If you don't want a lot of your money tied up in dies that go unused, just look at the dies on the website, decide if you want to make a quilt using those dies, and buy only the dies you need. Then use them and make a quilt. Don't do like I did and buy dies that are sitting unused waiting for the day I get inspired to make a quilt with them. That said, I bought dies that were on sale, and the shape ones like stars, hearts, circles, birds, flowers, animals, etc used in applique that are difficult to cut any other way. I also bought the 5" die and used it to cut a lot of my scraps into charms. I love my Accuquilt and and although it may sit unused for months at a time, it is really nice to have when inspiration strikes.