How To be successful buying a Sewing or Embroidery Machine

1st consider the Brand. The European Manufactured machines are the best quality. For a sewer or embroiderer, you will spend more time sewing/embroidering, and less time struggling with your machine. These are the best three brands on the market for quality, reliability, available options, and local dealer support for service.

1. Husqvarna Viking
2. Pfaff
3. Bernina

There are other good brands made in the far east; however, the these three are the most reliable machines and usually come with better dealer support.

When buying a sewing machine on Ebay, you need to decide exactly what you want your machine to do. There are two main categories of sewing machines to choose from:

1>Sewing machines

and

2>Sewing machines with embroidery attachments.

1 Sewing machine for sewing and quilting.

How many stitches are enough?

You decide what you want/need, if you can't think how you would use specialty stitches, maybe opt to invest your money in what I consider the most important feature: Quality. Fewer and fewer sewing machines are high quality. And the better brands, don't allow their dealers to sell the newest models over the internet. So a good way to obtain one of these better quality machines is pre-loved. If you want a feature rich machine, thats great, buy it in a quality brand. Then move up the line buying features. Buying used in a quality brand isn't so scary, when the machine is engineered to last and work well. In short, a common decision a novice buyer will be faced with is whether to buy a new generic quality for the same money as a solid workhorse machine a few years old. Hands down, the quality brand workhorse will outlast and out sew the new generic model with far fewer headaches and frustrations.

2 Combination Sewing/Embroidery machines that not only sew, but also do automatic embroidery.

For a huge savings on Ebay (usually close to half price) you can obtain a world class embroidery/sewing machine made by one of the top leading companies.Plus, get all the quality after the biggest depreciation has taken place. Home embroidery can be a great source of a home based business as well. Most home embroiderers start getting overwhelming requests from family and friends to do custom embroidery once they see what's possible. If you have a question, don't assume an answer about a machine, ask the seller before you buy. It's better to buy a machine that has lots of pictures...big pictures. Look for specific lists of included items. Check for a warranty. Has the machine been reset to manufactures' standards before being placed on the used market.

And the age/condition.

If you are trying to economize, try buying a little older rather than lesser quality, and never break the golden rule "if the price is too cheap, something is not right". Ebay's priceless feedback ranking system allow you tell if the person selling you something misleads others they have sold to in the past, or if they are honest. This is very important if they are telling you the condition of the machine you are going to buy.

BEWARE

There are always people trying to scam other people. So some signs you should look for are:

• 1 day only auction. This usually has the text, don't wait for the auction to end, contact me now via my emai address. The price is usally way too low and they want you buy it before the auction ends.
• Poor feedback. They get an Ebay account and that's it. They start listing items for sale they don't have and the auctions usually close too low because people are leary the seller may be unreliable. Remember, if it looks too cheap or risky, it's probably best to stay away. If you don't have 100% confidence in a purchase before you make it, don't. Follow common sense and your gut.
• Scammers send you a second chance offer and tell you to contact them through email and not the ebay messaging system. The machine is usually priced way too low and they always want you to pay via other methods than Paypal. Paypal is always the safest way to buy Ebay items for both the buyers and the sellers. Ebay owns Paypal, and understands the Ebay buyers/sellers needs best. As a result, they take steps you may not have of any thought of to make sure buyers and sellers are who they say they are and stand behind their sellers/buyers with insurance.

• Overall, buying on Ebay is safe, just keep your buying habits in the "safe zone" with just a few practical steps.

Payments:

The best way to pay for ebay items is Paypal. Paypal has buyer and seller protection. It's that easy. Go to Paypal.com and read about the free buyer protection available with every purchase. It casts nothing to use for the buyer, and with protection, everything to gain.

Some of the questions you might want answered:

How large of an embroidery will it do in one hoop. 4"X4" is a nice starter size, however you can get upto 14" hoops!

Does it have a needle threader?

How many feet does it have?

How many stitches will it do?

Does it have a needle stop up/Down feature?

Is it easy to thread?

Does it show you your embroidery designs or sewing stitches on a screen before you sew them? In color?

Does it have bright lighting?How many lights?

How many hoops does it have? What sizes?

How many owners has it had?

How much use had it had?

Does it cut the thread for you?

Does it have a low bobbin sensor,

Does it have a broken upper thread sensor?

Are accessories still available for it?

Is it easy to use?

and other questions you might have

Good luck in buying your next machine, and I hope that this helps you get the machine you want and save money.