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Have a typewriter?

neenee

neenee

No Woman No Cry
Joined
Feb 12, 2010
Messages
776
Where did you find it?

I have wanted one forever and finally it is my birthday soon and DH is willing to buy me that but, I don't know where I should look. Ebay? I know garage sales might be good but don't know how often I could find something like that. I might drive all over my big city and never find one.
 
<rant>

oh hay!
i love my typewriters! super hard.

i've picked up one at a flea market, three at a thrift shop, and one at an antique shop.
bet you can guess where the cheaper ones are from. ha.

it just depends. on the day and the place.
i picked up two at once at a thrift shop.
i was super excited.
but i would go in there almost every week.
and sometimes they had some that were not cute. so i passed without hesitation.

have you thought about brand? or color? electric? or are you open to them all?
i tried to limit myself at first to only mint green portable typewriters...
yeah... that lasted two... then i had to have more.

i also have friends who know me well and keep eyes open for me.
they text as soon as they see one.
i tell them how to check it, and sometimes if the price is right, i'll buy a broken one.
oo. and i forgot about that in the count. it was about $15 i think i gave my friend $5 for her 'troubles' and some of the keys don't work.
i don't mind, because the color is beautiful, and some can just be for show.

i have a typewriter table in the living room which holds one desktop on the top, and one portable on the bottom.
which i don't think wesley likes at all, but he deals with my love.

is this too much of a rant?
sorry.
you got me excited. :D

test them!
they don't like kids to type on the keys, but if you are interested in purchasing it, then feel free to test the keys.
see if any get stuck on the return, and decide if that is something that is important to you.
see if the ribbon is in good use.
you may pay $50 for one but then will have to search hours for a ribbon.
thats another thing, check if anywhere local has ribbon.

don't be afraid to haggle with some places.
they aren't ipads, everyone doesn't need one.
also if they are going to need some fixing that is a great point too.
if you can find them with the manual A+
only one of mine has the manual, and it's great for repairs
it also came with a typing guide that i framed.

ok...
this is enough. :D
let me know if you have more questions, as clearly, i can talk about this for hours.

</rant>
 
If you look on Etsy, you should be able to find plenty. I was just lucky that I found one within 10kms of where I live as the weight to ship would make postage unviable. But I've seen loads in America that I'd love but obviously I can only just wish! Just do a search on there for 'typewriter' maybe 'vintage typewriter' and I'm sure you'll see quite a few.
 
I started looking in January and found one right away on Craigslist. There are always a ton listed on there!
 
My first I found mine on eBay. $15 bucks for the typewriter plus $15 for shipping. I took a chance and totally lucked out. It needed a good cleaning and new ribbon but other than that it was perfect....pure dumb luck that I got it.
 
Oh wow..... thank you Heather for all of that information. I may have to hit you up if I have any questions later. ;) I have no idea what I want. I can only afford about $100. I really need to just make a point to visit some thrift and antique shops. Oh and flea markets! I may have hubby take me to one tomorrow just to have a looksie! I have become obsessed with your typewriter fonts - in fact The Dry Ribbon is my fave. I use it on about um....75% of my layouts. LOL
So, I really, really want to have a typewriter so I can type on my PL stuff. Hubby thinks I am nuts but....oh well. hee hee

I will have to check Craig's List too.

I am just so excited that I hope I can wait for the best deal. I am not the most patient person in the world.
 
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