Sunday, March 28, 2010

Adventures in Vacuum Shopping




A couple weeks ago our vacuum started shooting sparks at us (yes, sparks), so it was time to buy a new one. I can be a bargain shopper to a fault, and am often drawn in by what is cheap, only to find out that cheap things are, well, cheap.

So we decided to bite the bullet and splurge on our vacuum this time. After all, we do have wall to wall carpet in our condo, and a little boy who loves to find the one thing the vacuum left behind and put it in his mouth. We set our budget at $200. No $40 number from the Target for us this time. A local radio station I listen to is always running ads for a local vacuum shop, so we decided to check it out.

We were originally interested in purchasing a reconditioned Dyson there, for $199. We were aiming for quality, but we have a budget too, and just couldn't afford a brand new Dyson at $300 and up. We test drove the Dyson, and the salesman directed us to the Riccars, a simply designed, made in the USA vacuum. They had a range of prices, from $199 on up to $800. We tested the Riccar, and it picked up dirt just as well as the Dyson. Even though I've always been a fan of Dyson's sexy designs, some reviews I've read say they're a bit overrated. The Riccar didn't look as fancy, but that was what intrigued us, especially my husband. We tend to like things that are simple without a lot of bells and whistles and useless buttons. The Riccar had a hose attachment, and that was it. The salesman gave us an extra year on the warranty, and an extra filter. The service at the local place was really great.

We plunked down our cash card, and are now proud owners of a high quality vacuum. I've been giddily vacuuming everything.

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