I recently sold my beloved Janome 10001 in order to upgrade and went with a Babylock Ellisimo - very expensive but hey, I'm worth it! - and just received my retirement funds. However will say I had only wonderful experience with my Janome! If you are looking at an embroidery only, the 300 or 350E by Janome are both wonderful. If you want to start out with a sewing/embroidery combo, check out the 10001. You can buy them used on ebay. Just realize that they are becoming outdated and will not be getting any new features added. However, for a beginner and the price, they are wonderful.