dear lord, i have no idea how you would do that without...i mean..i guess if i wanted to jam button parts through some pliers all day.. @_@;; sounds hardcore, haha
yeah it's quite an investment ;v; i started out tabling at conventions by sharing with my friend, who already had experience tabling, and had her own button machine (she let me borrow hers because we were sharing the table), so I was able to test the waters w/ her machine first. I only got my own button machine after the two of us had too much stuff to share tables anymore LOL
good luck though! it's both a mix of fun and stress..and exhaustion... and stress...but fun too :') especially if you're able to suffer together with friends

ooo, nice! i think...i think my friend recommended it to me? so i read it..and i've been following it since ;v;''
no problem! if you have any other questions, just lemme kno :>