Dusty:
I have not seen/heard what the percentages are for repeat dyson business. I have to conclude from the information I have the rates are not impressive, either here or in the UK.
Since its launch 6 years ago in the USA, dyson vacuums have been advertised weekly on a frequent and regular bases by all the big box stores. That's changed. In large part due to the worsening economic conditions in the USA. In the USA, Mieles are sold primarily by authorized indy dealers not in big box retailers. They don't advertise. But the Miele reputation in the industry for lasting 20 years is general knowledge and its German engineering is reknown.
There are so many dyson DC07 and DC14 refurbs for sale I have to conclude that these are problematic and the owners are not repairing/keeping them.
A $100 coffee maker vice a $20? Compared to a $500 vacuum vice a $120. Both do the same job. No! Can't compare IMHO. Not the same. Why? With gas prices soaring, and STARBUCKS prices rising [and stores shuttered], coffee drinkers justify a $100 coffee maker easily that grinds beans [less expensive than ground] and measures out an individual cup or 2 with specialty tastes and variations. Preferred over a $20 version that makes a standard pot of 10/12 cups [with ground coffee] and half getting tossed.
We'll have to wait and see about repeat dyson buyers and users, with models like the DC07 and DC14, that claimed yearly filter maintenance, and now with the DC24 and DC25 that need monthly/quarterly maintenance [with no corresponding decline in prices]. Too soon to tell with the DC24 and DC25 only months old. Certainly it will at a minimum make repeat dyson buyers take pause and ask why. What do you say? Well, you have the new [old] dyson ball technology? Good luck.
Product maintenance on a consumer durable purchase like vacuums is always problematic. Be honest. That's how dyson originally pitched its high priced vacuums as superior to bagged versions. No maintenance. Zero costs after purchase. Right? Wrong. Time is money. And, the more you wash filters, the quicker they wear out and need replacing. No more zero costs for maintenance after purchase.
Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me.
Carmine D.
This message was modified Jul 18, 2008 by CarmineD