There are so many sellers out there who do not know how to pack a sewing machine for shipping, and I've known of many, many people who have received sewing machines improperly packed that are absolutely destroyed. That's the reason I won't buy online, but since I have a FW and more machines (all inherited) than I'll ever be able to use, I'm not interested in buying anyway. The machines I have have all come from family -- so they're precious to me for that reason. I did get a machine for my cousin, but the machine was located here in Florida (about 40 miles from where we live) so I went to see the machine before I handed over any money and there was no packing to do because we picked it up. JMHO