A snapshot of recent eBay sold prices for vintage Royal portables — Quiet De Luxe, Futura, HH — plus the adjacent Hermes 3000 and Olympia SM models that collectors search alongside. The split between common grey and a 1950s lavender or pink Quiet De Luxe in working condition is where the reseller margin lives.
| Pattern / piece | Sold for | Sold |
|---|---|---|
| Vintage Royal Desktop Typewriter Black Crinkle Finish Glass Keys 1940s Era | $25 | Jul 18 |
| Powder Blue Royal Jet Typewriter • Ultra-Portable w/Case • Japan-Made, 1969 | $169 | Jul 18 |
| 1952 Royal Quiet De Luxe Typewriter w/Case - Free Shipping - Pics & Vid - Nice! | $120 | Jul 18 |
| Vintage Early 1960s Royal Safari Manual Typewriter with Case | $135 | Jul 17 |
| [EXC] Royal Royalite Companion Turquoise Portable Typewriter w Case Ssrviced | $175 | Jul 17 |
Snapshot estimated from recent eBay sold-listings data. Numbers refresh every Sunday. For an exact current price on a specific piece, scan it.
The vintage Royal market has two buyer bases — writers and journalers buying a working portable to type on, and decorators buying machines for shelf styling, photography, and interior design. The split has consequences: a working Quiet De Luxe is 2-3x a non-working one, and "decorator" pricing is its own tier for broken or seized examples. The reseller margin lives in the colored Quiet De Luxes from the 1950s and in clean working examples of the entry-tier black and grey machines.
The floor is common Quiet De Luxe and Futura models in standard finishes — black, grey, beige — in working condition, running $60-$180. The middle tier is sought-after color variants and adjacent models — the seafoam or sand Quiet De Luxes, the Royal HH in working condition with its original case, and the Hermes 3000 (a Swiss-made portable widely grouped with Royals in collector searches) — running $200-$450. The top tier is rare colorway and mint-condition examples — lavender, pink, or mint-green Quiet De Luxes in original paint with working mechanism — running $500-$900+.
A working Royal is 2-3x a non-working one in the same model and color. "Decorator" pricing applies only to broken, seized, or partially-functional examples that buyers purchase for styling and display rather than typing. Sellers should test every typewriter before listing: load a sheet, type every letter and number, check the bell, check the margin release, check the line spacing, check the ribbon advance. Disclose any issues honestly — buyers returning a typewriter advertised as "working" that doesn't actually work is the fastest way to tank seller reputation. Clean cosmetics plus a working mechanism is the premium combination; clean cosmetics with a seized carriage trades in the decorator floor.
Royal produced standard black, grey, and beige finishes for most of its run. The lavender, pink, mint-green, and seafoam Quiet De Luxes from the 1950s were limited consumer colorways marketed as fashion-oriented portable typewriters for the post-war home market. Production runs were short. Surviving examples in original paint with intact decals and clean color command real premiums — a working lavender or pink example in clean cosmetic condition can clear $600-$900. Faded paint, repainted bodies, replacement parts, and shell scuffs drop the price dramatically. Buyers are paying specifically for original factory color; repainted machines do not command the same premium.
Royal searches surface alongside two other portable lines that collectors group together: the Hermes 3000 (Swiss-made, cult following from mid-century writers, including Jack Kerouac references) trades $300-$700 working. The Olympia SM7 and Olympia SM9 (German-made, widely considered to type as well or better than the Hermes) trade $150-$350 working. The Hermes 3000 premium reflects literary association more than mechanical superiority — for resellers, the Olympia line and the colored Royal Quiet De Luxes often offer better margin per find at typical garage-sale supply rates.
Royal-compatible ribbons are still manufactured in universal 1/2-inch widths that fit nearly all vintage Royals and many other vintage typewriters of the same era. Specialty typewriter shops and Etsy sellers carry fresh black, black-and-red, and colored ribbons. Adding a fresh ribbon before listing typically nets more than disclosing "needs ribbon." Original carrying cases add 20-40% to the listing value when present, and intact original instruction manuals or warranty cards add another 10-15%. The case alone — without the typewriter — is sellable to collectors who own an uncased example.
Hunting vintage typewriters in person? Find garage sales near you on MapMySales — vintage portables surface most often at estate sales of writers, journalists, and mid-century professionals, and the right Saturday morning route remains the lowest-cost-per-find way to source the colored Quiet De Luxes before they hit the resale market.
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Yes — a working Quiet De Luxe is 2-3x a non-working one in the same model and color. "Decorator" pricing applies only to broken, seized, or partially-functional examples that buyers purchase for styling, photography, or display rather than typing. Sellers should test every typewriter before listing: load a sheet, type every letter and number, check the bell, check the margin release, check the line spacing, check the ribbon advance. Disclose any issues honestly — buyers returning a "working" typewriter that doesn't actually work is the fastest way to tank seller reputation in this category. A clean cosmetic + working mechanism is the premium combination.
Royal produced standard black, grey, and beige finishes for most of its consumer typewriter run. The lavender, pink, mint-green, and seafoam Quiet De Luxes from the 1950s were limited consumer colorways — Royal marketed them as fashion-oriented portable typewriters aimed at the post-war home market — and the production runs were short. Surviving examples in original paint with intact decals and clean color command serious premiums. A standard grey Quiet De Luxe in working condition runs $80-$140; a working lavender or pink example in clean cosmetic condition can clear $600-$900. Faded paint, repainted bodies, and replacement parts drop the price dramatically — buyers are paying for original factory color.
Royal-compatible ribbons are still manufactured in universal 1/2-inch widths that fit nearly all vintage Royals (Quiet De Luxe, Futura, HH) and many other vintage typewriters of the same era. Specialty typewriter shops like Bremerton Office Machine Co., Mr. & Mrs. Vintage Typewriter, and various Etsy sellers carry fresh black, black-and-red, and colored ribbons in twin-spool configurations. Universal 1/2-inch ribbon is the standard — if the original spools are intact and undamaged, a fresh ribbon installation takes 10 minutes and revives the typewriter immediately. Adding a fresh ribbon before listing typically nets more than disclosing "needs ribbon."
The Hermes 3000 has a cult following from writers — Jack Kerouac and other mid-century literary figures used Hermes machines, and the typewriter has a reputation for the smoothest carriage return and quietest action in the portable category. Pricing reflects desirability more than raw typing quality: working Hermes 3000s in clean condition trade $300-$700. The Olympia SM7 and SM9 are widely considered to type as well or better at a fraction of the price ($150-$350 working). For collectors and writers chasing the literary association, the Hermes premium makes sense; for resellers, the Olympia and Royal Quiet De Luxe lines often offer better margin per find at typical garage-sale supply.