Olympia · 1953–c. 1960
Typical used$270–$525
The Olympia SM3 is the 1950s De Luxe model of Olympia's SM portable series, built in Wilhelmshaven, West Germany. It was introduced in 1953, and the Typewriter Database records SM3s through 1959. Compared with the cheaper SM2 it adds a tabulator with manual stops (tab stops are set by hand at the back of the machine), and it moved the margin sets to the top of the carriage. It is a segment-shift portable: the type basket moves for capitals, so the carriage stays put and the touch is light. A wide-carriage version with a boxier case was also made. The SM3 is very common on eBay: in late 2026 about 34 were listed, mostly $270–525 delivered. Colour drives price; burgundy, cream, mint and blue ask more than grey, and script typefaces far more.
Buying guide
From Oct 1, 2026 listings
34 SM3s are listed (one for parts), most at $270–525 delivered. Color drives the price: burgundy, cream, mint and the rarer blues ask more than gray, and serviced script-typeface machines run $1,850–2,050. Few are sold as serviced, so budget about $100 for a clean if the segment has gone sticky. Check the layout, since several are German QWERTZ. Red flags: a brown 1958 SM3 appears twice under one title, once from a zero-feedback seller, and one probably serviced machine has custom paint. Bargain hunters should watch the burgundy auction; the $302 working one is the safe buy.
A burgundy SM3 De Luxe with its original case, a no-bid auction at about $175 delivered, ending around Oct 2, from a 100% seller. It will climb; a sensible max is about $275 delivered, below the $302 working one. Ask whether it types, since testing isn't mentioned.
Olympia SM3 DeLuxe Burgundy Maroon Typewriter With Original Case
A 1950s SM3 with its case, listed as working, $302 with free shipping and Best Offer from a 99.1% seller — near the bottom of the $270–525 band. Ask for a typed sample and confirm the layout, since many German-sold SM3s are QWERTZ.
Nice 1950s Olympia SM3 Typewriter W/Case GERMANY Works
A 1958 mint-green SM3 with its case from typewritermechanic, a 100% specialist seller, at about $481 delivered, inside the band. The title doesn't say serviced, so ask what work was done and for a typed sample before paying the premium over the $302 one.
1958 Olympia SM3 De Luxe Typewriter • Mint Green • West Germany • w/Ca
The title, cut off at 'Servi…', reads as serviced, which would make this the least work of the mid-priced SM3s at about $471 delivered from a 98.5% seller. Confirm the service in the description, and note the olive is a custom repaint.
Olympia SM3 De Luxe Typewriter Vintage Germany 1959 Custom Olive Servi
Serviced, robin's-egg blue, with a cursive script typeface — a rare combination on an SM3 — at about $1,859 delivered with Best Offer from a 100% seller. It's the low end of the serviced script SM3s here; ask for a typed sample of the full script set.
Rare SERVICED Robin Egg Powder Blue CURSIVE Script Olympia SM3 1958 Ty
An SM3 De Luxe with its case, sold for parts or repair, about $178 delivered ($98 plus $80 shipping) with Best Offer from a 100% seller. That's about $124 under the working $302 machine, enough for a $100 clean if the fault is minor; ask exactly what's wrong, and offer on the item price.
Vintage Olympia SM3 De Luxe Typewriter w/ Case West Germany Parts Repa
Delivered prices include shipping as eBay quoted it to a US address on Oct 1, 2026. Many sellers charge by distance, so your total may differ — eBay shows your exact total before you buy.
Snapshot
8 of 34 listed
Snapshot captured — listings may have ended
Delivered prices include shipping as eBay quoted it to a US address on Oct 1, 2026. Many sellers charge by distance, so your total may differ — eBay shows your exact total before you buy.
UsedOlympia SM3 DeLuxe Burgundy Maroon Typewriter With Original Case
$150.00 + $24.95 shipping
Auction · no bids yet · ends in 1d 5h
Good buy
Burgundy with the original case, no-bid auction ending around Oct 2. Testing not mentioned.
Seller: walkingtan
100% positive from 6.5K ratings
UsedNice 1950s Olympia SM3 Typewriter W/Case GERMANY Works
$302.25 · free shipping
Buy It Now$302.25
This seller takes offers, and sellers often accept less than the asking price.
Fine if you might miss it? Send an offer first. Someone else can still buy it while you wait for a reply.
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Good buy
Works per the seller, with the case, $302 with free shipping.
Seller: swansshack
99.1% positive from 7.1K ratings
Used1958 Olympia SM3 De Luxe Typewriter • Mint Green • West Germany • w/Ca
$439.00 + $42.46 shipping
Buy It Now$439.00
This seller takes offers, and sellers often accept less than the asking price.
Fine if you might miss it? Send an offer first. Someone else can still buy it while you wait for a reply.
Want it for sure? Use Buy It Now.
Good buy
1958 mint green from a specialist seller, about $481 delivered. Ask whether it was serviced.
Seller: typewritermechanic
100% positive from 117 ratings
UsedOlympia SM3 De Luxe Typewriter Vintage Germany 1959 Custom Olive Servi
$400.63 + $70.00 shipping
Buy It Now$400.63
Good buy
Probably serviced; the title is cut off. Custom olive paint, so not original finish.
