Okay, so I finally decided it was time to let go of my old sweater knitting machine. It’s been sitting in the corner for ages, honestly. Just collecting dust. I kept telling myself I’d use it again, you know how it is, but life gets busy and it just wasn’t happening.
First thing, I had to drag it out from the back room and give it a good clean. Took me a whole afternoon, no joke. Wiped everything down, checked all the needles – surprisingly, most were still okay, not bent or rusted. I spent some time digging around and found the manual and all the bits and pieces that came with it. You know, the weights, some punch cards, the transfer tools, the whole lot. Figured that would make it easier to sell if someone got the complete package.
Then I actually tested it. I threaded up some scrap yarn I had lying around. Didn’t want someone buying a dud and then complaining. Ran some yarn through, cast on, did a few rows, made a small sample swatch. Seemed to knit okay, the carriage moved smoothly enough. That was a relief, honestly.
Took some photos after that. Nothing fancy, just used my phone in good daylight. Tried to get good angles, show the model number sticker, show any scratches or wear too. Wanted to be upfront about its condition, it’s definitely not brand new.
Putting it Out There
Decided to list it online. Didn’t want to deal with shipping something this bulky and heavy, nightmare. So I put it on a couple of those local selling websites, like Facebook Marketplace, and also posted in a knitting forum I sometimes visit, in their classifieds section.
Pricing was a bit of a guess. I looked online to see what similar used machines were going for. Some were priced way too high, some suspiciously low. I didn’t want to ask for the moon, but didn’t want to just give it away either, it was a decent machine back in its day. Set a price, but I made sure to put ‘or best offer’ because, really, I just wanted it gone more than anything.
Here’s what I basically put in the ad, trying to keep it simple:
- Used sweater knitting machine, model XYZ (whatever it was).
- It works, managed to knit a test piece (showed the swatch picture).
- Comes with all original parts I could find (listed the main ones like weights, tools, manual).
- It’s old, bit dusty from storage, some normal signs of use (pointed these out in photos).
- Selling because I just don’t use it anymore and need the space.
- Important: Pickup only, because this thing is heavy! Bring a friend maybe.
Got a few messages pretty quick after listing. You know how it goes. A bunch of people just asking “is this still available?” and then radio silence when I said yes. So annoying. One person actually asked if I could deliver it halfway across the state. Yeah, right. Another asked if I could spend an afternoon teaching them how to use it if they bought it. Seriously? I’m trying to get rid of it, not start a tutoring business!
Had one person try to lowball me ridiculously. Offered less than half of what I was asking. Didn’t even bother replying to that one. Just not worth the energy haggling over pennies.
Finally, someone seemed genuinely interested. They asked some sensible questions, like about the specific needle gauge and the condition of the sponge bar. We messaged back and forth a few times. They made a reasonable offer, a little bit lower than my asking price, but honestly, it was fair enough and I was ready to be done with it. So I accepted.
Arranging the pickup was the next step. We found a time over the weekend that worked for both of us. They showed up when they said they would, which was nice. Had a quick look at the machine, seemed happy enough with it. Handed over the cash, no fuss. Then they and their partner hauled it away. Watching them load it into their car was a moment of pure relief. Phew.
Glad That’s Over
Honestly, it feels good having it gone. It’s a weight off my shoulders, and definitely freed up some much-needed space in that room. Took a bit of effort, you know, the cleaning, taking pictures, writing the ad, dealing with all the messages back and forth, but it was worth it in the end. Got it out of the house and hopefully into the hands of someone who might actually use it again.
Selling stuff like this, especially bigger items, definitely takes patience. You gotta clean it up properly, be totally honest about what condition it’s in, and just be prepared to deal with some time-wasters and silly questions. But yeah, glad I finally got around to doing it.
