Amaya vs Amaya XT

[clint]

Hello everyone, nice to see a message board out here for Amaya owners. I have been looking to buy a new embroidery machine for my business and was wondering if there was a big difference between the Amaya and the XT? I have seen that a lot of people love both and was wondering if I should buy the Big Red to save some dollars?

Any help would be appreciated.

Thanks
Clint

[signman]

Big Red is the 'original' Amaya, the XT is the new version. Any Big Red you buy is going to be USED, not new-they were phased out and replaced in production by the XT with the new features.
If you can get one with a warranty, then yes you can save several thousand dollars. Without a warranty, you take your chances-some 'simple' problems can run several thousand just to fix. Techs don't come cheap!
Mine is for sale-it has been under warranty since we got it-posted it over the weekend. I don't know about 'transfering' warranty but that could be checked on easily enough.
Roland

[Image Embroidery]

I personally have one of each. The original has been trouble free and run flawlessly from day one. My newer XT is far superior for caps over the original Amaya.
I run both of them all day long and cannot say enough good things about either.
LuAnn

[Aaron]

I have 3 Od Reds and 3 XT's and they all run great. I would have to say the XT's are much better on caps but other than that either will do. If I were you I would purchase according to where the price is right for you because either will do.

Now, if you purchase used you will need to consider if it does not have the extended warranty then the machine may not have been serviced once a year which I feel is very important and also you would be looking at needing it serviced to make sure everything is running well. Another consideration on used is which software its running. If you buy an old red you will want to make sure the AMAYA OS has been upgraded so that its running the Auto Material Thickness feature.

[jacklfuller]

Clint
There is one element that is largely overlooked in buying used machines and that is the packing and shipping costs. I learned that recently. Regardless of whether you are the shipper or the reciever, you can't just tape the needle case and pantograph down, put it in a box and ship it. Melco charges $450 for shipping but they have a packing process and people trained to do it. But if the shipper is unskilled about such things and he or you elect to have a professional pick the machine up, get it packed for shipping and delivered to the trucking company it could cost several hundred extra. In my case it was an extra $800 over the actual shipping cost to ship my Big Red to Florida from Idaho. The insurance alone was $253. The techs I spoke with talked about horror stories of improperly packed and shipped machines and expensive repair bills. Remember - if the machine arrives damaged someone has to make the case that the shipping company broke it and their insurance should cover the repair costs. Without visable damage to the box it might be a difficult sell and someone could be faced with big bills.

[TinaK]

Hi Clint:

Only you know if you should by an XT or a Red as to us it came down to dollars pure and simple as their is not a huge difference in machines. I think the XT is set up better for hats however I have a Big Red and we have done hats just fine. We bought ours in May of this year refurbished from Melco and we are not disappointed in it at all. We did have quite a few problems with it the first couple of months as it did get damaged in shipping and we had to have the Main board replaced but since then ol' Smoky has been running excellent (knock on wood). Would not trade it for anything.
We were scared about buying a refurbished machine but decided to do it and take a chance and glad we did. I think knowing that it was under warranty for a year and Melco has a pretty good help system really made all the difference to us.

I would not hesitate buying another big red if it was going to save me some dollars.

Good Luck!

[Bill Griffin]

I bought a used "Big Red" in October. I could not be happier. I wanted to "save the money," and was able to pick it up myself. It had been well maintained, and I was able to talk to the tech who serviced it regularly. Ours is a happy story.

[clint]

Thank you everyone for your replies, they have been extremely helpful so far. I am interested in buying a big red for the right price if anyone has one for sale.

[Dorothy Compton]

FYI, I'm purchasing another machine through Beacon Funding. They have used machines. They have a 90-day warranty. They crate the machine for you; you are responsible for shipping though. I'll let you know how it works out after I receive the machine (probably sometime in the next couple of weeks). Anyway, the website is www.Equip-Used.com if you're interested. Make sure if this is your first machine that the machine comes with the operating system and dongle.

Dorothy Compton, Owner
Bee Embroidered
www.BeeEmbroidered.com
(916) 635-7467
Rancho Cordova, CA

[signman]

Dorothy...do you get a MELCO warranty with the used machines? I just looked at the website-they have 14 amayas for sale...wow!
But if you can't get a warranty from Melco a 90 warranty from Beacon doesn't help much.
Clint-if you would post what state you are in, might help if someone has one to sell to know where you are.
I'm in New Hampshire-and we have ours on the market with DesignShopPro PLUS- it has the multi machine dongle.
But I wouldn't even attempt to crate it for shipping-easier to find a buyer within a days' drive and deliver it myself.

[Dorothy Compton]

Roland,

I talked to Melco and I can put in on extended warranty after it gets here. I figure the 90 day warranty will be good to make sure it's up and running after I get it!

[Dan*dy Designs]

Can anyone tell me--I have a red machine, but I think it is an XT. Can anyone tell me the difference between the two machines?

On a different note, I bought it in October of 2005. I have been debating about the extended warranty and thanks to this forum, I have made my decision to extend it.
Thanks!

[Steve]

Dan*dy, more than likely it is a non-XT if it is red in color. The new XT machines are black and grey. There are pictures on Melco's website of the XT so you can compare them.

[Kip Biddle]

Dandy,
As far as I know, the simplist way to know if it's an XT or not is to look at the throat plate. If it's flat, it's not an XT. If it's more circular in shape, then it is. For a brief while, Melco was shipping red & white XT's. I trained on one in New Jersey in 2005.

[HERB]

If the tubular arm is round then it would be an XT. If not it would be a big red. There were a limited number of red XT's.