Last year I purchased an "Open Box" machine. Now, the machine had never been out of the box, but for some reason they had opened it. I have to say, I saved ALOT of money by purchasing that one. And I can say that I got the same warranty and accessories, plus some addition accessories with the machine. And everything was packed in there nice and neat, so I could tell it really had never been out of the box, nor used.
This is the 2nd time I have purchased from this store, the first time was a Demo machine, and I saved alot of money on it as well. For me, this is the only way to go, because I can't afford a brand new one. But if I did pay the price for a brand new one, it better come in a nice sealed box, never ever used.
Good luck and I Hope you find what your looking for. I think this guy is trying to pull a fast one, and make alot of money on top of it. And as for him cutting other machines down, I had that same experience at another local sewing machine shop, and I refuse to purchase anything from them. I even called the company they were putting down and reported them!! I think these companies need to know why they are not getting alot of sales from these so called dealers.