Sew I did a thing…
Sew as some of you all may know, I have been wanting to dabble in embroidery for a while now and started that up last year. I purchased a Brother PE-800 to start off. As I delved deeper into the world of embroidery and started creating items with more than one color, I quickly realized an upgrade was needed in my future. For fun, I began to research multi-needle embroidery machines and to my surprise…THEY ARE EXPENSIVE! OMG!
What is a broke girl in this big world supposed to do?! Well, I waited. That’s what I did. lol I waited and tried to save up some coins to make such a purchase. In the meantime I looked at so many options. I tried Facebook marketplace for used machines; I conducted Google searches for embroidery business selling their machines; I looked for repossessions sales, you name it, I Googled it. I thought I hit the jackpot when I located a seller on Facebook Marketplace nearby selling her “gently used” Ricoma 10 needle machine with hoops, thread, stabilizer, etc. for a very reasonable price! The only problem here was… I didn’t have the “very reasonable price” money available to make such a purchase. In hindsight, I’m somewhat glad I didn’t. Yet again, the window closed on me, as this seller sold to someone that was ready and willing to make the purchase.
While I continued to wait, work, and strategize on how I could manage to get a multi-needle machine and not have to pay ridiculously high finance charges by putting it on credit, I came across a HOST of videos and forums discussing issues other embroiderers were having with their machinery. This made me clutch my pearls and immediately give thanks for NOT purchasing the “second-hand” machine. Some of the embroiders purchased their machines straight from the dealer and others from third party or private sellers. They blogged about the mechanical issues and the ridiculous cost to have a technician come make the repairs. I didn’t want to have to experience this with no backing by the manufacturer, because there is no warranty. It was time to strategize again.
I worked hard and made some money to put aside for this purchase knowing that 2023 was my goal year. I did my taxes and got even more money back - HOORAY!!! Sew what do I do?! IMMEDIATELY REINVEST IN MY BUSINESS!!! DUH! I bought my machine! Sew look, here’s how I’m thinking: I’ve got the funds to make the purchase to make the product that will make the money to continue to make my business thrive. Why wouldn’t I go for it?! Sew now I have a decision to make - Big name machine with big name cost, or less known machine with lower price point? Knowing this will be the first of many, I went with the secondary option.
I was skeptical about getting a Chinese brand machine, but then I thought about it….MOST OF THESE MACHINES ARE MADE IN CHINA ANYWAY! The fear isn’t where it’s made as much as where my support would come from. For instance, Melco and Ricoma are stationed in the USA and support would be local. Going with a brand specific to China posses several issues
Language Barriers;
Not easily accessible - travel;
Longer Shipping Times;
Time Zones, etc.
After watching an exhausting amount of videos, reading a zillion reviews, finding out there are USA warehouses so shipping time isn’t as long as I thought, found several support groups to join, realized the Ricoma machine (that I wanted sewwwwwwwww bad) isn’t too different from the BAi in features and functionality, and customer support is a 24/7 operation, I weighed my options and decided to move forward with the BAi MIRROR 1501 embroidery machine.
It took about a week to ship from California to Georgia (unfortunately the Georgia warehouse was out of stock), which sadly cost another $1000 for shipping [OUCH!]. It arrived on a big box truck and the driver kindly dropped it in my front yard. The machine was well packaged in a wooden box on a pallet (unfortunately I didn’t get pictures of the unboxing, as my brothers quickly got it unpacked before I could get outside). It was HEAVY! We got all of the parts out and managed to get the stand put together and the machine bolted in place. It was BEAUTIFUL. The next task at hand was…what will I name it??? Well…… let me introduce the world to: BOSS!!!
