Does anyone have a Brother SQ 9050 sewing machine? I am looking at one from Walmart for $199. My Brother dealer claims that the machines made for Walmart are inferior to the ones they carry and I will be very unhappy with them. I figured you guys would know if that was true or not.

I have a wonderful Brother Innovis 2000, that I love, but it is really too big to take to sewing retreats, etc., so I am just looking for a smaller machine to carry about.

I'm in need of your knowledge...

I have the SQ 9000. I bought it at Walmart. It is a really good machine for the money. I have had it for three years. I bought a Janome 6000P and kept the brother as a back up.

I just purchased one from walmart and really like it. it is a great little machine. If you are just using it for piecing and classes I wouldn't worry about what the dealer says, they just want your money.

I have one :thumbup:

He's right. True. You won't be happy with it in the long run.

That may not be true. I'm very happy with mine and so are a lot of others on this board. Many quilters have bought the lower end Brothers and have been happy with their purchase. I have 3 Brothers and haven't had any problems with any of them. She could purchase one and try it for a few days and if it doesn't meet her needs she can always return it.

I have the Brother SQ9050 and love it I havent tried quilting on it yet but will I am making wall hangings for Christmas but it sews like a charm I am very happy with it

i have the sq 9000 and it is awesome its my main machine now i have discovered it doesnt do heavy stuff that great but i picked up an older brother from an estate sale with all metal inside from the 80's and it works like a charm so now i have something to do the really heavy stuff on. i want to make a denim rag quilt this next winter so i wanted something up to the job. but i love mine it sews so smooth and steady. i really dont think youll be disappointed.
carla m

I bought a lightweight Brother machine on Amazon for $80 dollars and it is a great little machine to take to class.
Its the XL2600I
Check it out.

I have this machine and have made lap quilts on it. An awesome machine for the money and many nice attachments including a walking foot. Great to take to classes.

I have the SQ 9000 and like Carla I discovered the SQ 9000 doesn't really like heavy fabrics like denim. So I use my Janome 11543 for fabrics like that.

I would get the one you looked at, it's well worth the money. And just because it doesn't come from your LQS doesn't mean it's inferior either. Just less expensive.

The Brother Company doesn't make "inferior" machines to sell a places such as Wal Mart and another machine for LQS or Sewing centers. I think that dealer just wants to sell you a machine that does the same thing for triple the price.

I have the sq900[0]? from wal-mart. I only use it for fmq so far and love it. For that little extra machine when needed, I think i's great.

Thank you for all the information. I was looking at the Brother sq 9050 also as a 2nd machine. I have a Bernina 900 my mom gave me. It has helped me make my decision to purchase it.

I know this is a true statement. It is just like John Deere tractors are now sold at Home Depot. They are a lot cheaper then the dealers, but the quality is not the same. That is the only way they can compete with a cheaper model, is by making it cheaper. But that should not stop you if you like the machine and are aware of that fact. Not everyone can afford to go to the dealer. But in the long run the dealer one will most likely last a lot longer. You get what you pay for.

I have the SQ9000 since July of 2010. I love it. I wonder if they just want you to get it from them.

I don't have that exact machine but have 3 lower end cheapy mechanical Brothers and they are little workhorses. Not fussy about anything and with a nice stitch.

I have one, and love it. I do a lot of traveling, and I wanted a light-weight machine to take with me, and this definitely fits the bill. Don't know why your dealer would say that, unless it is just to get your money, but I have had mine for about 3 years. Did have a problem once, when I kept getting bird's nests on the back, and skipped stitiches. Took it apart, and found a wad of lint about the size of a quarter. Once I cleaned that out, it worked great, again. Can't blame the machine for something that was my fault :)

I just bought this machine last weekend and so far I absolutely adore it. I was a little uncomfortable buying a Brother since I had heard they weren't reliable, broke easily etc. So I opted for the 3 year Wal-mart warranty. Cost me $19 and I think it is well worth it for the peace of mind. (Plus I ordered it online - site to store - it was there same day and I saved $20!)

