Lol, we have a lot of topics going on here!
I have never really enjoyed shopping, unless it's at a quilt shop. Even as a teen, when everyone wanted to go to the mall (the new thing back then, now they are all closing!), I didn't like it. So I am a huge fan of Amazon for all kinds of things, from small to large. Well, none of the houses, but a few hundred $. But I ALWAYS make sure it says 30 day return free.
I have returned things and not gotten credit. Call and talk with someone from who knows where and it's been resolved without further problems.
Joanns. For years, I used my "good coupon" for batting. Then, when they stopped carrying W&N and sold their own brand, I started looking around. That coupon wasn't saving me any money at all - I could get what I wanted for about the same price, shipped to my door. After that, I rarely went in. During the pandemic, I ordered 2 yards of vinyl for project bags, to be picked up at the door. I got there and they handed me the ROLL. They had miscut it somehow, and could not put it back on the shelf. I will say, it's not as good quality as ByAnnie's is, but I'll have it for the rest of my life! They had cute seasonal decor at ridiculous prices and immediately marked down. How about pricing things at a fair price and not playing games?
Although I don't live in a city, in the Finger Lakes I think we have every brand of sewing machine known within an hour's drive. Some, like Aurora, carry more than one brand. The closest to me, Leroy's of Penn Yan Sewing, used to be a Bernina shop. As Bernina became more computerized, Leroy decided to stop selling/servicing them. If the screen is colored, he won't touch it. However, he has a relative that trained under him, Jon, who has a shop about an hour away. That's were people round here now go for Bernina's.
The thing is, Berninas have become outrageous. My original, 153QE, still sews like the day it came home with me, and I have added 2 of the 3/4 size machines. One stays in our FL home, the other is my travel machine. With the 153 getting up there, I know it's a matter of time before I need to find something else; the motherboards are no longer available. So I've been looking at Juki's. Almost all of my sewing is straight stitch. I don't need hundreds of decorative stitches, and even if I could afford it, I don't see any reason to spend what not long ago would buy a car. I used a Pfaff Expression at a class a year or so ago, and really liked it. Who knows? Maybe if my regular machine quits, I'll just use my 350. Wrangling large quilts (I usually do queen or king size) might be challenging, but other than that, I'm betting it'd be fine. If I every do decide to buy a Juki, I'd go to Leroys; the price is the same as it is on Amazon and i would rather support a local small shopl