I don't know if this makes a lot of sense but, my Father always told me. "You get what you pay for" meaning if you buy cheap you will probably get cheap. Now I don't go out and spend thousands of dollars for something, but I do try to get good value for what I do spend. I have a Viking that I bought used. It was a trade in when a customer bought a more expensive machine. It works beautifully and has something like 800 stitches on it. I also have a Bernina 930 that I bought the same way. Someone traded in this old workhorse for a machine that had all the bells and whistles. I bought it for $500. It has sewn beautifully for around 8 years now. So my take would be look around at trade in machines. I also think the Janome machines are good, the Gem models are nice and have several friends who use those at classes and retreats. Good luck on your search for your Christmas gift.