I would love to get one of these but don't think I can afford it right now. They are very pricey. I'm hoping that they will come down in price. As far as how long the cartridges last, I would have no idea. Have you checked the Cricut site?
Sue

I dont have the cricut, but wanted to recommend maybe checking out the message boards at scrapbook.com. You could do a search for Cricut and see all the messages people have posted about it, and you can register for free and ask your question there if you dont find the answer.

There are some very knowledgeable people there that know alot about everything!! Give it a try....Good Luck! :-)

Thank you both for your help..I went to the Cricut site and got my question answered...the machine comes with one cartridge....you don't have to replace the cartridges, only the blades which last about 6 weeks depending on how much you use them....they are supposed to be inexpensive to replace....I just couldn't believe how expensive the cartridges are....

Thank you again....
Joanne

I've heard the blades and mats last a very long time and those I know that have this machine love it.

JoAnn's Fabrics often have the cartridges for half price. Our Wal-Mart has everything now and the cartridges are much cheaper there. Not as cheap as when you can get them half price at JoAnn's, but not a whole lot more. In our scrappbooking store and on the Cricut website they go for $89...at Wal-Mart, they are $59.

I had one of these and it went back! I loved the idea of all the new shapes, the little boxes and goodies etc... but the mats do not last that long at all. By the time you get through playing with one cartridge you need a new mat. If you don't intend to use it alot, then it may be ok, and if you do get one, I would get a couple extra mats up front.
Also, some of the shapes never did cut out completely no matter what setting I put mine on. (slow, fast, easy cut or hard cut.. never mattered..) Yes, indeed mine went back - hope someone else had better luck with theirs!

I got a Cricut for Christmas. I love it. The cartridges at Hobby Lobby are $60 but they last. Two mats cost about $10 and two refill blades are $10. It does not cut as well through heavy cardstock but other papers mine cuts great. I purchased the celebrations cartridge and love the intricate balloon cutouts.

For heavier paper, you set the blade to a higher number and there are two more places to make settings...one is the speed and I forget what the other one is, but it will cut through almost everything if you have it set right...

My husband gave me one for my birthday and I LOVE it. Have not had any trouble cutting through heavy cardstock and have not had to replace a mat or blade - it gets used, but not daily. Even my kids have been able to use it to make titles for special projects at school. So far I only have the cartridge that it comes with, but I have seen them on sale for $50. I don't scrapbook nearly as often as I would like to, but most anyone who is crafty would love this!

I absolutely love my Cricut which I have had for about a year now. I have changed the blade twice and use it A LOT but not with the extra heavy grade cardstock. The cartridge last forever. I have gotten all of mine on sale at Michaels or on ebay for about $49 some even cheaper. I got my Cricut for $149 on ebay and have no trouble with it.

DH just gave me the little cricut for my birthday. Love it, Love it, Love it! I made the most beautiful page today with it. I have the George cartridge that comes with the machine and the opposites attract cartridge. I would like to find one that would cut scrolls and swirls. Does a cartridge like that exist??

Sippy

I was reading post concerned that the mat do not last long. I have the cricut and LOVE it I use a lint roller to clean my mat and it really extends the life of the mats alot. Since it is tacky feeling it really helps.

Sippy....Accent essential does swirls and things it is almost impossible to find but u can look on ebay and it is going to be pricey due to being so hard to find but I LOVE LOVE LOVE mine.

The cartridges will last pretty long if you take care of them. As far as the mats and blades go, there are ways to preserve those as well. Check out http://createyourheartout.com for more tips, tricks and even a chance to win free cartridges.

I am selling mine, I dont scrapbook much. Just paper Craft. Its the expression and I have carts and other items.

I am a school teacher and make lots of poster on my computer. I would like to know if this machine and be use to make posters and signs for my classroom. Also an idea for you check HSN.com The machine and cartridge are always on flex pay, which means that sometime it takes three months to pay them off and without intrest. I dying to by the machine rite now its on flex pay and it takes 5 months to pay for it.

I started with the smaller Cricut when they first came out. I upgraded to the Cricut Expression when that came out (got it for a steal on black Friday at Walmart). Since then they have released the Cricut Make Machine. It does what the Expression does (larger cuts) only in the size of the orignal Cricut. I would highly suggest that one. It is MUCH more portable. I use it all the time to make bulletin boards and posters at work. I have done custom sign work of both business and homeowners. They have come down in price quite a bit. I really like the site ohmycrafts.com they are always having sales and coupons. Also eBay is a good source. If you can wait until Black Friday there are always good deals if that is something you like to do. My sisters are crazy for deals so they love to take my list and run on that day. As far as mats and needles. I can't tell you how long the mats last but it's a long time. Maybe 6-8 months (depending on the deep cuts) as long as you keep them clean you can re-sticky them with spray adhesive. The needles I have replaced maybe twice. I use my machine at least once a week if not everyday some weeks. There are some many tips and tricks out there on YouTube don't think that you can just do a certain few cuts on one cart there are hundreds on every cart. It may not be for everyone but I would think it would be a teachers dream! Any questions please feel free to ask!

ProvoCraft customer service is awful! There are much better craft cutters out there that do not require cartridges.