Originally Posted by donnajean
I would take some fabric scraps & thread & ask if you can see if it works o.k. and if it does, I would grab it.
Yes, you need to make sure it has a bobbin case in it - they are quite expensive to replace. When I got mine on ebay it came without one, and I queried this because the seller had said it worked well - I maintained that it couldn't work at all without the bobbin case, so in the end, he sent me one.
I think non sewers often say they work when in actual fact, the motor might go, and make the needle go up and down - that doesn't mean they stitch.