Seller: japan.barracudaworks
98.5% positive from 198 ratings
ServicedRare SERVICED Robin Egg Powder Blue CURSIVE Script Olympia SM3 1958 Ty
$1,799.99 + $59.00 shipping
Buy It Now$1,799.99
This seller takes offers, and sellers often accept less than the asking price.
Fine if you might miss it? Send an offer first. Someone else can still buy it while you wait for a reply.
Want it for sure? Use Buy It Now.
Good buy
Serviced, robin's-egg blue with cursive script type, about $1,859 delivered.
Seller: gwengamo
100% positive from 288 ratings
For partsVintage Olympia SM3 De Luxe Typewriter w/ Case West Germany Parts Repa
$98.00 + $80.28 shipping
Buy It Now$98.00
This seller takes offers, and sellers often accept less than the asking price.
Fine if you might miss it? Send an offer first. Someone else can still buy it while you wait for a reply.
Want it for sure? Use Buy It Now.
Project piece
For parts or repair, with its case, about $178 delivered; $80 of that is shipping.
Seller: things_you_look_for
100% positive from 217 ratings
UsedBrown Olympia DeLuxe SM3 Vintage Typewriter Super Cool!
$275.00 + $36.47 shipping
Buy It Now$275.00
This seller takes offers, and sellers often accept less than the asking price.
Fine if you might miss it? Send an offer first. Someone else can still buy it while you wait for a reply.
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Our take
Brown De Luxe, about $311 delivered with Best Offer from a 100% seller. No working claim in the title.
Seller: brickandmorter132
100% positive from 1.5K ratings
UsedVintage 1958 Olympia SM3 De Luxe Typewriter - brown - 10cpi - with cas
$199.99 + $117.77 shipping
Buy It Now$199.99
This seller takes offers, and sellers often accept less than the asking price.
Fine if you might miss it? Send an offer first. Someone else can still buy it while you wait for a reply.
Want it for sure? Use Buy It Now.
Heads-up: check the seller
Zero-feedback seller using the same title as a $605 listing from another seller. Likely a copied listing — avoid.
Seller: ca_841220
no feedback yet
Prices and availability change daily. The full, current search on eBay shows every matching listing, including new ones since Oct 1, 2026.
See all current listings on eBay →Manual typewriters here are 50–80 years old; the same condition badge means different things at that age than on a 2-year-old electronic. Use this as a translation key when you read listings.
New / new-old-stock
Vanishingly rare on a manual typewriter — most surviving units are 50+ years old. A "new" listing here usually means a late-production unit (e.g. a 1990s Olivetti Lettera 32 still sealed in factory packaging) or a seller misusing the badge. Verify the listing photos show the original packaging and factory ribbon spool; treat the price premium with skepticism unless those check out.
Refurbished / serviced
The body has been through a CLA (clean / lubricate / adjust) by a typewriter specialist — segment re-lubed, platen tested or re-covered, draw band re-tensioned, type slugs cleaned, key linkages freed. Expect a $100–250 premium over an unserviced "used" equivalent; the listing should name the shop (Gramercy, Cambridge, WordsAreWinged, etc.) or include a service receipt. Highest-confidence buy for a writer who wants to type the day it arrives.
Used — tested / working
The realistic ceiling for most listings. Body types, carriage returns, escapement advances, shift works, ribbon advances. Cosmetic wear is normal. Look for "tested with fresh ribbon" (best), "tested — types all letters" (fine), plus a stated return window — anything short of that drifts toward "for parts." Platen rubber often still hardened on a "used — tested" body; budget $150–250 for a re-cover if you plan to type long-form on it.
For parts / not working
Sold as-is with no functional guarantee. Common project-typewriter failure modes: hardened platen, gummed segment (sticky keys), broken draw band, missing case, broken bell, dirty type slugs. Buy only to harvest components for another body, donate to a tech for spares, or accept the gamble of a $100–300 specialist CLA on top. The cheapest path to a typing body is almost always a "used — tested" listing, not "for parts" plus a service bill.
The ribbon, brush, platen fluid, and oil a body off eBay almost never ships with. The ribbon link is matched to Group 1 universal — the wrong spool is the easiest way to lose a typewriter purchase on the consumable.
Ribbon — Group 1 universal (most postwar portables)
Search on AmazonType slug cleaner brush
Search on AmazonPlaten rejuvenation fluid
Search on AmazonLight machine oil (segment + rails)
Search on AmazonReplacement rubber feet
Search on AmazonVery few SM3s are sold serviced; if the segment has gone sticky expect about $100 for a clean. Check the keyboard layout, since many are German QWERTZ with umlaut keys. Ask for a typed sample to confirm the typeface and even spacing. Check the carriage moves under its own spring (drawband intact) and that the tab stops engage. Original cases of this age often have split coverings and weak latches.
The SM3 and SM4 overlap in the late 1950s; the SM4's keyset tab keys beside the space bar tell them apart. Production years are approximate spans compiled from collector references (the Typewriter Database, oz.Typewriter, Ted Munk's and Richard Polt's typewriter pages). Individual machines are dated by serial number: look the serial up on the Typewriter Database's serial-number page for this brand rather than trusting a seller's stated year.