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I was in WalMart today, and of course had to go through the fabric section. After all, its one of the laws of quilters right? Must always check fabric when it is nearby? Anyways, they are now carrying Janome machines. I think they are double branded with New Look - as in the patterns. The price range was $149 and $299. Definitely not regular Janome pricing.
Definitely not a regular Janome I would think.
Will have to take a look.... Are they Janome knockoffs? I am interested in seeing these machines.... I want to see if they are anything like the ones the Janome dealers carry. Maybe I'll Google it.
Actually Janome does make machines in that price range. In fact Jean has 2 of them. One is a Hello Kitty Machine.
I would be researching very carefully before purchasing one of these machines.
Several years ago my father, a painting contractor, bought a major brand name sprayer at Home Depot. He found that although the machine had a similiar model number to those sold at a higher cost at other retailers, there were pieces not included, and that its performance was sub par. He got in touch with a distributor to get parts. He explained the problems and gave the model #. Immediately the distributor said "oh, you bought that at Home Depot!". The distributor then explained that because HD buys such a large number of units, they were able have them customized, (perhaps cheapened) and labelled as they wish. The unsuspecting public thinks they are getting a good buy on the same item they've seen elsewhere, when in fact they are buying a lesser item. Certainly Walmart could be doing the same thing. Perhaps not, but I would exercise extreme caution here.
Hmm, I wasn't aware of that! Thanks for letting us know. :) What I would be concerned about is that one of the machines, the $299 one, was a quilting style machine, but what happens if it stops working? Is this meant to be a throw away machine to hook new quilters, or will there be a warranty? Is the inside made to the same specifications?Quote:
Originally Posted by auntiemern
Not trying to be mean or anything - please no one take it this way. The way my brain has been trained through education and work is to be very conservative and wary of anything not proven - part of being an accountant, I guess.
Jeans little Janome's are work horses. I am sure she would tell you to go for it. Most any machine sold at WM comes with a one yr warranty, and you can purchase an extended one.
If they're branded Janome they ARE Janome. There are actually only 3 domestic machine brands in the world which own all the other brands. While Janome indeed makes other brands, no one but Janome makes Janome.
Cheers, Pami
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Originally Posted by hh677
My hubby discovered that same thing. Walmart has deals with certain manufacturers to make a popular item that on the outside is identical to a popular higher end item and yet on the inside it is junk. Different serial number. Now that Janome is selling through Joann's I wonder if it is the same type of thing. Identical to look at but very different to use. Hmmm, maybe at Joann's as well.
They sell those little Janomes at Hancocks too. I've never looked real close at them, but I know they have them and are inexpensive.
Janome does have this line too: Shop at Home - Janome Sewing Machines Maybe these are the ones they're selling at Walmart?
That is one that they have at Hancocks...and the kitty one.
This website says these machines are produced specifically for their Canadian customers. I certainly don't need another machine, but for anyone interested, I wonder if they ship to the US and how much more it adds to the cost.
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Originally Posted by Musical_Starling
I like Walmarts 1 year warranty, but... I'd wonder too if they are not doing the Home Depot thing? When I first got into quilting I looked at their Brothers (and a friend loves her Brother machines), but said those aren't made as well? I don't know but at that price if you got a year out of them that is a good deal! Did it have the big harp for quilting? a couple hundred isn't bad for a few years worth of work. Good luck
Here is what I found when I did an on-line search for Janome:
Janome at WalMart
I want a Janome is bad!
Well I justwentto walmart web site and they have no janome's but i'm in a different area of the country. I do know whoever that on their TV"s they put in a cheaper computer chip so that they can have cheaper prices on those. Same with Kmart and target. As usual you get what you pay for.
If a person is on a budget, I would certainly try one. I just got a brother machine recently, my son thought I would like it,he got at Walmart and I do like it! I prefer the vintage machines, I can repair or fix them myself (well rather my dh does). I have/had 2 janomes and a person should get them cleaned on a regular basis. Done that and for what that cost me, I can could buy a brother or a Janome machine at Walmart, Joannes, Hancocks and run them til they stop. I think you win either way.Quote:
Originally Posted by HdWench
this shows three Hello Kitty Janome machinesthey carry a manufacturers warranty, and the two higher priced machines have aluminum frames. I have both the 3128 and green Hello Kitty machines for my grandkids. I used the 3128 for a heavy upholstery project that I traveled to work on. It weighs 11pounds and fit in my large checked bag. It did the job through heavy piped upholstery fabric and never balked. I paid $89 for this machine at Hancock. I have no doubt that the Walmart machines sold at Walmart will give service. They are simple mechanical machines ( the $299 one is computerized) but despite having no bells or whistles are serviceable. Since they are called 3/4 size machines, they will handle small projects. Don't plan on quilting your king size quilt on an 11pound machine with a 4 inch throat! You can't drop the feed dogs on the 3128, so no FMQing.
Hello Kitty Janome Sewing Machine | Overstock.com
I have been looking a machines (Babylock and Janome) and I ask myself.....how many stitches do you need to piece quilts? If I want to do other sewing and decorative stitching - I have machines that will do that. My Brother 1500 has an excellent straight stitch and I'm thinking about taking it off the frame and using it for piecing. I can put it back on the frame when I'm ready to quilt (been looking at 18" machines for the frame).
The machines sold at big box stores are NOT the same as the machines sold through dealers. They are low cost machines made just for this type of sale. As has been mentioned already, they are not made to the same standards, they are made to cut costs as much as possible. These huge stores like Wal Mart are able to purchase enough of them to make production of them worth it for the manufacturer.
You MAY get lucky and get a machine that will last you more than a year or so, but these low end machines are not built to be long term machines. Remember the video posted recently of the frame-less machines? An inexpensive VERY light machine probably has no frame.
If you plan to sew frequently with your machine, do yourself a favor and go visit a dealer first. The number of stitches a machine has is NOT! what makes a machine cost more. Stitches are like sprinkles on a cupcake. You don't choose cupcakes by the color of the sprinkles.
AT least if you visit a dealer first, you will have a more accurate idea of what is available. A good dealer will have used machines AND stand behind them. They will also fix your new machine if it develops problems. Even if you do get a machine at Wal Mart, you will have to find a shop to take it to for repairs and cleaning.
Holy crap! The colors on those machines ...Quote:
Originally Posted by buckeyequilter
Definitely listen to this advise, Walmart has been proven to do this with many items they sell. My guess would be that the internal parts are not the same or of lesser quality. LQS has also mentioned this same problem with Amazon.Quote:
Originally Posted by hh677
Oh my gosh - I love the colors. Would be great for a little one learning how to sew. But they are all out of stock online - are they only being sold in stores maybe. I would not think these are for the experienced sewer.