Sometimes I will just walk away from an auction. The typewriter is good… the price is low but when I check out the other bidders and if they have less than 5 byes on E-bay I will not compete… (not until someone with double digit plus byes enters the picture) then I will re-enter. Dumb? Maybe… but I have enough machines to not want to get in the way of someone about to enjoy the world of typewriters.
That’s very kind and thoughtful of you. I avoid eBay altogether lately, stick to my thrift store hunting grounds. Of course, I’m competing potentially against new converts there as well, but I think the way typewriters fly off shelves at the thrifts, they’re mostly getting snatched by resellers. This is why I do my patrols often.
T. Munk:
Sounds good… I may switch my style once bicycling season is over. I’ve stopped by thrifts while bike riding and it messes up my ride to rush home to get the car.
There are times when I get to play shark on eBay. The less I pay, the guiltier I feel but, at the same time, the more surprised the seller is that some fool saved him a trip to the dump. In my small town, the only typewriters ever to show up ‘live’ are in high end antique shops – and pretty scarcely at that.