Looking at buying a machine but overwhelmed.

[dikman]

Well, my Cowboy 4500 didn't come with a test sewing piece. I bought the head unit only from an Australian distributor and it was basically shipped to me unopened, as it came from the factory. My assumption is that if it was sold as a complete unit (table, motor etc) then it would have been tested because it was already set up. I'm not complaining because they gave me a good deal so I guess they didn't want to waste any time on it.

Just my observations.

[WolfteverGunleather]

I bought my Cobra 4 from Leather Machine Company, and I was very pleased with the setup and service. When I ordered it, they asked me what size thread I intended to use primarily. They installed the correct size needle, set up the tension for the preferred thread, sewed a sample piece, and included it in my shipment. Once I got the machine, I had a couple of questions, so I picked up the phone and called them and they were very helpful. I had the machine up and running well very quickly thanks to their service. 

When I was shopping for machines, I had lots of questions. I posted them on this site, and Wiz jumped in with some very helpful advice which helped me make what I consider to be a good decision.

Being a newbie on heavy stitching machines at the time, I was very appreciative of the advice I got from Wiz and the excellent service I got from Steve at LMC. I would not have wanted to make an expensive mistake by trying to import a machine directly. If I were highly experienced in that area, I might be willing to explore direct importing, but I certainly don't consider Wizcrafts' advice to be rubbish, and I greatly appreciate the value that a reputable dealer like LMC adds to this process.

[CowboyBob]

5 hours ago, chrisash said:

I also agree that Wiz has done a lot of good for the forum

But one thing that I do question and not just the US machines but world wide

The sewing machine factories I assume do a test stitch into the correct garment for which they were designed for be it leather or cotton, by the factory QC departments, so my question is do the agents really take the machines out of the factory boxes and test them again and then repack to send out to the customers. Or is it just a few buyers who send in a sample piece?

The definitely dont on domestic machines

I can't speak for other dealers BUT I would say anyone that is selling machines probably would or should check them.Many years ago when we were selling the Adler 205's everyone we tested seemed to sew good since they were tested when we got them so we just started shipping them w/o testing a maybe the 3rd one didn't sew when the customer received it so we decided quickly that machine ever goes out w/o being gone over (this means checking every nut,bolt & screw for tightness) we also check timing,tension & oil & test sew every machine & it doesn't matter what brand.