- Fri Dec 18, 2020 4:48 am
#11946
I could not begin to give an authoritative number on the lot from the pictures. The best I can do is give you a rough-order-of-magnitude opinion. That opinion is based on what I have seen going on in my area. There used to be a lot of textile around here so machines are plentiful, though most have been used really hard.
Your best bet for getting good numbers on the lot is to look at your local FB marketplace, Offerup, Craigslist, sewing machine shops, etc to get an idea of what similar machines are going for in your area. By looking at the age of ads you might even be able to get some idea of how hard it is to sell stuff off.
Condition and functionality is everything and these appear to be well cared for and in an active shop, so their condition is good and they work. All of the tables seem to be in great shape. I have no idea what the motors are, though I'd guess they are all older clutch motors. Those aren't that desirable and many folks will subtract the cost of a servo motor from the seller's asking price.
The Adler Chandler ought to be worth $600-$800. The downside to it is that parts are not as readily available as they would be for a Juki or Consew and they will be more expensive. It's a dang good machine, though.
The bartacker thing looks like it might be a PFAFF and it could fetch $400-$500 depending on what it is and what it will do or can be set up to do.
The Singer could fetch $200-$300.
Blind stitchers, in some locales, can't be given away so figure it's valued at $150. The overlock is an old Brother that does a 514 stitch. I think they might have been made by Pegasus and parts might be available. The 514 stitch is a good one and quite handy in garment manufacturing. That said, it is an old machine. Maybe $150. Much more than that and one would be better served to get a Juki 2514 of similar vintage for just a bit more cash.
What all that means is that you've got some boob on an internet forum saying the lot is worth $1800. You'd have to lay out that much, in very rough terms, to get a $700 machine, and then try and sell off some stuff that may not be very saleable. There's not much call for old Brother overlocks and US blindstitchers. You could get stuck with them. The bartacker could be something you could move, but it could take a while. The Singer is a great machine but they are like Chevy Silverados and F-150s. Everybody has one, maybe even two.
If you have a motivated seller and can get the lot at a very attractive price (such that your risk of getting stuck with some of it is covered) it could make good sense to buy the lot. It's going to be a bit of a hassle, though, simply transporting (heavy, very heavy), storing (you're gonna need a bigger shed), and marketing what you don't want (dozens of Cheeto-fingered basement dwelling Craigslist doofi will be calling offering $50 for '...yer old sown machine. My mama had one like that but it all stuck') . Since I'm essentially a shiftless and lazy bum, I'd be looking for a machine like the Adler Chandler, but with a Consew or Juki brand name. Parts and accessories are widely available and pretty inexpensive.
"Sting like a butterfly..."