I have a Baby Lock with the jet threading and self-adjusting tension and love it for those two features. I must say that's why I traded in my old serger. However, threading wasn't so bad on the old one once I realized that you just tie the new thread onto a length of the old, already threaded one and pull it through. I guess whether you spend a lot of money for all the fancy features depends on what you want to do with your serger. I have a daughter with Down syndrome whose clothes all need to be altered and I wanted a machine that could do a cover stitch to hem her long-sleeve t-shirts, knit pants, etc. So I went for the model with more capabilities and I'm glad I did - especially that self-adjusting tension, it sure saves breaking threads which my old one did all the time and this one never does. I use my machine a lot for sewing all sorts of things from prom dresses to slip covers so it was worth it to me to spend a lot of money. But if you don't think you'll use it that much or if you don't need the cover stitch, chain stitch, etc. then there are a lot of perfectly fine sergers out there in the $200 range. A couple of my friends have Berninas in the lower price range and love them. Find a couple of good dealers and test drive several different brands in different price ranges (and don't let the dealers talk you into more machine than you need or want) so you'll know the difference. I believe in buying from a good dealer where you can get lessons on your machine and good service if you need repairs but I know people who have bought theirs from discount stores, fabric stores, on-line and been perfectly happy. good luck.