If this is your first visit, be sure to check out the FAQ by clicking the link above. You may have to register before you can post: click the register link above to proceed. To start viewing messages, select the forum that you want to visit from the selection below. |
|
|
Thread Tools | Display Modes |
#1
|
|||
|
|||
sewing machine prices?
Hi all!
I've been searching this list and finding some great useful info on purchasing a new sewing machine. You've all been a great help so far! I'm having a tough time finding out some things, however, and am wondering if you could offer some help... I'm currently looking to buy my first sewing machine. I'd like for it to be able to do buttonholes, and a reasonable number of stitches. I don't need anything TOO fancy right now, but feel that I'll want to get into quilting soon, and may want more advanced functionality later. Anyway, my question is not about what machine I should get (though ANY suggestions would be helpful!!!). Here's my issue: I've been researching machines online and find myself continuously frustrated by the lack of information out there about the machines and the prices! I'm hard pressed to find any kind of user reviews and recommendations (save for lists like this :-) ). I've been into one or two specialized sewing machine dealers and find them helpful and knowledgeable, but seeing as I like to research things online before I buy, I'm really feeling information-deprived about my comparison shopping. AND, I really don't have the means to travel around to tons of different little sewing shops to price compare/feature compare. So my question: Are there any good websites out there with user reviews and _prices_ of sewing machines? Is there any kind of buyer's FAQ about certain models/brands? (I've already read the one that gets posted here frequently). Where do you folks look for this kind of information? Thanks! Robyn |
Ads |
#2
|
|||
|
|||
Robyn wrote:
compare/feature compare. So my question: Are there any good websites out there with user reviews and _prices_ of sewing machines? Is there any kind of buyer's FAQ about certain models/brands? (I've already Many of the better makers of sewing machines do not allow dealers to post prices on the internet. You might find prices on epinions.com, but you don't know the level of experience of the people buying the machines. Maybe froogle.com might also have information. Seems to me that some place like patternreviews.com has sewing machine reviews, but I don't remember exactly where I saw it. -- I know God will not give me anything I can't handle. I just wish that He didn't trust me so much. - Mother Teresa |
#3
|
|||
|
|||
"Melinda Meahan - take out TRASH to reply" wrote in message ... Seems to me that some place like patternreviews.com has sewing machine reviews, but I don't remember exactly where I saw it. www.patternreview.com, click on "sewing machine and serger reviews" in the dark red bar on the left. Hi, Melinda! Sally H |
#4
|
|||
|
|||
Robyn, Threads Magazine recently did a survey of 31 "basic" sewing machines
(although some of them were a lot more than basic, to my mind). You can find this information either in the back issue that had it (Aug/Sept 2003), or on their website: http://www.taunton.com/threads/pages/t00130.asp Have fun! Karen Maslowski in Cincinnati |
#5
|
|||
|
|||
A couple of thoughts about buying a new-to-your or brand-new-to-you
machine. I have owned a number of machines in my life, and have found that the most important questions to ask are personal ones. First is, how much money are you able to comfortably spend? Next, are you new to sewing and all excited, or do you tend to get "into" a hobby and then drop it, or do you cycle through a TYPE of hobby, i.e., do your hobbies all circle around the varied fiber arts and has this been a long-term love affair? (I am into fiber arts of all kinds - spinning, weaving, sewing, needlework - and have been since the days of PT Barnum.) Do you like to do a lot of handwork and hate overly fussy machines / equipment or do you adore technology? Do you have space limitations and do you like BIG machines, or SMALL, PORTABLE machines and equipment? Clutter irritate you? Do you have space or no space or space that is rapidly disappearing? When can you afford to buy that next machine? Now, me, I find I prefer little and portable. I don't like computers but can build them and install software. I like working with my hands. I don't like lugging heavy things around. I like to take my projects with me, like out to the backyard. I don't have any space. I live in a 6-room house with my husband. I have 4 machines. I have my mother's old Viking. I have a Featherweight with all the attachments and then some, including a buttonholer. I have a handcrank for the backyard which takes all the Featherweight attachments - it's a 1950s 99K. I have just acquired a treadle. And I have a Janome 8000. Favorite - Featherweight, 99K, treadle. Mom's I keep for sentiment! She made my clothes on it. The Janome is fun - but??? I like the handwork and the finishing of French and