I bought a Sheldon R15 lathe from machinery values. (I can't recommend them as they said it was in "excellent condition", but had .013" of wear on only ONE of the ways. Also, I had to bug them daily to send the chuck, steady rest, coolant tank, etc. that was listed as going with the lathe. The chuck was totally sprung, the steady for a different make lathe, when it all actually came.)
But, they told me I could get it shipped for $600 from Harrison, NJ to St. Louis, MO. About 1100 - 1200 Miles. They found Fry Wagner Industrial Movers and had it delivered for that price. This was in
2001. So, the $1500 doesn't sound off the wall, although these things shouldn't scale exactly by the mile. But, with fuel costs up since 2001 and the almost 3x milage, this may well be a good deal. The Sheldon was 3000 - 3500 Lbs and about 7' long. It was very well strapped down and covered for the trip. I did have to rent a forklift for the delivery.Jon