Well, I bid (and won) an Elna Excellence 740 on eBay. (This machine is twin to the Janome Horizon 7700). The machine is coming from a sewing machine shop, has been serviced and sewn in by an authorized Elna technician and was a trade in (original owner was moving up to the 760). I had a couple of phone conversations with the seller (shop), which was very helpful. While I still have a little bit of nervousness, in the end - I felt comfortable enough to proceed. It is a beautiful machine that I would not be able to purchase at retail. Hopefully my gut instinct is correct, in which case I will have a wonderful machine that will be a joy to use. I can't wait until she arrives next week!