Yes, I agree about personal preferences. I spent some time in a quilt shop recently. The staff person went out of her way to tell me about the thread she prefers for hand appliqué. She had a huge container with about 200 small spools of this thread. The colors were beautiful and the price for one spool not that much. But if I multiplied how many spools she had without any discount she received for buying them where she worked, it would become quite costly for me. Not to mention I already have my own favorite threads. But she was a good salesperson. I'll give her that.