindow

There are huge numbers of old sewing machines around so prices can be low. Maybe your Singer has little value but the Rheingold could interest collectors if it is a rare item.

Emmylou_2

Depending on the model, Singers can make an AWFUL lot of money, particularly if they're pre-mid-50s-ish (!) and therefore cast iron (and gorgeous) rather than aluminium.

BF and I do medieval re-enactment (and he makes the clothes - I can't sew for toffee!) and he loves an old Singer for this - less to go wrong, fewer parts to break. Best Mate has a hand-cranked machine from the 1890s and, apparently, it's an absolute dream to use. She only bought it (at a car boot sale) because it looks nice!

We actually drove a 100 mile round trip to get his latest purchase - mainly because of the lovely cabinet it was in. Apparently 90% of all sewing machines have a Singer-standardised fitting, so if he needs to do something "technical", he can whip the hand-cranked one off and pop his super-duper-high-tech-but-breaks-a-lot machine onto the cabinet.