I am using one of two straight stitch only machines and they have never been in the shop. I do maintenance on them and keep them oiled. 11 and 13 years old.

I haven't taken my machines for a while, but I am fairly sure with all the people demanding higher wages it's not surprising. And they really need to get some new people in the repairing of sewing machines because it seems to be a dying art. I know of 2 shops in my area that closed when the owners retired. And one shop sends their machines out - no idea where but they say it's not done on premises and will take 6 weeks or more unless they have trouble getting parts.

It's still $69.95 at our local shop. Turn around time is 1 to 2 weeks, and they are really busy! The owner, who is also the head tech, is one of the most honest people I know. Last time he raised the price (about 10 years ago), was to discourage so many people from bringing in their "disposable" machines for repair. Because he can fix a "disposable" machine, but it won't stay fixed, then he has a customer who is unhappy with him. He has plenty business with good machines coming in for service and doesn't have time to waste on the cheap ones.

Having worked as a tech for 8 years, it blows my mind how high the prices have gone!

I usually pay $79.95 for just a general cleaning. It's probably gone up also.

I don't understand someone's mindset when they think a new inexpensive machine can be repaired like new. Not worth anyone's time. Buy another one.

maybe it’s someone with limited funds thinking it would be cheaper to repair vs new one. Or someone trying to keep things out of a landfill. And they might be novices to the sewing world and not know.

How much was it? Embroidery machine?
I just had mine serviced - Viking - not embroidery machine - $110.

I remember a tv documentary show one of the 60min or 20/20 type shows that did a segment on recycling centers. The centers had lots of waste going to landfills/dumps. Going out of my way to recycle may make me fell good by doing my part but it will most likely end up in some part in the landfill anyway.https://cdn.quiltingboard.com/images/smilies/shock.png

sadly that is the case. Here we are in an unincorporated part of the county so have to contract for trash/recycling. There are 4 separate companies coming in. Two don’t offer recycling. One says they recycle but dump it all. We are with the one that recycles. Sometimes there is no market for goods which is why they don’t take glass anymore. There is a recycling center a short drive. It is commercial so they do recycle. They have a drop off for lots of things and I bring the glass there. I also collect it from someone else in another county which doesn’t take glass. It is a tiny part and maybe insignificant but as long as I can do even that part I will.

I don't understand why he can't simply tell people their machine cannot be repaired. That's exactly what happened to me - I was given a Brother SE270D for Christmas. After about 10 years, the LED light dimmed. I couldn't figure out how to replace the bulb, so I took it in to the tech. That was exactly what he told me - it's not replaceable or repairable, it's a disposable machine. I took it home, clamped the little IKEA light onto it and kept sewing until it finally seized up about 2 years ago.