another SS?

[reubenjames]

Personally, I would never pay more than 1/3 the price of a new SPT, whatever that price point is for that particular item, unless I was completely sure about the condition, source, and maintenance of it AND I really wanted / needed it. Even then, I'd never push past the 50% retail mark on a used, though, because with patience eventually you will get one for that or less. Also, in reality, most SPT's or SS's you buy used need a break down, de-rusting, cleaning, tuning, etc. even if they look clean on the outside (30 minutes of effort can make most of them look pretty "well-maintained" on the outside, and while a lot of sellers don't even bother to do that, a smart one will), and it's very hard to tell from a little sawdust or no sawdust on the outside what things are like on the inside (or how they will run).
Of course, everything depends on what is of value to you, your price point, your patience level, the urgency of your needs, etc. There is no magic number, but if scroll saw on a stand is nearing $1k (I only see the Mark V's on the website at the moment?) then I would typically max out at $300 - $350, personally. Again, immaculate condition and urgent need could drive me as far as $500, but that would also have to involve the need for the stand version in particular. A Mark V mounted scroll is $700 and so $200 to $250 is more what I would look to pay for a scroll saw if I wasn't bent on having one on a stand.

[jsburger]

Personally, I would never pay more than 1/3 the price of a new SPT, whatever that price point is for that particular item, unless I was completely sure about the condition, source, and maintenance of it AND I really wanted / needed it. Even then, I'd never push past the 50% retail mark on a used, though, because with patience eventually you will get one for that or less. Also, in reality, most SPT's or SS's you buy used need a break down, de-rusting, cleaning, tuning, etc. even if they look clean on the outside (30 minutes of effort can make most of them look pretty "well-maintained" on the outside, and while a lot of sellers don't even bother to do that, a smart one will), and it's very hard to tell from a little sawdust or no sawdust on the outside what things are like on the inside (or how they will run).
Of course, everything depends on what is of value to you, your price point, your patience level, the urgency of your needs, etc. There is no magic number, but if scroll saw on a stand is nearing $1k (I only see the Mark V's on the website at the moment?) then I would typically max out at $300 - $350, personally. Again, immaculate condition and urgent need could drive me as far as $500, but that would also have to involve the need for the stand version in particular. A Mark V mounted scroll is $700 and so $200 to $250 is more what I would look to pay for a scroll saw if I wasn't bent on having one on a stand.

You are spot on with all you said. eBay or local if you wait long enough you will usually find what you want. Locally over the years I have bought 5 10ER's with speed changers for an average of $100 each. My wife's virtually brand new Teal stand alone scroll saw was stolen for $135. I also scored two immaculate Pro planers for two friends for $150 and $100.

[ERLover]

I agree Ruben, at least in my market area. I commonly come across Mark V with a jointer and SPT jig saw in the 3-400$ range. I just posted in bargain available, a stand alone BS here in my area on CL they were asking 150$, I bought one like it for 100$ last fall. I only had to do a bit of blade bearing/guide adjustment on it and it was missing one table mounting bolt.