I too have a Brother machine from Walmart that I have had for 8 year now and never had an issue with it! In fact I would sew on my Brother before my Janome, I have a Janome 6500 that I hate, and a Juki that is my favorite by far.

I have several 'Brothers' from Walmart. My first one lasted 8 years, then fell out of the back of the car during a trip. It looked ok on the outside, but apparently had internal injuries. The other Brother machines I own have several years use on them and work fine. I am not a gentle sewer, either. I'm kind of sort of offended by what you said about them simply because they are from Walmart. Don't worry, I'm over it already.

I rarely take my sewing machines out of the house. I found that it was a waste of time for me to take them to guild meetings. I spent so much time talking and working the organization of sit and sews that I did not sew.

No matter what brand sewing machine you buy, keep in mind that if it is 'computerized' and the computer inside the machine fails, your machine will not work unless you replace the 'computer' in it. The manufacturers will not support the model/computer card forever.

Happy hunting!

I love my Eversewn. Light, cute, great for machine applique. You can buy a walking foot, 1/4foot without blade, 1/4 foot with blade, quilting guides, a metal FM foot, and storage box for $30-40 total.

Lol. I'm very sorry! I just kept researching and hearing/reading over and over again that I shouldn't buy one from there. I'd begun to have Big Box Store anxiety. The Brother I have is wonderful, and was very easy to learn to use, so I'll check out those as well.

I'm very happy to hear several of you say that the less expensive machines hold up well. The less money I can spend on the travel/multi-stitch machine, the more I have left for fabric.:thumbup:

I'm not in the market for a machine but I've read really good things about the Eversewn too.

Just purchased a Janome 49018. Absolutely love it . It’s the quietest machine I’ve ever heard, 12 lbs, beautiful stitches, the bells and whistles that I love. Price about $250.

I would opt for a Janome. Sturdy machines with great warranty....they have a lot to choose from around your price range. As for Walmart machines, I would not purchase there, only because of service or warranty hassles. They had many bad customer complaints on a line of Brother machines several years ago. I suspect they corrected that when the flimsy machine was featured in a newscast. A repair man took the case off to show the non existent frame work...really cheap machine. Check your local dealers, many times they have great machines that are gently used.

I have 4 Brother Walmart varieties machines. Two here, one at each of son's house. Mine are relatively old - one is about 15 years old and the other about 8 years old. they sew through anything and none of them has given me a bit of trouble. Never a tension issue. I think Walmart takes things back with the box and a receipt. My machines have never seen the inside of a repair shop.

Glad to hear people have bought Brother machines from Walmart. I am looking at the brother embroidery770 from there. Does anyone have one? I also have a Janome 6600 that I love!

One thing I like about a discount store, you can take it back and get a refund. Several in my guild has the Brothers from Walmart for taking to classes and one will admit it is her go to machine while her new Bernina 830 is sitting there. LOL She has the Brother cs6000i. Cost her about $150. I would go with the PRW Brother for more features.