I bought one last Sunday and absolutely love it. I was going to pay $139 plus shipping. I managed to find it on sale at the last minute. It took a lot of coaxing from my husband to finish the transaction and order it. But so worth it.
I ordered 4 dies and 2 mats in addition to the go baby and I have already placed an order for a 2.5 strip die and mat.
So easy and saves so much time.
Check out Joann's they carry alot of dies and mats now and run them on sale, or checkout shoppersule.com for them. I bought mine there and they arrived within 4 days, awesome customer service and the lowest price I found online.
I understand your feelings about spending that much on something you may or may not like but in the end it is worth it!