what should I pay for this Enco lathe?

I wouldn't pay more then $500.00.

Even at that I would have a hard time handing over the cash.
 
I offered $100 for the heck of it. Hope that doesn't insult them, but it IS Ebay, so...

I think it's funny that they didn't take decent pictures or clean up the machine.
 
I would not buy it at all on eBay. First, contact the seller, who is local to you, and make an appointment to see it in person. Then vet it, make sure everything is there and works properly, and then talk pricing, without eBay getting their cut. He can cancel the ad. It does not come with much tooling, and I cannot see if all the change gears are present.
 
I would not buy it at all on eBay. First, contact the seller, who is local to you, and make an appointment to see it in person. Then vet it, make sure everything is there and works properly, and then talk pricing, without eBay getting their cut. He can cancel the ad. It does not come with much tooling, and I cannot see if all the change gears are present.

I sent them a message. Irvine is a bit of a drive, but doable. I'd rather talk on the phone, get more pictures and see what else it comes with.
 
I sent them a message. Irvine is a bit of a drive, but doable. I'd rather talk on the phone, get more pictures and see what else it comes with.
That is also a more honest way of doing business. However, I did not develop eBay's business model, they did. If there are ways to use their system to my advantage, I will take advantage of them. A goodly amount of money gets siphoned off between buyer and seller on eBay, and only eBay gains from that. YMMV.
 
That thing looks like a project. I too purchased an Enco 9x20 lathe except from a local seller and I have been rebuilding it. As mentioned if the change gears are missing you're looking at around $125 just for those (I learned that lesson). How about the other accessories that should come with the lathe? 4 jaw, faceplate, steady rest, follow rest, dead center, live center... You're looking at a lot more money to piece all these components together. I would also just anticipate that there could be some other items needing to be replaced (i.e. half nuts).

Someone has also been turning wood with that lathe and everything on it looks pretty chewy so I would plan on thoroughly having to clean it. This lathe has been on ebay for a long time at this price. Frequently while searching for the missing pieces for my lathe this one would show in the search results on ebay. This lathe is solidly worth no more than $150 given its condition and no mention of additional accessories imho. My advice would be to avoid it and go after a more complete better cared for machine.
 
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My $100 offer got rejected. I sent a message. Not sure how to get around the filters that search for contact info. Ebay wants their cut!
 
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