I have three machines. One is a really inexpensive brother machine that I paid two hundred bucks for. For what they are I would agree that they are a great machine for the price. In fact, my bernina is in the shop and I may go and get my brother machine and do some piecing. I would recommend it for a first time sewer to find out if sewing is their thing. It's a far superior to the singer once had. Singer makes a terrible machine compared to others.