School Machines come with a finger guard and a three wire grounded plug. These do not! Very few school districts even have sewing classes any more due to budget cuts and a lack of interest by today's generation.

They advertise that the machines are special priced for the sale after the sale they will cost a great deal more. The fact is you would have a better chance at winning the lottery then finding someone that paid the list price.

At the sale they will have at least three different machines to choose from. You will be told that one of the machines is a Teachers model. Give this some thought. How likely is it that the teacher would use a totally different machine to teach the class then the students would be using? This is like an apprentice carpenter learning to use a hammer and the instructor uses an electric nail gun.

In most states it is called Bait-N-Switch and or fraud by trick or device. This month these ads are running in California, New Mexico, Georgia, Florida, Ohio, New York, New Jersey, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Texas, Washington, Arizona, Pennsylvania just to name a few. These same ads have been running since 1981. Just how many unclaimed school machines could there be? Most of these sales state that all sales are final this is against Federal Law unless the sale is made at the company's principle place of business.

I would suggest that you go to one of the club stores, Sam's or Costco and look at what they have to offer. Even if you are not a member they will allow you to look through the store, but not make a purchase without joining.

I would also check Sears, Wal-Mart and your local Independent Sewing Machine Dealer The Independent Dealer can provide you with instruction, accessory's and warranty repairs. That is provided he/she doesn't run this type of scam.

When you purchase a machine in a Hotel/Motel room or a leased space in someone's other than the seller's store who do you call for service Ghost Busters? Think about it!

I have already received letters from all over the country telling me about problems after they fell for one of these scams. Will you be next?

There is a great deal more to the scam which will be posted in the future! See where these scams have been run this year.

How do I know this is a scam?

Scam Ads run in 1985 & 1986

The above comes from notes for a full feature story that I'm doing for a national magazine. It should however give you a general idea of the scam.

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