Neesie

I imagine many people will feel like spitting, when I post this . . . but I ordered a Brother CS6000i (for DGD and DD to learn to sew) from WalMart.com. It arrived on time, well packed, and I couldn't be more pleased with it. I've also ordered quite a few other things from WalMart.com and have never been disappointed in their service or packing. Needless to say, I bought my Janome from a LQS . . . but if WM.com had carried it, wouldn't have hesitated to buy it there.

wilburness

I would buy local. I have a fancy babylock, that I brought locally and love the sewing machine shop. with todays machines and all the technology, local is the only way. you have so much help and knowledge there.

in answer to who to buy from... I did buy a juki from sewing machine plus and would recommend them to anyone.

Pennyhal

If buying a sewing machine, you need to buy locally if you can, and from a dealer you like. Actually, I think the dealer is more important than the machine. Some of these machines are so complex, that you need help at hand and you don't want to pay for a class too.

kamaiarigby

I purchase 95% of my fabric from USA but yesterday
I went to purchase 2charm packs from a very,very well know quilting company and they wanted $38.95 for postage, I sent them a email say that price for postage was way over the top, they then dropped the postage to $23.95 which IMHO is still way to high. Needless to say I didn't buy my charm packs.

JoanneS

I would be very hesitant to buy a sewing machine on-line. Not because I don't trust the on-line dealer, but because I know I'll need lessons to learn how to use it! And I'll want a local dealer who can service it and fix it when something goes wrong.

I buy fabric, patterns and notions on-line, but not machines.

carolaug

I feel the same..the sewing dealer was great about anytime I had an issue plus free cleaning for 10 years.

quiltinghere

I purchased my last machine from a dealer about 45 minutes away from where I live. It came with FREE LESSONS...but I never took a single one.

Sometime later I saw the same machine online WITHOUT LESSONS and it was several hundred dollars less expensive.

Live and learn...next time I will check out buying online.

Nan

maryb119

I think dealer support is very important for the high end machines. Shop around your area for a god dealer. They will be there for regular maintainence and to answer questions you will have. I have had very good luck with buying fabric on line but I have never ordered a machine on line. I want to "test drive" it and see if it feels right for me.

Prism99

I just want to mention that having a local dealer is not a guarantee of support, as dealerships can go out of business.

I do think that lessons are important if you are upgrading to a totally different level of machine -- say, going from a vintage machine to a $1,000+ machine with lots of bells and whistles. If you are already familiar with midline machines, I think the lessons become much less important as there is so much help available online these days. My Bernina 1230 is over 15 years old now, but I don't think I would need lessons for a new top-of-the-line machine (unless, perhaps, it included an embroidery unit as I have no experience with embroidery). I would probably make an exception for a machine that includes the ability to update from the internet. I just don't think stand-alone sewing machines -- even if they have 500 different decorative stitches -- are that difficult to figure out if you have any experience with a modern sewing machine.

A lot depends on the type of machine you are buying. If it's a $1,000+ machine then you may want a local dealer. If it's under that, I would definitely consider buying off the web -- especially since it's easy to return machines to places like Amazon or Walmart. You *do* want to make sure that a return is easy if you don't like the machine. However, this can be an issue with dealers also, since not all dealers will accept the return of a machine. I know a dealership that will not accept the return of a machine even if the box was never opened. They will accept a return only if the person upgrades to a more expensive machine. Makes it unwise for family members to buy a machine for under the tree!

nygal

I own four machines and three I purchased online from www.allbrands.com. They have FREE delivery and I got each machine in three days. I've never had any problems whatsoever with them or the machines. My fourth machine is a Vintage Singer that I got from Goodwill.