Our local LQS charges $10 to take the course and $50 to rent it for the day. They don't charge anything if the quilt is going to a community group ie.(Youth Shelter). It takes almost as much time to load it as it does to quilt it. Two of us can load and quilt one of our 72" X 96" community quilts in an all over meander pattern in about 3 hours. We usually do two quilts and lunch between ten and five o'clock. You definately should rent it and try it out before you consider buying one. I haven't found the machine nearly as much fun as I thought it would be. I can run it but I don't want to make this my new career and I couldn't see me wanting my own quilting business.