Does your old Olympia need care? Finding replacement parts for Olympia typewriters isn’t difficult or expensive when you know where to look. Often our old machines just need a few parts to get them running smoothly again. A common dilemma is that these parts can be expensive when purchased from a typewriter dealer/repair shop, and that is if you can find one.
Why not consider buying a complete parts machine? People who sell old Olympia typewriters that they’ve found in an attic or basement often look bad to them, but in reality they just need cleaning and oiling to get them working. The seller has no interest in the machine and does not even think about repairing it, so he sells it at a low price.
Often the price of one of these complete machines is less than the cost of a single part! Olympia typewriters made in Germany were built extremely well and even the saddest looking “junk models” that people sell have plenty of usable parts.
There are several great places to find these once-popular Olympia typewriters. If you like garage sales, this is a great resource during the summer. If you can find a rusty model, it can usually be bought very cheaply. Tell the seller it’s only good as a parts machine and you’ll be surprised how much they could drop the price!
Craigslist is another decent place. The great thing about this online classifieds service is that you can type and search for specific models. If you need an Olympia model 9, write it down. An SM1, SM3, etc., just search for the same model as yours. There’s not likely to be an Olympias jackpot in CL, but there are always typewriters there and there’s a good chance you’ll find at least one Olympia for sale in the course of a week. It’s pretty easy to check!
My favorite is eBay. This online auction site has a great selection of old and vintage machines. Great for finding the specific Olympia typewriter models you may need for parts. On any given day, there are at least a few old Olympias on the list, with new ones being added all the time. Whether you need parts for a Simplex, Splendid, Filia, or any Olympia model, you have a good chance of finding one on eBay. Depending on what you need, it may require some patience as you may need to search for a few days to find your exact model. Once you have the machine you will have all those extra parts for future use and that is a great thing as Olympias are getting harder to come by with each passing year.