This question comes up again and again. But the question itself can be answered in different ways. What’s more, the answer all depends on the motives of the person asking the question.

For instance, what a lot of people REALLY want to know is, “How much money could I get out of this typewriter, if I wanted to sell it?” In this particular case, the answer might seem easy. Simply go to ebay, and see what the other models are selling for, right? Wrong.

Look up any model of typewriter on ebay and you’re bound to see a wide array of prices. From the discouragingly low to the hallucinatory high. So if you have that model and want to sell it, it’s difficult to come up with a real starting price.

The easiest way to find the answer, is to go to the nearest hocking station, and ask the man how much he’d pay. You can double that, and that’s about what you’re likely to get from a typewriter on ebay or craigslist. I can guarantee you that most people are going to be disappointed in that answer. And rightly so… pawn shops are known to pay ridiculously low prices for antiques.

And yet, ebay and craigslist are chock full of people who think their antique typewriters are worth hundreds of dollars. You’ll see a listing selling (or trying to sell) a very common Royal KMM for $500, right next to one selling the same model for $50. And they don’t drop the price after a month of NOT selling it—they’ll keep relisting it for years.

But not everyone wants to sell their typewriter, and sometimes what they’re really asking is, “If I had to replace this exact typewriter, how much would I have to shell out?” And the answer to THAT question is going to be very different from the first one. You’re probably going to pay MORE to replace a typewriter that you would make from selling the same model. Especially if you want to get a typewriter that works.

Confusing?

Think about it from this perspective—As A Buyer:

If I want to buy a typewriter from a previous owner, and it almost doesn’t matter which model we’re talking about, I can count on paying less than $100. Even if none are available right now, typewriters aren’t rare. If I’m looking for a parts machine, no matter what model, I know that I can keep my eyes open and obtain one within a month for less than $25.

I can take my chances, I can buy one of these cheap ones, and maybe it’ll be a bargain… or maybe I’ll end up with a giant paperweight. Either way, I’m only out a little bit of money.

If I want one that it is guaranteed to work, and I don’t want to have to ship it back to the seller, fighting with him/her about guarantees, then I can go the more expensive route. I pay a few hundred dollars, and I know I’ll get a working piece of equipment.

But the only difference between these two is that guarantee… and a reputation to back it up. No matter what Joe Smith says about his mint-condition typewriter, it’s just words on paper. Even if he’s a well-renowned ebay dealer, who always refunds when there’s a problem, he probably doesn’t know a whole lot about typewriters. So how would he know whether or not his vintage prize is really ‘like new’ or if it’s a lemon?

As a buyer, if I’m going to spend a lot of money on a machine, I’m going to do it with someone who:

1 – Knows something about the equipment being sold.
2 – Has some sort of verifiable reputation (whether that’s an ebay history or Google Maps comments)
3 – Gives me some sort of recourse if things don’t work out (like money back/fix it/I leave scathing comment on Google Maps.)

So even if Joe Smith from anywhere USA has a machine that he literally just took out of the box and is in perfect condition, I’d still rather buy from someone who knows a little about typewriters (for the record, if a unit is still brand new after 50 years, the oils have probably begun to solidify, and such a machine would NOT work well).

So, back to the original question: How much is this machine worth?

Let’s take an example. One I’ve already mentioned—the Royal KMM, pre-50’s version. I myself would sell it for $350-$450. That’s after going over every inch of it, making sure every detail is mechanically sound (usually 6 – 10 hours of work). But I wouldn’t spend more than $50 on buying one (because I know that I still have to put in those hours to make it sellable). And if you planned to sell one on ebay or craigslist, I would optimistically expect it to go for around $75… if it sold at all.