I consider myself a very experienced sewest, and teach sewing and textile arts. I have owned every brand of machine under the sun (well almost, Singer is out of the question unless it is my mom's 301!) and have paid A LOT more money on machines with all the bells and whistles-so I have paid 6 or 7 times more than I did for this refurbished machine! As an instructor, I get to help students master their machines, so I have seen them all. I have always been impressed by Brother machines. Due to economics, I have sold off my super high-end machines, and with experience, have found, for my needs, I only really need a heavy duty straight stitch, which I got (a Janome-all it does is straight stitches, sort of a home industrial), and a machine that offers a buttonhole, needle up/down (MANDATORY!), and some fancy fun stitches to play with. I did a bunch of research, and tried out a Janome Magnolia, but could not stand the poorly positioned buttons for reverse, etc.-their function buttons were at an angle, so you could not see the buttons while sewing. I returned it, and decided, what the heck, at $$$. with the same features but better than Magnolia, why not take a chance. I know, one thinks "refurbished-what, was it dropped from a high rise?" But I think most of the time, these "refurbished" models are those sent back due to operator error, not reading the manual, or just novice sewers starting up and not knowing certain tricks that make sewing trouble-free. Anyway, the machine got here in the stated time frame, wrapped up like it had never been out of box, and looks totally brand new. I have been sewing all kinds of fabrics on it and am very impressed! Of course, there is a change of needle for specific fabrics, but the feed dogs are great on it. Great screen size and back light. Tons of buttonhole options, decorative stitches, and an alphabet. TONS of information furnished too-if you are experiencing any trouble (which I have not been, only operator-error ones that can happen on ANY machine from any price range, or brand!) there is a very detailed manual that one can reference (and learn basic sewing with, it is very extensive), phone number pages and stickers galore to call their customer service, and a DVD to watch.
If anything I would change on machine is more lighting, but I will just get an adjustable, high-powered sewing machine light one can mount on machine; I would offer a different place to mount second spool holder on, so when I wind a bobbin, I don't have to un-thread machine (could get a side winder for that, or wind bobbins on my Janome). But these are very, very minor wishes that can I can fix if I want (lighting, YES, bobbin winding, I don't really care that much). All in all, this is a great value for the money. Do NOT be afraid of "Refurbished". The discounted price is your gain!