Cheap sewing machines don’t always mean you have to sacrifice quality for price.
Comparison shopping with these tips will ensure you get the best deal possible AND great value for a piece of equipment that can last you for years.
I mention this specifically because you would be amazed at the number of people who search for sewing machines online using the word “cheap” as a description.
What they will find are the listings in which someone is actually using the word to describe the sewing machine but quality machines aren’t going to label their product that way. If I’m Singer, I’m not going to call one of my products “cheap”. It would downgrade perception of the machine.
It is obvious that price is a factor when looking for sewing machines for beginners, however, and that finding a bargain is important.
There are several ways to find cheap sewing machines (and in this case I mean discounted prices and not discounted quality):
Cheap Sewing Machines Online from High Volume Dealers
High volume, online dealers can offer name brand sewing machines for less money than low volume dealers. AllBrands is one such online store. So far, it’s the only online store that I’ve found will sometimes beat Amazon on the price for the exact same sewing machines.
Refurbished Sewing Machines for Cheap
Refurbished Sewing Machines Online – Overstock has a great selection of brand name sewing machines available that have been refurbished. A refurbished machine is one that had a problem but has been completely restored and fixed to the manufacturer’s specifications and is in perfect working order. As I write this, I’ve found a Brother Quilting LX3125 sewing machine on Overstock that’s been refurbished and is priced at $57.99. The new version runs around $150 on Amazon.
Look for Quality AND a Cheap Price
A work related conference I attended held a presentation on something called the “beauty of the ‘AND'”. In a nutshell, the speaker introduced the thinking that we can have two seemingly opposing ideals at the same time when we introduce the word “AND” into our requirements. We can have quality AND a cheap price, for example. It takes some hunting and digging to get both but you don’t need to give up one to get the other.
If you’re a beginner sewer but you’ve talked to others who are more experienced, you’ve probably received expensive brand recommendations and although you’d love to have a machine that did everything, you don’t want to pay for it. Well – then don’t. Look for the beauty of the “AND”.
Find a Cheap Sewing Machine
To find a cheap sewing machine that is also of high quality, start with the machine first and then look for places where you can get the best deal on that machine. Determine the requirements you have for your sewing machine:
- quilting
- embroidery
- basic mending
- high rating
- automatic needle threader
- presser foot selection
- accessories
- stitch selection and variety
- mending
- clothes construction
- stitch width and length
- pre-set settings or variable
- computerized or non-computerized
Then shop for the best sewing machines with the options you want. Narrow your choices down to 3-5 machines by reviewing the ratings and options through Amazon’s Sewing Machine listings. Make a note of their price for each of the one’s on your list (they usually have the lowest prices around). Next, go to the places I mentioned above as having cheap prices for brand name sewing machines and search by model name for each of the models on your list. Look for refurbished deals, too. Make a note of the lowest price you find for each model.
Finalize your selection based on the outcome of your comparison shopping and you’ll find cheap sewing machines that offer significant functionality and value. You’ll feel much better about your choice if you do a little digging and you’ll get a far better deal.
