contact local independent sewing machine stores and see if they have any trade ins....start small and work up. What if you deceide you don't like doing embroidery, you don't want to have a bunch of money invested. I am on my second machine, to me the most important thing is the computer software ease of use, the availability of the format your machine uses, and the use of a flash drive. Then you downoad designs from the internet right onto your flashdrive, no cards needed, and they are expensive.