Cobra Buying Question

[showcattle]

Hello everyone,

Im looking into buying a sewing machine, more specifically a Cobra Class 4p set. I've decided on this one after talking to some local people who have one and love it and watching various videos on them. My main question is about actually buying the machine. Is there any advantage or disadvantage from buying a Cobra through a dealer like Springfield Leather instead of directly through Cobra? They are the same price online, the only thing I haven't looked into yet is the price of the shipping.

Thanks in advance,

Matt

[Wizcrafts]

Whomever you buy a new sewing machine from, make sure they can both service the machine if necessary and give you personal technical assistance when operational problems arise. Shipping is a two way proposition if the machine needs to be shipped back to the seller for repairs.

[Uwe]

What does "directly through Cobra" actually mean? Are you referring to the "Home of the Cobra" Leather Machine Co. in Los Angeles? Not sure how they relate to the Cobra brand, really, other than being one of the vendors for the brand. Toledo Industrial is "Home of the Cowboy" according to their website, but they're not exactly "directly through Cowboy" either.

You're located about as far away as you can get within the continental U.S. from pretty much all of the usual vendor suspects, so anything you buy will need to be shipped. Talk to the vendor candidates and find out how many levels of redirection are involved to get to the source of the brand and "the buck stops here" kind of support.

[showcattle]

Yes sir sorry for the confusion I did mean the Leather Machine Co. I thought that since they were the importers that they would be considered "Direct" and then any of the other places that sell them would be like a dealer for them.

[TinkerTailor]

What does "directly through Cobra" actually mean? Are you referring to the "Home of the Cobra" Leather Machine Co. in Los Angeles? Not sure how they relate to the Cobra brand, really, other than being one of the vendors for the brand. Toledo Industrial is "Home of the Cowboy" according to their website, but they're not exactly "directly through Cowboy" either.

You're located about as far away as you can get within the continental U.S. from pretty much all of the usual vendor suspects, so anything you buy will need to be shipped. Talk to the vendor candidates and find out how many levels of redirection are involved to get to the source of the brand and "the buck stops here" kind of support.

Leathermachineco brands their own 441 clones and paints them, so they are the source as it is their brand. The canadian cobra seller gets everything from california and marks it up a bunch.

Cowboy however is global brandname, same as hightex of which toledo is one of the retailers.The email link to the north american distributor is neels saddlery.

Edited February 3, 2016 by TinkerTailor

[Wizcrafts]

The bottom line is that the "Cobra" branded sewing machines are imported and distributed by Leather Machine Company, in California. They have banners that appear in the rotation on top of the pages on all our forums. You can buy direct from them, which means any problems will be handled directly by the people responsible for importing and setting up your machine.

You can also buy from authorized dealers who then become responsible for all servicing and support. If you are contemplating purchasing the machine from an authorized dealer, contact them in advance and ask about their support policy on that machine, its motor, parts and accessories.

The owner of the Cobra brand name, as well as Leather Machine Company, is Steve Tayrien. He is a member here, going by the handle Cobra Steve