Ricoma, any thoughts??

There is a dealer here on the site, I emailed him yesterday and got a very pleasant responds back that answer a few basic questions I have about the company as well. I am leaning towards the RiCOMA as well. The dealer is not in Oklahoma which I am, he did tell me there was a tech in my state that was a big one for me. Email him or call and I am sure he will answer at least a few questions. These are the two machines I am comparing as well.
Jen

ive got a ricoma 1201 2008 . seems easy to use . sews nice . ive only had 1 other machine swf 1204 2001 to compare with. also i may have the ricoma up for sale we dont do that much emb .we do more silkscreen. any offers over $7000.00 ill consider selling it.

MY experience with Ricoma has been quite different. 7 months still wont stitch out a complete design. Finally having to turn the whole deal over to a lawyer. Dealer wont stand behind it and Ricoma doesn't seem to want to stand behind it either all they say is contact your dealer. Looks like 7 months and 8000.00 thrown down the drain....Feel free to contact me for more information.

1201. Wont hold tensions. We finally hired a tech from a local company come out to look at it.Its a tension problem. It will hold tension for half of a design then it loses all tension or it just suddenly tightens up, tried different thread brands no change. Tech noticed that all the springs where different sizes not one matched the replacement springs they sent with the machine. So now I'm out another 300.00 I had to pay for that service call because no one from Ricoma has been willing to deal with it for seven months. Last contact we had with the dealer yesterday he told us our best bet was to see if we could find someone could get it working and sell it and Ricoma said its the dealers problem they wont honor warranty on machines bought thru dealers or distributors. (posted on there website)

Stay away from the Ricoma. Stay away from anything but Tajima, Barudan, Brother. If you want qaulity sewing with a quality machine you will stay away from Ricoma. Here are a couple of reasons why.

1. The sewing quality is not that good.
2. The quality of the machine.
3. The re-sale value of the machine when you decide to resell it or trade it in for something bigger. Ask the dealer that you are buying it from what he will give you for the machine in 1 year. I don't think you will like what you hear. Ask a Tajima, Barudan, or Brother rep the same thing and you will be happy with the answer.

In this business you get what you pay for. If you want to be succesful you have to have good equipment that doesen' break down. If your machine isn't running your not making money. You might have to pay a little more money to get the machine your really want but it is worth it in the end.

Take it from someone who has owned just about every brand of machine out there. Stick with the Japanese made machines and you won't go wrong.