Longarm Machine Pricing - Is it Consistent?
 

Is longarm machine pricing (for new machines) fairly consistent from dealer to dealer, or do dealers tend to have a lot of "wiggle" room and therefore one may be significantly lower than another?

My husband and I are thinking of purchasing a longarm and have seen that some of the financial things we need to consider are what extras the dealer is willing to throw in, whether we'd have to pay sales tax (many of the dealers we're looking at would be out of state), and possible financing terms vs. paying in full. Is there anything else to consider?

All this is of course in addition to the specifics of the machine itself, as well as the customer service available.

Any input would be greatly appreciated!

Thank you,
Debbie

I believe that you will owe the sales tax for your area (or a use tax in its stead) no matter where you purchase the longarm. Sales tax depends on the state where the item is delivered, not the state in which it is sold. Even if you take delivery in another state and transport the item to your home, you still owe the tax. For instance I purchased my longarm in Washington state, but paid no sales tax because I live in Oregon. (No sales tax is one of our best perks.)

I don't believe there's much variation in the price of the Innova, the longarm that I purchased. I can't speak for other brands. The company usually has some sort of package pricing, as well as specials that are available at quilt shows and that are usually also honored by the dealers. When I purchased mine, the dealer had one unit left that was part of a "free lighting" package. Dealers also seem to have different types and qualities of training, which is a very important part of the purchase if you're new to longarming.

We'll definitely check further into the sales tax issue. We went to a show yesterday in another state and were told by one dealer that we wouldn't have to pay sales tax if they delivered the machine to us since it was in a different state. Thanks for your input!!

Hi Deb,

I live in South Alabama; I bought a long arm from a dealer in Mississippi and didn't pay sales tax for my long-arm because it was purchased out-of-state - that was nearly six years ago and I don't believe our state laws have changed since then.

They're correct in that they would not have to collect the tax for their state, however I think that you would still be responsible for paying it for your state. The fact is that tax events like this are most often not reported, and you would probably "get away" without paying it. But if you're going to use your machine as a business, you will want to write the machine off or depreciate it, and not having paid sales tax on it could cause problems eventually.

Oregon has a tax on all equipment that's used in a business. Many states do. If I started longarming professionally, I would have to pay that tax on my longarm - every year. (The tax decreases as the equipment depreciates.) It's not a very big tax, but just another thing to be aware of if you're considering starting a business, even located in your home.

I bought mine in California and had it shipped to where I live in Texas. No sales tax.

A retailer can only charge sales tax if they are shipping to a state where they have a brick & morter physical store. If I bought it in Texas and had it shipped to Texas I would have been charged sales tax.

Until about a year ago, Texas residents were never charged sales tax for purchases on Amazon. While Amazon does not have a store in Texas, they do have a distribution center here. The state of Texas finally made them charge sales tax for purchases made from Texas residents.

If I were to be selling products through Etsy, Texas residents would be the only ones I could charge sales tax to. When I helped my son do his California State Income tax form, it had a place where you were supposed to list every purchase you've made either on line or in another state and pay California sales tax on it.

I think if you buy it out of state you do not have to pay sales tax in your state.

We pay sales tax on everything we purchase on-line except food items. There's a section on our State income tax form where you list everything, then calculte the tax. My husband works at the Dept of Revenue and he tells me we have a greater chance of being audited.

Aside from the tax issue, I purchased my HQ Avante from a dealer and we definitely worked out a deal - I did not pay the full retail price - I think it doesn't hurt to ask and sometimes you can ask for a demo machine (low hours) and get an even better deal.

Agree about asking for a deal. Doesn't hurt to ask. When I got my Bernina 820, I went to the dealer and asked how much if I pay cash. Got a price that was several thousands of dollars less the suggested retail price.

If you are planning to quilt as a business, you can obtain a sales tax permit and you will not (in the State of Texas anyway) be required to pay sales tax on your machine. I purchased a Gammill Vision 18/8 almost 3 years ago and love it. I have had a few issues and the customer service has been excellent. It came with a 4 year warranty on parts, but not labor. The techs are really good with staying on the phone with you and trying various things until the problem is solved. They don't want you to have to spend the dollars for labor either. If a new part is needed, they send it within 2 days and then walk you through the installation. I am feeling really comfortable with my machine and my abilities to problem solve now. My machine has a great stitch and I don't have any tension issues which I know can be a nightmare for some. I did not get many extras for my machine except for the casters and the batting bar on the frame both of which I'm glad I have. I live near San Antonio, but purchased my machine from Linda's Electric Quilters in McKinney, Texas which is about a 5 hour drive from me. When I was checking pricing, Gammill was offering specials and the dealers I checked with basically had the same deals. I would recommend that you take any classes offered which was included with my machine. It was 2 days and I had to stay in a hotel but it was well worth the expense. Good luck!

I really appreciate everyone's responses! I'm well on the way to making a decision. In a few more days I think I'll post some details about the specific machines I'm looking at to see if I can get some more guidance. I'm still in the information-collecting mode right now though. Without everything I've learned on this board over the past several months it would definitely be an overwhelming task!!

Dunster is correct on the sales tax issue--while you may not be charged SALES tax because you live in a state different from where you purchased the machine, you have a legal obligation to self-report any out-of-state purchases on your state income tax return and pay your state's USE tax. The USE tax is usually the same rate as the SALES tax, and is set up for these exact situations. Of course if you happen to live in a state without sales taxes this would not apply, but just because your state does not have an INCOME tax does not exempt you from the uSE tax. (I am a CPA).
As for discounts, I always try to negotiate for a little better price on big ticket items. Plus if you offer to pay cash or check they will often take off 5 percent which they would have paid in credit card exchange fees. Never hurts to ask!! Good luck!

At the big quilt shows, some of the companies sell their demonstrator machines at a discount which are only used at that show. Also, they have "show prices" for new ones. The HQ dealer in Michigan brought in a HQ instructor for 3 day of classes. Had "truckload" discounts - same as the show discount. He had my la delivered to my house and the drove over two hours to set it up for me.