This might sound really ... spoiled ... but I've actually thought about buying the lower priced machine and then, if I decide that I just have to have the other features, trading in the one I bought for the more expensive machine. Fortunately, my dealer will give me full purchase price back within a year of buying the first machine. Or I could buy a second sewing/quilting machine with the laser & pen as a second machine next year.
I only get one opportunity every year to buy something "big" - that's in mid-March when I get my bonus from work. So whatever I decide to do this year, I'll have to live with it till next year. That should give me more than enough time to make a decision about the features I don't have ... LOL