ask the person selling, why they are selling- HandiQuilter has been around for a long time, good machines, good company, good customer service- some people sell them as you said- to upgrade, or no longer using- and some people simply find they just do not enjoy long arm quilting- or never really get the hang of it- there is a learning curve and if you 'jumped in' without thinking about that you may become disillusioned and frustrated-find it takes practice and time to become 'good' I know a couple people who bought machines (having never tried one out) believing they would 'start a business' and be making lots of money immediately (this machine will pay for itself in a year!) then they find they are not so good at it- takes time to learn, is a strain on the back, shoulders, legs...then they 'putzed around with it off & on for a couple years...then just decided to sell them off- deciding they would never 'get the hang of it'...so there can be good deals out there on 'barely used' machines (not just HQ's...this happens all the time with many different brands) so, when you see a used one for sale- call & ask...why are you selling it? may be almost new-