Originally Posted by aam5019
I have a Bernina 640. I started out with the Bernette 340. (It is similar to the Janome 350.) Bernina sells them. Mine was a great machine. It has a 5 x 7 hoop, but I wanted the 6 x 10.
Alice
I recently purchased a used Bernette Deco 340 that was brought in as a trade in. I love it so far!! Very user friendly, got great reviews and it fits in your price range. It is a few years old, but for my use and my budget it is working just fine. You can learn more about them here:
http://www.berninausa.com/product_de...3-i28-sUS.html
It is a stand alone embroidery machine with 100 built in stitches, will use either a USB stick or a 'card'. "With its extra-large embroidery surface and numerous facilities for editing and combining designs on the machine, the bernette 340 Deco makes creative projects a real pleasure."
Check out as many as you can, test drive the ones that interest you the most and read reviews. Dealer customer service is of great importance.