The Value of Stuff

[Nicholas Carey]

So in the last couple of months, I've bought two used sewing machines, a mid-70s Kenmore and an early 80s Elna (swiss). The Kenmore retailed in 1976 for about $750 (better than $3,000 of today's dollars, according to the Dept of Labor's CPI calculator). The Elna was probably in the same ballpark. I paid $25 for the Kenmore and $40 for the Elna. Both of them are pretty pristine, though the Elna has lost its attachments, which I'll have to replace. Both of these are high-end mechanical machines with a lot of precision engineering in them.

Yesterday, I scored a c. 1930s White Mountain hand-crank ice cream freezer on eBay, in...OK condition. It's got some rust, a missing screw, etc. To describe these freezers as low-tech is to be kind. In 1927, it cost about $7...close to $100 in today's money. I paid almost $80 for it, nearly as much as it cost new.

Interesting, the relative values people put on things.

FWIW, the current incarnation of White Mountain freezers is owned by Rival and is manufactured in China. Apparently, the gear boxes are such junk (zinc gears, really?) that they tend to fail after just a few batches. And they cost $180 or so.

[Bruce Hooke]

I wonder if the value of sewing machines has gone down because of the big decline in interesting in sewing. This decline may partly be because with most women working, sewing everyday clothing just isn't realistic anymore for most people. Also, the price of clothing has gotten so low that you typically cannot buy the fabric to make something for what it costs to buy the finished item if it is made overseas.

[Keith Wilson]

I think it may have more to do with age. The sewing machines are just old enough to be old, and people really interested in sewing mostly want the newer more sophisticated machines. The ice cream maker is old enough to a Quaint Olde Time Antique, and the price goes up.

[B_B]

23. A rare 1-cent coin from 1793 recently sold for $1.38 million. That sounds amazing until you realize it's an annual return of less than 9%, or about the same as stocks have produced historically.

[Michael D. Storey]

Yeah, stuff. Don't ya love stuff? I do. Why was it designed and built like this; what has it to say about the time since it was new? can I fix/use it? How many goofy things can I turn into lamps and give to newly-weds?
I am pleased to find amusement and sometimes inspiration in the articles that surround my life.

[Bruce Hooke]

I suppose one key question on the sewing machines is not the current value of the dollars they originally cost, but rather what a comparable machine goes for now. I know good sewers who would not really have much need for lots and lots of different stitches and suchlike but who would value really good engineering and things like the ability to go through multiple layers of denim or sew leather. Machines that can do that are worth something to the right person.

[purri]

^ Yep you can't go wrong. I have a high end non elec (manual treadle shaft drive) Singer from the 30's with all the extra bits. Solid as (and $30 in '86).