Originally Posted by
quiltmom04
You'll find this if you dig around the old posts, but the big box store machine (walmart, Joann , Costco etc) may be made by the same company, but they ARE a lower quality than dealer machines. To some people, cost is the only consideration, the fact that they are a lower quality may not matter. To other people, cost is not as much of an problem ,and a higher quality machine and dealer service backup is worth the extra money. Yes, you can probably get a serviceable machine at walmart, or a lemon at a dealer store, but just be aware of the facts before you decide.
Actually if you talk to reps of the company or the company itself and not the dealer they will tell you that they are the same machines inside and out. It would cost a company alot of money to manufacter many models in different ways it just wouldn't even be cost effective. I do believe the cheaper machines can be quality machines otherwise people wouldn't have them for so long. Yes some people run through them but again these are not industrial machines and I guarantee the people that run through them are using them as such and expecting them to last like 1k models you can'r compare a 100 dollar machine to a 1200 hundred dollar machine, or a 1k machine to a 10k machine, it just simply isn't a fair comparison of durability.You can't say 100 dollar machine is crap more than you can say a 5k machine is the best. I have both and have seen other models and can honestly say in certain areas that my cheaper machine did a better job in classes than machines that were thousand dollars more, and its plastic. I actually like this thread because I have seen more positives here from people on walmart machines than negatives, and many have had their machines for years showing that these machines can last. My little walmart brother is much loved as much as my 7k machine. I would recommend them to anyone starting out.