Verona

Hi. Just wondering if you ever did buy that machine and did you do more research beyond going to Sears? Most if not all Kenmore machines are made by Janome. I am in Atlantic Canada and you do have more options beyond Sears. I have been doing similar research as you for three days and nights straight. Not much sleep. My husband added that he never wants to buy a new car with me, but buying a sewing machine is a lot more difficult than buying a car. New models might come out yearly but stores still carry models several years older and you might just get a "that's last year's model" from them. For instance in Canada the Janome-Juno line that you can only purchase online, is from 2013 and I don't see any notation that they have updated these each year. Consequently, in 2015, if I order one off the site, I am most certainly buying dated technology. I still haven't gotten a clear picture on how much computer technology has affected the below $1000 range of machines. I wasn't looking for a machine in 2013, so don't know if the prices they are showing on that site as reduced is because of the machines now being older, or if it was a marketing gimmick and machines which they stated were $1000 are now slashed to $499 was listed at the beginning on the site. I too wanted a larger throat size than my 6x5 current 35 yr old Kenmore and I can find something larger, for instance in a Janome 6600 at 9". I don't trust technology as much as I do mechanical operations, but my new machine will be computerized to what extent, I am not sure. You can purchase a longer arm machine for at least 9" without going digital, but I want to replace my machine at this point completely and might want to try my hand at embroidery on my quilts. Yes the second hand Janome 6600 is sounding good, but the dealer told me it came only with a 90-day warranty. He used to be a Baby Lock dealer, but said they were difficult to deal with for warranty problems. He worked for Singer for over 40 years and he sews. He emphasised that Brother and Singer are now making machines for lower end purchases at places like Walmart and many machines have plastic gears. Janome's lower end machines are still made with metal innards. With regards to shipping, I checked out a few places within Canada and the most expensive shipping charges I found were $20. Stay away from ordering from ebay where the charges can be around $100 or more for shipping something heavy like a sewing machine and on top of that, you will be expected to pay duty or brokerage fees to pass over the border, if it comes from the States. Some do come from China. There are ways to work around the shipping fees, if you are close to the border but you can't ignore duty fees and the exchange rate. Having said that, I looked at many of the prices for new machines in Canada and the US and they are quite comparable. As well, there is a place in Hamilton, ON called Nova Sewing that sells many different types of machines and sells both new and second hand machines of an assortment of makes and models. Shipping is less than $20 and you don't have to worry about exchange rates. The dealer I visited today just outside Halifax told me today that he has a one-year trade-in policy for the price you paid for a new machine to go towards any higher priced machine. That way, you get to try something for a year and keep moving up with no loss. If he does this, then many other's might do this too. If you did buy something in the last few months, let us know what you got and how you are making out with your selection process! I found it a very interesting thread. Thanks!