Where do people get typewriters from?

[Will]

I've been looking around online but all the typewriters I've seen have been far outside the price range of your average zine writer. And before someone suggests it: I'm a frequent browser of charity shops and in all my years I've not once seen a typewriter for sale. So for those of you who use typewriters, where the bloody hell did you get them from?! Are they hand-me-downs, second hand lucky finds, not actually yours? In case you couldn't tell, this puzzle has been bugging me for a while now...

[Harley R. Pageot]

I too searched yard sales and thrift stores for years to no avail.  I pretty much gave up until a friend of mine somehow came up with two and gave me one.  I believe one was a hand-me-down from his mom and the other he stumbled across at a big flea market.

[James N. Dawson]

Somebody on the Portable Typewriter Forum is giving away their collection, 90 to 100 typewriters.

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/theportabletypewriterforum/message/25503

I think you have to join the group to read the message, but they include old antiques, they all work, and they're free.

[Catherine Elms]

Try gumtree.com, a great tool for finding random things in your area :)

[Alicia]

I got mine from ebay. it's vintage and blue and gorgeous. I paid $5 winning bid, and $30 shipping! lol I nearly got a second typewriter from an auction barn. Someone got it in an odd lot of stuff and then left it for trash. I was gonna to take it, but new hubby would kill me over another typewriter (he's a type A neatnik)

 

I'd suggest finding some auctions near you. There's a website called "auction zip" where you can find listings for sales near you, and then sometimes the auctioneer even shows pictures of whats for sale.

 

ETA: I know by some standards I overpaid for my typewriter, when you consider shipping, but I adore it and don't regret it one bit!

[Will]

Catherine Elms said:

Try gumtree.com, a great tool for finding random things in your area :)

Yes! =D I really should have updated this, because I looked on gumtree about a week back and found a few for around £20, though lots of them were pricier and the ones that price were electric. Still, I can consider the mystery of where UK zinesters get their typewriters from solved. Cheers to everyone who's replied, and of course, nobody should be dissuaded from replying simply because I've got my answer.

[doyle]

I got mine for 89 on Amazon ... the same exact model I used in college years ago. I never see them around here in shops or at thrift stores or garage sales, so I just caved and bought it on Amazon because I really wanted one.

[kelley]

my mom found mine in a thrift store for me. if i were you, let your close friends/family know you're looking for one, and to keep their eyes out for you. once i did that, i found one relatively fast. but yea, thrift stores are probably your best bet. also, craigslist!

[Myles Leon]

I got mine, from my Uncle's deceased father...Everyone thought it was an accordion, before we opened the case! XD

But yeah, Ebay sells them ALL the time!

[Emma Jane Falconer]

I've never seen cheap typewriters in places like London or Brighton. My tip is to go to charity shops in small towns/distant suburbs, they often have a better selection of stuff at cheaper prices. I got both my typewriters forabout £3 each.

If you're ever around oxford they have an amazing charity sale at a sue ryder hospice in a village called nettlebed every 3 weeks, and they have a *shed full of typewriters*. Everything's really cheap because they try to shift everything in one day, and the donations are good because it's a rich area.

[Emma Jane Falconer]

Got the ribbons from ebay for a couple of quid too.

[Eunice]

I bought an Olivetti Tropical portable on ebay yesterday. It arrived this morning! (I'd also ordered a new ribbon for it and that came today too!) The Imperial my husband bought me is lovely, but it doesn't work, bless it. It's just too old. So I bought the Olivetti. Try ebay, they have loads of typewriters in auctions and" buy it now".