Eventually, I will have my own machine, but for now, I still have someone else do the quilting. There is a LQS about an hour away from where I live that does what you are thinking of. She only has one machine and only rents in 4-hour increments, but she has several zipper systems so that your quilt can be removed when your time limit is up. She also sells the fabric, notions, and the zipper systems in her shop. (I think she may make more profit on those things, than on the quilting machine.) Another big thing IMO, is the convenience factor - will you have evening hours, or only day-shift/office hours. Since I work day shift myself, finding time in the late afternoon/evening would be a high priority.
For me, however, there wasn't much difference in price of doing my own, or having it done. By the time I paid for the initial class ($100) and the rental fee ($25 x4 hr increments), and the gas, and get on the wait list, it was cheaper to have the other lady quilt it ( and I had to drive right in front of her house to get to the LQS, lol). She does pretty good work, and she has a fairly quick turnaround time, her rates are reasonable, and she will even bind it, if I ask her.
Long story short, there are pros and cons to everything. You just need to decide if the headaches are worth the effort.

I think if you were going to do this, you would need to have at least 2 machines to start with, so that one machine wouldn't be completely tied up, in case you had someone who wanted some intricate quilting done, or if you had someone who has a longer learning curve. Lot of things to think of, but baby steps accomplish more than giant leaps into the unknown, I will just wish you good luck in your venture.

Good luck as you consider this venture into the business world of quilting. I gave it some (very little) thought to going commercial; but decided that I don't want to work that hard anymore--I was born in 1936, and to say the least, I am a mite tired.....I have a Gammill Classic, and several friends and sisters who have learned to use it proficiently and I get to have a day of visiting and sewing when one them wants to use it. That is enough for me. But, be aware of others' using your machines--they don't understand it like you do, and just use it, and can't hear when it makes that little funny noise that sets off clanging bells in your head. I am having to have the repairman in today to check it out from my sister using it last week; maybe just a thing that was going to happen even with me, but an unexpected $200 expense nevertheless.

Keep us posted on your decisions and progress. And where are you in FL; the DH and I will be starting our usual road trips down that way in about a month.

Do you LA yourself? Have you priced the machines? Are you going to be able to monitor the quilting
? Things toconsider.
sandy

I do all of my quilting on my domestic machine. I've tried using a long arm, but there 's a definite learning curve to get the quilting smooth looking. It takes me days to quilt a quilt sitting down. I can't imagine standing at a long arm for all of those hours.

Yes I have a longarm right now, but looking to upgrade to a larger model, different brand. Yes I have also priced the machines & know what it would cost to up grade. Yes & I would be able to monitor the quilters. Lots to consider, knowing that I would probably need two machines, both stitch regulated & one with H & V channel locks. That is why I was also thinking of being a dealer for those machines, people could use them & I could also sell them, seeing there is not a dealer in a 100 miles from here. I just have to look at all the pros & cons & weight all the factors & if I really want to take on another business at this stage of my life, but hey, what else do I have to do! LOTS

Yes

I'm enjoying this thread. I took a class at a long long armer and realized that I hated it. I can't stand up for hours at a time, I hated all the setup stuff, and felt disconnected using the handles to steer the needle. However, she had a Sweet Sixteen, and when I went back another time and tried it, I just fell in love. She let me take it home (small town here) and though we discussed my renting it a while, I ended up just buying it at a discount because it was used. So when you can afford it, I would suggest getting a sitdown machine. People can just slide their quilt under the needle and go. I used to baste, then tried spray gluing, but mostly just lay out a sandwich, press the layers together with my fingers or iron, stick in a few safety pins in corners and here and there, and roll in from the edges. People could work in shorter bursts, and of course some will want to buy their own machine which would be great for you. Turn over your machines at a demo discount and you'll make good money. Good luck whatever you do! I wish I were in a position to let folks use mine but some earlier posts with horror stories turned me off on the idea. You are more business minded and I bet you'll do fine. Also, if you're in a place where there are many quilters, it should be a go.

Since you are contemplating being a dealer and renting machines I suggest you get on the forum for that brand of machine and see how others are doing with this concept. There is a shop an hour from me with an APQS dealer, that offers rentals but I don't see others in there using the machines the time I have been at the quilt store.

I know apqs and gammil have forums. you might also check www.mqresource.com which is a machine quilter's forum.

There's a shop close to me that just does that, and also has a smallish but beautiful selection of quilting fabrics. I believe they do an excellent business. I don't think it would work for me, because I think it would take me too long to learn and too long to quilt (I'm a slow worker), and therefore cost too much.

A shop I am familiar with charged $25 for the class to use the long arm. It then cost $35 per quilt to use the machine ...or per day. In other words, if you don't finish day one it cost another $35 for the next day. Or another $35 if you did two in a day.

I would be first in line!!! Great idea!