Please decide what you want to embroider. Do you want designs on bath towels? the neck of a t-shirt? on a block for a quilt? on an applique for the pocket of a pair of jeans? these all will usually do done in different sizes - make sure your machine that you buy will acommodate the size hoops for what you want to do now and in the future. The machines that take a flash drive are the easiest to put your downloaded designs on.