Category: Letterpress for beginners
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Reasonable offer?

Hello all,

So in my long (5 year) journey to find the perfect table top press, I have stumbled across a beautiful Craftsman 5X8 here in my home city.

I need your help and knowledge in coming up with a reasonable offer as I really am hoping to have this press in my hands by the end of the weekend.

The specs:
Craftsman Machinery Co.
5x8
Ready to print with a little wear on the rollers (will need to be recovered shortly.
Original finish (a little grimy, but no rust on the platen or the rest of the press)
Seller not willing to ship (which is fine by me, but narrows the market considerably for the seller)

Any insight?

Thanks in advance.

Log in to reply   8 replies so far

  • dickg
  • on 25 Mar 11 (10:14)

Craftsman is a good press, make sure there is a chase with it and roller trucks Round things that go on each end of the rollers. Make sure there are no cracks or welds in the press especially the bed and platen. Ask him if he had a price in mind then you can offer a little less. Rollers don’t last too long, you can figure a set will cost you close to $200. Good Luck Dick G.

Hi Dick,

It has a chase and the trucks and there are no cracks or welds (I was there to see it just the other day). Thank you for the info.

Lindsey

  • Yombe
  • on 25 Mar 11 (21:08)

The seller for my Chandler & Price Pilot Press used a website service called “Ubid.com” - - http://www.ubid.com/ which allows the Seller to request bids from trucking/shipping companies. The Seller sets up the request, stating the dimensions, weight, pick up location, drop off location, time constraints, etc., then waits for online bids from rated companies. (My Chandler & Price Pilot Press, weighing 170 pounds, shipped in 3 days from Scottsdale, AZ to Dallas, TX for approx. $109.) My carrier had a high percentage of positive responses and was extremely conscientious about checking in, reporting his whereabouts and ETA.

Is 1000 too high? There is one online for 1350 completely restored..but then I would have to pay shipping.

  • dickg
  • on 26 Mar 11 (03:36)

Price is a hard thing to determine, it all depends on how bad you want it, if you can pick it up that saves shipping, which if these aren’t packed right can end up broken beyond repair. I had one of these about 8 years ago, i paid $100 for it and sold it a few years later for $200, the same press today is selling for $1200. If you have been looking for 5 years and you just found one i would grab it. Dick G.

Thank you for the coaching! Your input is much appreciated.

I would take it!
I think people living in the US are quite lucky as i think there are a number of presses about..
I live in Dubai, where nobody has heard of these presses before!
i got myself an adana from caslon, which after shipping and customs duty, turned out to be very very expensive.
but again, i simply HAD to have it, and my life is so much sweeter now.

It’s mine and at my house is one piece. :) Thanks for the help everyone.