Help in Choosing A Machine

KMDonegan · July 27th, 2006, 08:57 AM

I need help! I currently own a Singer XL6000. I love monogramming and embroidery and am planning to eventually open a monogrammed gift shop. I am limited on my home machine and can't do purses, koozies, etc. on it. I am looking to upgrade to a more commercial machine, but I am having a really hard time choosing which one. Cost is certainly a big factor in my decision, as I already spent $3000 on my Singer in January and don't know how much I can resell it for. I don't do a lot of colorful designs, mostly just putting names or initials on items. I have considered a Brother PR600, Happy machine, Renaissance Mini, and Ricoma. Of course every salesperson I talk to says their machine is best! I am not opposed to buying used, but worry about getting appropriate training. I keep hearing the Brother PR600 is not really a "commercial" machine, yet that is what a lot of shops in my area are using. I am so confused and overwhelmed. I don't want to make another expensive mistake. If I had known more in the beginning I would have known a home machine was not going to be what I needed. Thanks for any help!

mommy2mydeer4 · July 27th, 2006, 08:03 PM

Wow I wish I could help! I work from home using my Brother ULT - the Disney edition! I totally love it! I have worked very hard for it! I started with a Janome 8000 and then moved to a Brother 8500 and then to a Brother 8500D oh and a few more in between that...LOL! I just keep upgrading and now I have my "dream machine"! It works great for me, but even the two 8500 Brother Machines worked very well for me - I just upgraded because I've worked very hard to get the machine that I wanted - not needed. I mainly embroider designs on baby blankets, Onesies, Cloth Diapers and a few other baby items. I LOVE LOVE LOVE the fact that I can hook my machine up to my computer and transfer or make my own designs! EASY

I am not exactly sure what machine you should be looking for - but you may want to consider looking on eBay to see how much your Singer XL6000 is worth. I am selling both of my Brothers on eBay right now and am considering selling all but my ULT - you should hear my husband...LOL I have 9 machines and use my ULT 95% of the time - I use my surger the rest of the time.

KMDonegan · July 27th, 2006, 11:25 PM

I had decided to trade my Singer in at a local dealer, but now I believe I am going to sell it outright on Ebay. I thought my local dealer was giving me a great deal on a Ricoma 1 head 12 needle machine for $9995, however, while researching the machine online I found out I can buy it from the company for the same price AND get digitizing software, 8500 stock designs, shirt hooping system, and start-up kit with various backings and threads for the same price PLUS they come install on site and give you an 8 hour day of training at my site included in the price. I am thinking this deal sounds too good to be true, but I can't find any glitches. Anyone know anything about the RICOMA brand? I can't find much information on it anywhere which kind of scares me, but it seems to have a great warranty. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

July 28th, 2006, 11:42 AM

Quote:

Anyone know anything about the RICOMA brand?

Quote:

I can't find much information on it anywhere which kind of scares me, but it seems to have a great warranty.

Ricoma is a chinese brand and not as popular as Tajima, Barudan, SWF and so forth. Because it is not as popular it doesn't mean the machine sucks it just means it's new in the North American market and i think it's why you can't find so much info on it compared to the popular brands. There is nothing wrong with that of course, but one thing you have to remember is that having a good machine is not enough for a busy shop you have to have excellent after purchase support as well for those days when you can't figure out what's wrong with the machine or when you have a major machine malfunction (accident or otherwise) where you need a tech to come by. This is why it's great to buy from a reputable dealer close to where you are. Find out how long they've been in business in the area they're operating now. Another thing you have to consider when buying a brand that's not as popular is the availability of independant technicians qualified to work on Ricoma machines in and around your area. A friend of mine who has 6 head Tajima has plenty of qualified independant techs in his area plus the dealers techs so he will always feel confident if he has problems. When his warranty expired he now contacts an independant tech because the per hour rate is much cheaper. Getting parts and accessories for popular brands is faster and easier too and you can often buy them used from other dealers and embroiderers everywhere.

KMDonegan · July 29th, 2006, 04:17 PM

I am on the Mississippi Gulf Coast and I don't seem to have many big time dealers anywhere close. The shop I was first going to buy the Ricoma machine from was in Mobile, AL (an hour away), but they still didn't work on them there, they told me I would have to have someone come from Sew Tech in Montgomery, AL. The rep I talked to at the Ricoma company said there is someone in Atlanta, GA (about 4 hours away) that is very familiar with the machine. The only somewhat local dealer that works on the machines they sell is the Brother dealer, but they only sell the PR600 and I just think I want something more industrial than that. If I am going to spend $8000, I might as well spend a little more and get a lot more machine. The people from the Renaissance company told me that there were no techs in my area and that somewhat have to be sent from their Dallas location(for a fee) if I had a problem. I don't know what to do, I feel like I am in the embroidery no-man's land!

cdchurch · September 7th, 2006, 09:45 AM

Hi,
If you are still looking check out the Toyota ESP9000. You can visit pantograms.com and see it there. It's a good machine and will last you a long time. Do find out if there is a tech not too far away from you, it's expensive and can take some time to get someone to come to your location if they are not kind of close. I'm a Toyota tech and machine owner so can vouch that they are good machines.

Carrie-n-Don · September 16th, 2006, 01:34 PM

Hello,
I am completely new at this! I am reading all of your comments, and have a few questions. My husband and I are now looking into starting our own business. I am completely overwhelmed with where to start. Can any of you tell me which machine NOT to look at buying? We have looked at the Brother PR600. But I am not sure if that will last long. Can anyone tell me why they like their machine better? Like one person said, the stores of course tell you what they want to, to get you to buy. Any help would be greatly appreciated!!

dodiodo · September 2nd, 2008, 12:04 AM

Where are you located? I am looking to purchase a used XL6000. I do have some questions. Is there a machine that you can take a photograph and make an embroidery out of it?

LUV DEM TIGERS · September 2nd, 2008, 10:41 AM

I have a Babylock that is the same exact machine as the PR-600. I have over 34 million stitches on mine and it is still going strong. I take it in once a year for a good "going over". If you charge at a minimum of $1.00 per thousand stitches, that is $34,000 on a machine that you can get for less than $8000. And considering that you usually charge a minimum charge and a lot of simple monograms don't reach the minimum in stitch count, the income is a lot more than that $34,000.

LUV DEM TIGERS · September 2nd, 2008, 10:42 AM

And I would suggest to anyone interested already doing embroidery to go to an ISS show. You will learn a lot and there is a lot of "competition" under one roof so you can get some really good deals. Go to www.issshows.com and you will find them all across the country.