felled seams. I like to use my feet and treadle or take it outside in the warmer days and sit and do it amongst the roses, like Sweeney but different. Oh, I also have a serger - too much! Luckily, I have a fairly decent moveable income . . . but over the years, my favorite has been a small, portable machine in general. Hope this helps! On 9 Nov 2003 10:05:44 -0800, (Robyn) wrote: Hi all! I've been searching this list and finding some great useful info on purchasing a new sewing machine. You've all been a great help so far! I'm having a tough time finding out some things, however, and am wondering if you could offer some help... I'm currently looking to buy my first sewing machine. I'd like for it to be able to do buttonholes, and a reasonable number of stitches. I don't need anything TOO fancy right now, but feel that I'll want to get into quilting soon, and may want more advanced functionality later. Anyway, my question is not about what machine I should get (though ANY suggestions would be helpful!!!). Here's my issue: I've been researching machines online and find myself continuously frustrated by the lack of information out there about the machines and the prices! I'm hard pressed to find any kind of user reviews and recommendations (save for lists like this :-) ). I've been into one or two specialized sewing machine dealers and find them helpful and knowledgeable, but seeing as I like to research things online before I buy, I'm really feeling information-deprived about my comparison shopping. AND, I really don't have the means to travel around to tons of different little sewing shops to price compare/feature compare. So my question: Are there any good websites out there with user reviews and _prices_ of sewing machines? Is there any kind of buyer's FAQ about certain models/brands? (I've already read the one that gets posted here frequently). Where do you folks look for this kind of information? Thanks! Robyn |
#6
|
|||
|
|||
Thanks, all! This is a huge help. I had no idea that many brands
didn't allow internet price posting. Strange that the sewing machine industry is so cagey about prices. I wish they weren't... Makes it feel as stressful as buying a new car, if you never really know if you're getting taken or not... Anyway, thanks again! -Robyn pamless (SewStorm) wrote in message ... Robyn, Threads Magazine recently did a survey of 31 "basic" sewing machines (although some of them were a lot more than basic, to my mind). You can find this information either in the back issue that had it (Aug/Sept 2003), or on their website: http://www.taunton.com/threads/pages/t00130.asp Have fun! Karen Maslowski in Cincinnati |
#7
|
|||
|
|||
|
#8
|
|||
|
|||
Have you been referred to the newsgroup post buying a new
sewing machine? Penny posts it regularly, and you can Google it any time. Cea What Machine Should I Buy FAQ: www.cet.com/~pennys/faq/smfaq.htm |
#9
|
|||
|
|||
The reason they don't allow internet price posting is because it can drive
local stores out of business . It is not uncommon for people to go to a local store to see and try out a machine then go on the internet and find a better price. A local store cannot stay in business just as a demo facility. "Robyn" wrote in message om... Thanks, all! This is a huge help. I had no idea that many brands didn't allow internet price posting. Strange that the sewing machine industry is so cagey about prices. I wish they weren't... Makes it feel as stressful as buying a new car, if you never really know if you're getting taken or not... Anyway, thanks again! -Robyn pamless (SewStorm) wrote in message ... Robyn, Threads Magazine recently did a survey of 31 "basic" sewing machines (although some of them were a lot more than basic, to my mind). You can find this information either in the back issue that had it (Aug/Sept 2003), or on their website: http://www.taunton.com/threads/pages/t00130.asp Have fun! Karen Maslowski in Cincinnati |
#10
|
|||
|
|||
Robyn wrote:
Thanks, all! This is a huge help. I had no idea that many brands didn't allow internet price posting. Strange that the sewing machine industry is so cagey about prices. I wish they weren't... Makes it feel as stressful as buying a new car, if you never really know if you're getting taken or not... Anyway, thanks again! -Robyn I have gotten prices on the phone. A lot of the places that sell, have toll-free numbers. Those that don't, I just figured they were worth a few cents to call. This is an area where prices can differ a lot! -- Joanne http://members.tripod.com/~bernardschopen/ Life is about the journey, not about the destination. |
Thread Tools | |
Display Modes | |
|
|
Similar Threads | ||||
Thread | Thread Starter | Forum | Replies | Last Post |
Please help me identify my New Home Sewing Machine | Frosty772 | Quilting | 2 | June 5th 04 07:49 PM |
Yet Another Sewing Machine Question | Eli | Quilting | 16 | February 29th 04 02:01 AM |
FAQs for Newbies and Longtimers | Diana Curtis | Quilting | 21 | December 8th 03 12:52 PM |
Old Sewing Machine Advice | Diana Curtis | Beads | 9 | August 22nd 03 06:01 AM |