I see nothing wrong with buying from Amazon or any other legitimate online business. I know that many people say you have to test-drive and so forth, but many of us either do not have a local sewing machine dealer, or (as is the case with me) do not want to deal with the dealers who are close by due to "issues" with them in the past or reservations about their reputation.
Most of the time when you purchase online, you have a 30-day return option.