Living

Sewing machines can take up a lot of space in your house, especially if the one you have is a heavy, cast-iron behemoth complete with wooden table. Most of us have seen antique sewing machines from time to time, as they’re still fairly common, and you may be someone who ends up inheriting one. While very nice, most likely functional and quite decorative, bulky antique sewing machines can end up being something you’d rather not keep. Unfortunately, for the very same reasons you don’t want your antique sewing machine, other friends or family don’t want it either. Rather than storing it indefinitely, you may want to consider selling the piece of equipment.

Who Should You Sell Your Machine To?

The decision to sell taken, you’ll find yourself at another crossroads. Do you want to sell your antique sewing machine as something of historical or collectible value, do you want to sell it to make as much money as possible, or do you want to sell it as a functional piece of equipment to someone who could use it for making clothes? If your antique sewing machine has some amount of sentimental value, you may want to send it to somewhere you’ll know it will be used and loved for what it can do, or you may want to sell it to someone who will honour it for its age and beauty. You may simply need the money from selling your antique sewing machine for more important things.

Should you decide that a working machine should be put to good use, or your great-aunt Martha would have loved to know someone was using the antique sewing machine to make children for their clothes, you can put an ad in a local newspaper. Most 19th century sewing machines were built very solid and if they’ve been taken care of, probably still work very well. If you think your antique sewing machine has some historical or collectible value, you can take it to an antique dealer and ask what they’d give you for it. For the retail value of your machine, times that amount by two.

Putting the item up for auction on eBay may find your antique sewing machine a good home, as true collectors use the website often for shopping. If you’re planning to auction off your machine to the highest bidder for money purposes, keep an eye on other antique sewing machines being offered on eBay for a couple of weeks before putting up your own. You’ll get a good idea of how much you can expect to receive for your machine, and you’ll have a chance to think twice about auctioning it if prices don’t seem to get pushed very high. You can always go back to that antique dealer who made an offer on your machine, or choose to store your antique sewing machine until demand pushes prices higher.