It is discouraging, isn't it? But, these are wonderful machines and I would rather have one of them than the new machines being sold today. I love history, and the way things used to be made to last. I have mainly sewn on my Featherweight for the past 20 years and love it. I do mostly quilting, though, and not clothing. The desire for a backup machine is what lit my newly acquired addiction for any vintage machine.