Just getting started, Brother Pe770 worth it?

well, if it helps any, I am thinking the very same thing.. just to start out.

NO. It's not what you want to hear but, NO. The Brother pe770 is a great little machine for home users wanting to make pretty things. However if you are looking or are already in the promotional items... I wouldn't waste my time. I realize money is tight, but it's even tighter the more machines you buy on the way up to a commercial one. You could go with a 600 or babylock version or even the Janome mb4. What you will want is something you can do bags on easily AND ability to do hats. I'm assuming a whole promotional products thing though. The 770 is slow, very slow compared to commercial machines also. If you were only doing shirts then maybe. But even shirts have to be turned inside out and round and round to get the back's out of the way to embroider on home style machines. If you were asking as a home user then I'd say it's a great little machine. You'll also want some fast frames to do bags with pretty quickly too. (once you get a commercial type machine).

The problem is, just starting out, I am terrified of paying too much for a machine and finding out later that the market just isnt right, or what ever and now... you are just plain stuck with the machine that you would have to sell at a reduced price to get rid of it.
These are hard times for everyone, just trying to explore economical ways to get to the end result. I KNOW I want to try to make this work, what I do NOT know is WILL it work out? the REALLY scarey thing is... there are a LOT of people selling their equipment.. does that mean the market is slowing down? over saturated? Economy is too bad??

I really wish I could find a decent machine for a low price. Why does this have to be so hard??

Then outsource your embroidery orders to someone that will do the work for you. You add your markup, no investment, you test the waters, see the demand and buy equipment when you feel you can make it.

Well, if it was easy then everyone would be doing it right? It sure seems like everyone is selling their equipment until you start looking for equipment and then it seems like everything is junk. A lot of what's getting sold right now seems to be high dollar equipment that people went out and got loans on back when the money was easy to get. It takes a lot of embroidery to make up $25k+ loan. And that's just for the machine and software. Or, problem machines that are junked out. I have a Viking 950e that does a great job and has up to 9x6 area. it was ok for little projects, but it's supposedly 600spm but it really settles in around 350-400. It's slow. It's hard to manipulate like I mentioned earlier. It's very limiting. Now if you are a seamstress looking to add monogramming or embroidery to your items it would work great.
I do agree that there is some sort of knowledge you need to gain even to decide if this embroidery thing is for you. A home machine may be the way to tell. It was for me. But I wasted around $1000 on machines that I am having trouble selling for $500. Everything is soft right now. I think the big money has already been made in the embroidery business. You've got to fill niche businesses to compete now. There's a big shop that probably runs 100 heads in my town. They will do hats for $2.50 a hat. There's no way I could even attempt to compete with that. I wouldn't try even on flats, much less hats! But I do the business they won't. I do 1 off book bags and school uniforms.

I purchased my commercial Brother for $3500 and it had a ton of frames with it. I probably paid $500 too much for it, but it is in good condition. One of the problems with commercial embroidery is that all it takes is one screw up or problem and you've got a $500+ tech bill. I've already replaced my hook (my fault for not oiling it right) and a few parts and yes already had a tech visit to adjust the timing because I couldn't get it right and was frustrated beyond belief. I was very fortunate to find the best. My total bill was $35!!!

Just curious, but what makes you want to join the world of embroidering? I just can't imagine jumping without those 3 years playing around on my little machine. Still today I'm not sure I'll stay in it. I sure quit a few times trying to get my machine working again. But at least it's paid for and I don't have a bunch to lose.

The 770 is a great little machine. Please don't get me wrong. If you were to start there you would be limited but have some sort of idea if it's for you or not. I just wouldn't recommend it to anyone in promotional items looking to do bags or any sort of production other than a few pieces out of it.

To answer your question, I DO have a embroidery/sewing machine at home, that I enjoy doing embroidery with. I have used it mainly to embroider names on shirts for our local EMS service, and the EMS service's name on blankets for the ambulance ( otherwise, blankets that go on life flight helicopters do not find their way back to the ambulance service) again, I do enjoy it. Then,... I got this silly notion in my head that I would start an embroidery business and donate some of the profit to our local fire and ems. (however, I do not wish to use my only machine to do it with, I do like to do other things with my machine)
Sounded like a good plan, but can not get my hands on an inexpensive machine to save my own life. I do NOT want to spend a ton of money going into this when the business really won't make ME much money.. I simply would like to donate most of it to the Volunteer service on which I work and love. I think I just have to think of some thing else, or give up the idea altogether.

It depends on how much business you can fetch from your area in this business, embroidery is really going slow at this time