I know I am late in replying to this post as I just happened on it. I absolutely love my 9050! I have had it a little over 2 years and it works like a charm. I also have a Baby Lock quilting machine that is almost identical to this Brother and paid $1000 for it. The reason I purchased the Brother was I had so many problems, repairs and just trouble with the Baby Lock. I wanted an inexpensive machine that worked hard and I found it in the 9050. I have made over 20 quilts with this machine and never a problem. I give it two thumbs up!

I have one, my DIL has one and my niece just learned to quilt on her's ...user friendly, 9lbs so I took it to free motion quilting classes cause it is easy and light...works GREAT for piecing or quilting! Has a walking foot with it too. I love mine! My DIL has had her's 6 years so it's the SQ9000 mine is SQ9050 like my niece has. I love that it has foot control or start/stop, feed dogs drop, and bobbin speed can be controlled for threads that DON'T do well on full speed winding on a bobbin. I had to have mine cleaned while a part was replaced..my fault totally, it let it get off my sewing table while switching over to my Brother embroidery machine. Like the one person mentioned bird nest was caused by lint so I learned to clean after every bobbin change. I LOVE THIS MACHINE! Especially the auto threader since I am over 60 and losing some vision.....

I recently bought the SQ9185 at Walmart and have had no problems with it. They are guaranteed through Brother so if you have problems you can get help. I am still in the "learning" phase as I have never used a computerized machine before but so far so good.

Brother does have some really great sales right now. I know there is a difference in the machines made for big box stores, Walmart, etc but I bought a top of the line printer once from Costco, saved alot over the dealer and it lasted forever. I haven't bought any machines from Walmarts so I can't say but check out the warranty and I think you can buy an additional warranty from them too.

I would buy it with no worry. Walmart has a simple return policy. Sew the devil out of it for a couple of weeks to see if it is what you want. You have nothing to lose. No dealer I have ever been to will let you return the cheapest machine they sell because you don't like it.

I have SQ9000. It is 5 1/2 years old, and has NEVER had to go to the shop. I would say go for it.

I love my Brothers! I have 4 of them and never have problems with them - except for pilot error. Documentation is superb as well.

If the model # is the same it is the same machine. Sometimes what comes with it may vary but thats it. Someone on here got that info from Brother several years ago.

I bought the SQ9000 about 2-3 yrs. ago and love it. Wal-mart 199.00. I do all my machine quilting on it. Can't do stippling on my big brother PC8200. I don't think the buy will be a mistake.

I was told the same thing regarding the Brother PE770 embroidery machine. I called Brother directly and they told me they were the same exact machine and that there was no difference in what is manufactured.

I wouldn't buy anything from Chinamart... Buy from a reputable dealer.

It's the same way with Walmart and rifles. They can order so many that they can have them made by the manufacturer at a lesser standard... hence the lower prices. You really do get what you pay for.

Looks like this is an old thread, but FWIW, I had this model of sewing machine for about 4 years. I used it VERY heavily ... we're talking hours and hours of commercial-type use almost every single day. Even with me running it so hard, it still sewed just fine even 4-ish years later, but it was making some odd noises, so I eventually replaced it with another Brother (# PC-420, which has more features and a bigger throat).

With average household/personal use, I'm sure it would last for many, many years. I feel that it was well worth the money. :)

Edit: I bought mine at Walmart.

I've had mine for 5 years, liked it so much that I bought my niece one(she quilts, too)...and we both are in awe of how much it can do. Never had a problem with it. For less than 200 dollars, it has a ton of great features, and really..when I bought it I decided that if it died, I could buy 1 a year for 10 years and still be way ahead of the cost of the high end machines. My niece lives on the other coast from me, and we were just talking on the phone the other night about how much we love them..the black mourning dresses and the headstones when they die!