I went to the Joann's in Temecula, they have a sewing machine center and I couldn't resist looking at a couple of the models and talking with the sales woman. At that location she told me they rent space from Joann's and do give lessons. I noticed you can buy certain Janomes from Joann's on-line and Brothers too. I did not find Viking or Husqvarna or Pfaff, but they were in the store with the Sewing Machine Center.
It doesn't devalue the product line if Joann's carries it to me. Just gives me another place to comparison shop.
Oh, I must add, the price at the Joann's wasn't any less than my Janome dealer, in fact, I got more from the dealer (they threw in the table to go with my 6600p). The price of my Viking was about the same, actually a little less because I bought the floor model and didn't ask about anything else from a different dealer (who threw in a thread group and some stablizer).