Originally Posted by Candace
My thought is this... would someone really buy a TOL Viking or Pfaff and spend 4 or 5 grand for a machine at Joanne's or another big box store? I know I wouldn't. Some people would never spend that much on a sewing machine, period. LOL. But, for us crazy ladies who have very expensive machines, I'd never buy it from a craft store. I can't imagine anyone would do this without a dealership behind you that offers mastery courses. Viking just came out with a new machine that's just under their TOL machine. I don't see how they can come out with these machines and then cancel dealership contracts.
POINT OF CLARIFICATION HERE - Vikings are NOT sold @ Joann's - they are sold at Company-owned (not independent) dealerships that rents space inside many of the larger Joann's store locations. There is absolutely NO CONNECTION- other than renting space within their space - between Joann's and the Viking Company Stores.
Vikings and Pfaff machines are sold by both independent dealers ( the LQS that sell these machines - sometimes with other brands as well) and corporate stores (those that rent the space within the Joann's stores.
I too am a bit dismayed that the TOL machines are no longer manufactured in Europe. The quality control on the machines coming out of China is far less than on the machines that were produced in Europe. It seems that all of the machine owners and manufacturers are going thru cost cutting exercises right now.........I have not found one yet that has not done something along these lines in the last 6 years or so............We just have to be careful in spending our dollars and doing our research first. If you want to be more certain that your Viking or Pfaff dealer will be there long term, you may want to look for a company-owned store.
Hope this helps.