[Jessie]

Hi guys, I am quite new here, but looking forward to taking part more in the forum.

I am considering upgrading to a Brother SE400. I know that it’s a reasonably powerful machine in terms of features and actual power and the price is not too extortionate , but would just like to here from guys here on the forum that have used it.

I will be taking a closer look at my local dealer in the near future to see what the SE400 can do.

Thanks

🙂

[juliamom2009]

Hi Jessie – I have a Brother SE400, and I really like it. I’ve never had an expensive sewing machine – I used to sew with a cheap Costco Singer, and had a Bernina Deco 500 embroidery machine. The Brother SE400 uses all my old embroidery pattern cards, plus you can download about a bazillion embroidery designs from the internet. Not to jinx it, but I’ve never had a problem with my machine. I bought it on-line, and see on Amazon now that it’s even cheaper that the deal I got.

[Jessie]

Hi Juliamom!

Thanks for the response and the little review. I hadn’t factored in the internet embroidery content, so that’s a bonus.

Reviews of the Brother SE400 are good and people that have purchased at Amazon seem to view the machine favourably too, so I think that my credit card might be seeing the light of day very soon!

Thx

Jessie

[meleliza]

sewing.patternreview.com has lots of reviews of machines and many disussions that might help too.

[Maggie]

I just bought myself a serger through Amazon. I noticed that the price varied by $70 over a three week period. Maybe this isn’t typical, but I would keep an eye on the price and buy low.

[MimmySews]

I’m going to stand up for independent dealers. You may get good deals from Amazon. Goodness knows, the Mail Carrier and UPS people have delivered LOTs of smiley boxes to my house. But I wouldn’t buy a sewing machine from them. You have a very personal relationship with your sewing machine and dealer.

If you go to a dealer and they spend an hour with you and work on their floor model and then you go and buy a machine on Amazon, don’t expect lessons from that dealer. Don’t expect little adjustments or tips on what you are doing wrong. Don’t expect them to go to bat for you with the manufacturer if there is truly something wrong with the machine out of the box or be happy about doing warranty work. Most importantly, don’t expect them to be there for in the future if you need a presser foot and you can’t wait for UPS delivery. The locals can’t afford to be there if the only thing they are selling is presser feet and bobbins!

Local dealers are knowledgeable; they have made an investment in your community. They treat you as a customer and not a shipping point. They want your repeat business. They may not be able to compete with online prices, but those “deals” come with a price.

Jessie, I can’t give you advice on the Brother, since I’m a Janome girl myself, but I encourage you to work with your dealer, on the machine and price that works for you. : )

[LucyM]

I highly recommend the SE-400. I purchased the machine at the beginning of this year and was able to use it, along with the embroidery feature, right away. I bought it to replace my beloved Brother CS-6000, so was familiar with its general functions. All the special feet I purchased for the CS-6000 fit on the SE-400 as well (an added bonus). One of my favorite features on this machine is the adjustable needle position. It goes beyond the left-middle-right positioning. The needle can be positioned by millimeter increments. I LOVE the machine. Hopefully, you will love it too.