I'm in the process of shopping for a macine right now too. I've been looking at some on ebay and I think the prices are very good. I don't mind if it's a good used machine. There are a lot of vacuum, sewing machine dealers on ebay that recondition their trades ins and then sell them on ebay. Most of them have at least 90 day gaurantees. I'm interested in a Janome or a Husqvarna. I've heard they are real workhorses too.