I'm interested in buying the new Compact Economy rolling mill, shown on Contenti web site, rather than taking a chance on buying someone's abused Durston, for $198 with $60 shipping.
I would jump at a used abused Durston over an asian mill every day
of the week… a durston is a quality tool and at that price worthy
of getting back in shape… i’ve used some of those ecomony mills and
all i can say is “Meh”…
big difference in used and abused- checck the rollers first…a
durston is a good quality mill when maintained properly…Contenti’s
are not harbor freight material (not worth the money unless its for
non-jewelry metal work- which by the way i have an unused one i would
sell to anyone interested- it comes with 3 extra rollers and is still
in the box),they may be a karat mill or Pepe rebranded in which case
i’d go for the new Pepe mill- call Linda at Contenti and ask who
manufactures it.
I have a combo Pepe mill that is wonderful as long as you mount it
securely and don’t need electrical assistance to turn the handle…but
a sight unseen abused mill -regardless of brand - would not be my
first choice particularly considering the cost of replacing
potentially unusable rollers that would cost as much as buying the
mill you speak of for 200 bucks + shipping… ask if there is a
return policy…and check out FDJ tools on time they have a good range
of mills and reasonable prices, good sales and Rosenthal jewelry
supply in Miami has the widest range of rollers in the USA that fit
most manual mills…shop around before you go for the abused
durston…rer
We love our Durston at work - but we don’t look after it as well as
some do. Despite this, it’s in great condition The reason is that
they are amazing mills. If you have a photo of it, and it looks good
in the photo, then it will be good in real life, even if it’s old.
Sure, you might have to do some recalibration and oiling, but the
metal will be in great condition. If there’s anything wrong with it,
it will be obvious in a photo.
Durston’s are fantastic mills - even American jewellers speak highly
of them; they must be good for Americans to like a British mill over
an American alternative.
We love our Durston at work - but we don't look after it as well as some do. Despite this, it's in great condition The reason is that they are amazing mills. If you have a photo of it, and it looks good in the photo, then it will be good in real life, even if it's old.
Love the Durstons at TAFE, well the ones in our workshop, the other
workshop has had animals using those, the rollers are in a terrible
state 
Got to invest in one eventually.
Regards Charles A.