serger prices???
 

After totally feeling like a fool listening to a local shop giving me their "fair specials" run down and then seeing that I could save $60 buying direct for brother and $101 buying from amazon I am a little frustrated. This was for the Brother 1034D.

I also looked at a Baby Lock Eclipse DX and it was $1099 through them. What type of serger do you have and how much did you pay for it.

I am trying to figure out what a good deal is for new. I was figuring I would spend around $800 but it seems like there is no middle ground really.

I didn't realize they sold the 1034D in sewing shops. Honestly, if you're looking for an entry level serger or your first serger I really don't think you can go wrong with the 1034D.

My dream serger is the Babylock Imagine. And I called around to a couple different shops. One was selling it for $1400 and another shop for $1900 :jawdrop:

Anyhoo. Due to my limited budget I ended up getting the Babylock Lauren which, from what I can tell is very similar if not the same as the Brother 1034D. I spent $299 on it. It was worth it for me to get it from a local shop with a free class and a warranty. Which I had to use in the first month I had it due to a bent needle guard or something I probably messed up :giggle: but it was fixed for free.

If I had your budget I would have gotten the Babylock near that price range. And I do feel sewing shops grossly mark up their product. But there is something to be said about buying a piece of equipment that needs servicing and regular maintenance from a brick and mortar store. And they do offer sales and specials from time to time and IME they know what they're talking about. I also think calling around for pricing is a good idea too ;)

I've only had my serger for two months (my first one ever) and after using it just one time I have no idea how I sewed without one (I make a fair amount of clothing).

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You can't fail with a babylock!! I have had an old version of the modern DX that I inherited from my grandma and it is was going strong until last week and it was over 20 years old!! I did splurge and get an Imagine (my dream serger) and paid, literally this morning, $1,700 (including tax).

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Brother makes babylock machines both sewing and serger. Babylock is sold at premium over brother but they are twins - like ford and mercery. I have a babylock sewing machine that I love.

One exception to this is that babylock sergers have air-jet technology for threading which I haven't seen marketed in a brother line. These are the 1200 sergers. But it's not an essential feature for sergering.

I've heard a lot of people are happy with the model you mentioned.

I got a juki serger last Christmas and I am really happy with it. I spent about $700 but I wanted the auto threading features not avail on lower models. I could have spent about 450 to 500 and got the same guts wo the extras. Juki and bernina are sister brands. The same bernina is about 1000. I ve also heard good things about the jenomes sold at sewing centers (vs big box stores).

My first serger was a pos that I bought at walmart for 300. I would have be a lot happier if id spent another 100 on a better machine. It was always off tension and hard to thread. I'm kind of in the get what you pay for group on sergers.

But I definitely shopped around. A lot of sewing centers will not advertise prices (I think it's a contract issue w manufacturers) but I have been able to shop around. Esp good to know that sister brands are the same model. The benefit of buying from a sewing center is customer service, classes and warantys. I found I could bargain with them so give it a shot.

Re: serger prices???
 

I have a Jenome sewing machine and I love it. I hadn't really looked at their sergers but I think I might. I also didn't know that babylock and brother were sister companies. That is good to know.

Re: serger prices???
 

I totally disagree. There is SO much that goes into running a brick and mortar shop. The overhead can be enormous. There is also so much more support that comes with buying in store vs. buying online.

I have a Pfaff Hobbylock serger that I paid close to $1,000 for. I've had it for about 4 years now, and it is still running strong.

Re: serger prices???
 

I will not disagree that buying at a brick and mortar is superior than on-line. My opinion was merely a reflection of the huge difference in pricing I have found by calling around to my local shops. As evidenced by the $1900 serger I could buy for $1400 at a shop 10 miles from the first. Which just seemed sketchy to me. I also will not dispute the overhead of a brick and mortar store or what it takes to run one...

Re: serger prices???
 

Brother makes Babylock sewing machines but they do not make Babylock sergers. I have the brother 1034d. It works great for my purposes. It does diapers and knit clothes and anything else I've put throu it. It's a great starting point for sure. There isn't anything quite like a Babylock server with their jet threading though. If I were a fitted diaper wahm I would so get one of those.

Re: serger prices???
 

Babylock is only sold through retail stores, so they don't compete with online pricing. Also,one store may have quoted you the Msrp and the other the price they actually sell for. Sewing machines and sergers are like buying a car... They rarely sell for the sticker price. Always negotiate, either for money off, trade in value or free accessories. I don't think they are worth it for the lower selling models for someone who already knows how to use a machine, but definitely for a newby or a high dollar machine.

I bought a Brother and returned it. Then I bought a gently used Babylock on eBay (risky I know!). This machine is amazing and in my opinion totally worth the extra cost. It couldn't be easier to thread and the tension is always perfect.