I would haunt out longarm and mid-arm shops. I would also haunt quilt show that are going to have long and midarm booth. this way you can play with the machines and maybe they will let you load and unload the bars or rolls that you put the quilt and stuff on. I don't have one yet and will not for a long time I think. But I am going to start saving up and start playing with them. You might also want to call around to local longarmers in your area and see if they allow people to quilt on their machines for a fee. this will also help you learn to use them and you can also get close to the local longarmers and find out what they think about the different machines.