I did just that, put a WTB ad on Practical Machinist, when I was looking for a small horizontal mill.
A guy answered that had a Vernon, which was just right for me, but he was up in Michigan - He sent loads of photos, details, etc. on it
It took a couple months to get it together for him, as he was recovering from Covid, and was feeling pretty weak.
Anyway, I arranged for Fastenal shipping, and the guy actually built a nice crate on a pallet.
The shipping came to $178, delivered to the Dothan, AL store - It all worked out perfectly.
I guess the take-away here is that you need to be very patient, and be prepared to do some leg work.
I gave up trying to find a small vertical knee mill, and when HF finally got their 6x26's back in stock, I ordered one immediately at the $1800 price
Turns out, it was literally the very next day that they raised the price to $2500, but they honored the original price.
If you give up looking for an older US made one, and go this route, be aware - You really need to take one of these mills apart to clean it, and clear the filler from the moving parts. I did mine, as I had planned to paint it, I found out you really should do this anyway - Pretty gritty inside.
I had to go up to Jackson MS a few years ago, to get my larger lathe, a Clausing Colchester 13x36, and it wasn't exactly cheap, but was a decent lathe, and the seller (a working machine shop) carefully loaded it on my trailer, so that worked out.
I'd suggest that you can't be looking just locally, but have to be willing to drive at least as far as a single overnight distance.
I will admit though, that the older I get, the shorter that distance has become ;~)
Anyway, good hunting.
to me but that is simply because those mills without DRO were under $1600 new when I was shopping several years ago. At current pricing and actually being "as new" seems like a decent deal, saving you at least $1000 vs buying new from Grizzly.