The only problem that I can see of buying from O is that you don't have access to a dealer. Personally I'd go to a reputable dealer and buy a refurbished from them. If you were closer to Illinois I'd tell you to go to Threads of Time in Danville---EXCELLENT service. Bill will even work on machines that he hasn't sold and when we have retreats there if someone's machine is acting up he'll try to see if he can diagnose and or fix the problem at no charge. He even helped me out once with a Singer purchased from Hancocks. He couldn't fix it(it was something that wasn't fixable at all) but he was able to tell me what was wrong with it. That's the type of dealer that you want to find. But since he's the best you'll have to settle for finding the second best! LOL