How to price a Vandercook SP15

Hello fellow printermakers!!

I have a Vandercook SP15 in great shape that I would like to sell. However, I don’t know the going price and haven’t seen any recent sales to help me. If you have any ideas, please let me know. Thanks! Liz

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It all depends where you are based. In the US people are willing to pay thousands of dollars for these presses. Here in Europe, test presses are still available for 500-1000 euros… However, some people are trying to push the prices up here as well. I paid 700 euros for a Vandercook Universal I and 500 euros for a Korrex Stuttgart. What is more important, is that the press ends up with someone who will and can use it!

Location is everything, if you are in California you can get five to ten times what it would bring in Europe. Have a search around the classifieds/forums and you’ll get a decent sense of their pricing over the last couple of years.

I bought my SP-15 last year in Norway, where they are rarer than hens teeth, and paid about $1500. When I lived in the Bay Area, they were frequently sold for ten times that.

I agree with both of you. Location is key. I’m in Toronto, Ontario. I haven’t seen any SP15s posted recently, but I understand that they have been fetching high prices. Thanks.

Don Black’s is in Scarborough. They are nice people. If you stopped by and asked Don or Craig, they might give you an idea. I would be very humble in talking to them, as they have much more experience and knowledge than most of us. Who knows, you might find something else in that fascinating place, that you can’t live without.

There is also CBBAG, and some of those people print.

https://cbbag.wildapricot.org/

Maybe they might know value, or one of them might want to buy your press. I know you want to get a fair price for it, and that is certainly understandable, but by my way of thinking, it is also important to find it a good home.

There is also some kind of a public printmaking studio in Hamilton, but I don’t know much about it, other than the fact that it is there. The CABBAG people will probably know about it, though.

There is one for sale this week on Briar Press for $12,000. Then there is also an SP-20 in SF on auction that failed to get a bid at $11,000, and is now on auction again. It all depends on condition, location, and what the buyer is willing to pay. The SP models are lighter weight and simpler construction than something like a Universal, so I would tend to price an SP-15 under $10K.