Onebyone

A sewing machine dealer I trust told me this: If a sewing machine dealer does not have the prices posted on the machines then walk away. It's too schemey.

mic-pa

I love my Janome dealer, I have purchased (well lets just say ) many machines from him and he always gives me a nice deal. Just bought another one in Nov. before Christmas and my DD also purchased one He is quite a distance from me but well worth the trip

cashs_mom

I have a problem with people who try to "sell" me on something. Usually when I get to the dealership or machine store, I know what I want and what I'm willing to pay. I don't want to be sold and I don't want to hear some story about other places that have bad service or whatever.

quiltedsunshine

Here are some thoughts... If Franchise A has 3 stores and orders hundreds of machines; and Franchise B is a smaller store and orders 10's of machines; Franchise A gets a better wholesale price on their machines. That's just how it works. So if Franchise B sells their machines at the lowest price they can, it will still be a higher price than Franchise A.

At my store, we're small. But we keep our prices as low as we can every day. If someone buys their machine at the bigger store, but wants classes at our store, they will have to pay for it. Classes are part of the deal, and so is the warranty. Wherever you buy your machine, is where your support is. And it costs money to provide the teacher and pay the tech to preform the free Warranty service.

But if someone really wants to purchase from us, but wants the big store price, sometimes we loose money, but gain a customer/friend by giving them the price. We hope that our customers want to support us and not cut our profit margin to the point that we go out of business trying to keep up with the big store.

Every time we sell a machine, we gain a new friend. We want our new friends to be happy. They will be taken care of by our staff for as long as they own the machine and beyond. We want them to have a good buying experience, and be happy with their machine, because we expect to see them often.

Austinite

We have a brother and juki dealer who has no prices anywhere and anytime you walk in the door they are asking you if you want a machine. i hate going in there to get fabric for bindings or backings or even just to look because i couldn't get out without getting bothered about buying a machine, even if I'd been in there earlier that week! They are one of the main reasons I buy most of my fabric online, all the other nice local stores are way out from my home.

Our Janome dealer is the complete opposite: everything has giant price labels on it and they ask if you need anything when you walk in and if you say "no" then they go back to what they are doing and if you need something you tell them. love it! I've bought two machines there and sent several people there as well. The times I've bought machines they answered my questions, brought me a basket of sample fabrics to play with and left me alone to try the machine out. When I told them I wanted my last machine she sat down with me and went over all the basic features and let me know that it comes with free lifetime lessons on how to use it. I know the brands are just coincidences, could easily have a pushy Janome dealer and a Brother place that is nice and casual, but since I tend to like Janomes it works out well for me lol.

Jingle

I bought two machines online and were very pleased with them. Bought my Babylock Jane from a local dealer got a lousy trade in amount and have not been back. If I decided to buy another machine it will be a straight stitch only and I will buy it online.

Seems to me now days there are a lot of greedy people in this world. If I can avoid them I will.

hybearn8er

I just went through the same thing and ended up buying on line and I got it in three days and saved$1000,00 dollars over what my dealers wanted!Then I called the dealers looking for a quilting foot and a straight stitch plate and she told me it would cost my $17 to ship them so I went back to the on line store and they discounted my purchase and shipped it for free! Anna

quiltingcandy

I have 2 great dealers - my Viking dealer lets me know when there is a big sale and what my trade-in would be. It is also about one mile from my home. I am also willing to buy floor models because he knocks them down even more. My Janome dealer does a lot of local business - so is able to keep the prices down. I like to be able to see a price without having to ask. It always makes m a bit suspicious when I have to be told the amount - kind of like a hotel room - it all depends on where you book it.

kittiebug

Glad you got your machine, It's crazy what they want for a sewing machine today.

ScubaK

And the stores wonder why people have gone to online shopping.... SMH!
Kirsten