Originally Posted by
Iceblossom
Many shops will offer service contracts on used machines they sale. Some will have offers for other machines too, but a lot of that depends on if they do the work themselves or not.
I'd be looking a bit more local than ebay, I'd try Craig's List if you have an active one near you (I know Grand Rapids has one).
From my friends with embroidery machines, I'd say get the largest hoop you can afford. Talk to the people on why they are changing machines/getting rid of what they have. Not all used machines are equal!
Edit: I brought up the Grand Rapids Craigs List and while not much right in town, there is what I think a pretty good deal on a Brother in Kalamazoo!
I had to follow up to share something interesting regarding CL. I was browsing the various listings last night to see what was out there. Being that my husband doesn't mind driving, I pretty much scoured all the state listings and even into Ohio. In Flint, there was a listing that caught my attention. It was for a Dream Machine. The price was "too good to be true" but I figured you never know. I've had to sell things at insane prices because I needed the cash. So I hit reply and inquired whether the machine was still available.
I got a response a short time later that yes, the machine was available. The person said they were being deployed and so they wanted to sell it before leaving. For some reason, that made me suspicious, but again I figured I wouldn't jump to conclusions. So I asked when I might come to see it. The response was that she was in Montana. So if I was interested, she would set up a deal via ebay...and that's when I knew it was an attempted scam.
I responded that "well, if you are in Montana, why are you posting in a Michigan Craig's List site and why aren't you just using ebay directly?" The person only said they were trying to get "more exposure" and didn't want to pay ebay fees. I did a little research and discovered this scam is common in regards to higher ticket items (cars, etc.) because the asking price is too good to be true and people fall for it. I basically responded to the person that they should be ashamed to falsely claim to be military and to try to scam people. Then I promptly reported them to CL and blocked the account.
I'll confess, though, I got very excited at the thought of getting a deal. But, I'm old enough to know that in some cases if it's way too good to be true, then it probably is.
I do, though, think I am going to go with a machine I saw on ebay. The seller is local (20 minutes from me), and will allow me to pick it up. She has a Viking Topaz 20 that was only used twice, as well as an unopened boxed version of Premier+2 embroidery software. The asking price is very good. It will get me back into a machine without breaking the budget (our car is being repaired so all the money is going towards that!) and meanwhile, I can start saving for a better machine down the road
