For me the question was "How much was I willing to pay for the self-threading feature on the serger?" not "Do I want a serger?" Here's a couple of questions I had to answer. Can I thread a regular needle without using glasses? Do I get frustrated when the thread misses the needle eye? How hard is it to get into the position needed to see the eye in the lower looper needle? How much easier or harder will these things become in the next 10 years? Bingo! I'm too old to NOT buy a self threading serger. Even my regular sewing machine is self-threading plus being computerized to do everything but cut my material for me.I'm just too old not to be part of this century's technology. Divide the price by the number of years I expect to use the machine and it's done to about $100 a year cost. A $100 serger is very cheap. Mine is the Babylock Imagine.