deciding what you want the machine to do is essential. Piecing traditional quilts? Quilting the sandwich? Easily transported/stored? Needle up/down? Thread cutter? Walking foot or duel feed? What is "a lot" $? To you it might me $100. To me, it depends? I'm saving up to get a $4500 machine. Probably, as a beginner, after using it a while you'll have a better idea of what's important to you. I might look for a good model, used.