For me; last yr right after the Viking convention was held. All new machines that had been set up to be demos in the classes were sold at the end of the show to dealers for a bargain and a half because they were then classified as "used". First of all; they are all used by professionals there to learn new things so they surely aren't abused in those 3 days at the convention. Secondly; the sale price is so fantastic and I could still get it at zero financing and the same great warranty as a new one plus last yr I also got the luggage for the machine and embroidery arm. By the way, when I looked into the history of use for mine the time on it was 1M, how much used could it be in one minute.
I always checked my dealers website because they would have the trade-ins listed and thier sale price on the site. Not too many dealers will post thier prices but the one I go to does. Now she also will sell machines on consignment even if they aren't Viking. They have a Viking Diamond for 3000 now; thats a good price. I know that by buying mine when I did I saved thousands off of it. It was a price I couldn't turn down even though I'd only had my Ruby for 1 yr; got a great trade in price for it and they had it sold before I could even get it into the store to drop it off. I had to make a special trip so they could get it. I didn't mind because I had gotten a great deal on my Diamond Deluxe and they had always been so nice. When you know what you want; sign up for newsletters, etc so you know what's going on. Viking sends me an email when ever any specials hit the open market. Good luck. Yes, to buy one that is slightly used, the savings are fantastic and even my Ruby, only had 7 hours of use when I bought it for thousands less than original price.