janetea

I see a Husqvarna Designer I for sale online. Is $795 a good price?
875 embroidery hours, just 7 hours sewing.

I used one recently in a class and liked it. It was purchased in 2002 and very well taken care of.
I just feel strange about paying $800 for 15 year old machine.

Thanks
Janet

NJ Quilter

I agree $800 for a 15 yr old machine sounds a bit high. I forget what these machines were going for new. It was way more machine than I was interested in at the time. I purchased a lower model Husqvarna for $1200 new about that time frame. I believe list on mine (Platinum 950) was about $2000 at the time.

Can you check with the dealer where it was likely purchased new?? Perhaps they can tell you list price at the time. You could get some pricing on a new machine (same manufacturer) now to get a feel for how much they typically discount??

And lastly, is this a private online sale (craigslist or the like?) or is it from a shop? From a shop I'm sure the price would be higher. And keep in mind as well, just because that's the price they're asking - it doesn't mean you can't offer a lower price.

FWIW - I love my Husqvarna! I've rarely had it serviced and have never had a day's worth of trouble with it.

intoquilting

I had one and traded it in on a Babylock because the dealer was closing shop. I have regretted it and sure wished that I still had it.

PaperPrincess

I still have mine. The machine is a work horse and will sew thru just about anything. The only downside is that the embroidery unit takes only floppy disks, so if you want to download designs from the internet, you would need to purchase a 3.5" disk reader/writer. And unfortunately, you can't just drag & drop the file onto the disk. It takes a specially formatted disk, so you need the correct software. Viking 3D (and higher) software has this ability, but it's very, very expensive. Embird will also create the correct format disk and is a less pricey option. See if the software comes with the machine and what operating system it will run under. I still have an Windows XP machine for the really old stuff. You can still get Viking embroidery disks on ebay, but you are limited to those designs. You said that you used one in class. Was that at a Viking Dealer? If so, they may be able to advise you about the embroidery software and provide some support. I looked on ebay for sold units and they were going for anywhere from $400 - $1200 depending on what all was included.

Snooze2978

Love, love the Designer 1 I had since 2000. Paid $5200 for it back then. Traded it in for the EPIC backin October, got $4,000 trade-in so couldn't pass that deal up. Been meaning to call and ask if they still have her and what they want for her as she was such a great machine and I find can still do some things better than the EPIC can.

janetea

Thank you for your replies! <3

oneteappot

Speaking of the Designer Epic, any hints on the cost?

jackiequilts4fun

Can you negotiate it down?

I don't think the price is too terribly high; and it has low sewing hours.

I recall the new price was $5000.

I bought mine used in 2010, or it might have been 2011.
It had low hours & I paid $1300.

Bug Lady

I purchased a 2002 Designer II embroidery machine from a friend for $500. It had been well taken care of, sewn on pretty regular (did not sit for years not used as that is sometimes not good for a machine), She used the machine for all her applique because it felt it did the best job of any machine she ever had. That is saying something as she is elderly and previously had a home craft business for decades and did LOTS of applique. I bought the machine from her 2 years ago.
Best of luck.
Karen

ghostrider

You can get a lot of information from the sewing machine reviews at PatternReview.com. Machines are reviewed by people like us who buy them used and just want to let others know the pros and cons. Most include the price they paid and when they bought it. It's well worth a look.