The thing you'd miss is the customer service and free classes. Of course there are a few stores out there that will let you have classes for a small fee even if you didn't buy them at their store. My Viking dealer lets everyone attend classes as long as you know how to use your machine since they only specialize in theirs and Pfaff but I know not all stores are like this. Some people don't need the customer service or the classes so it wouldn't be an issue.