Hi,
I was so enthused by Lucky1's report regarding the Miele S7 that I decided to run up the street and learn if our local vac shop had gotten any in so I might give one a try too. The answer was no but we had an interesting conversation regarding his business as of late. From this point on there should be no need for rantings regarding whose brand is best and what is and what ain't cyclonic. I am simply passing on the sentiments of a gentleman who has been selling and repairing vacuums here at the same address in Long Island City for more than the last 15 years. I've done business there before and feel the owner knows his onions. I am more interested in learning what those who actually sell vacuums and repair will be adding or excluding regarding their inventory in the coming future. Anyway . . .
We're not the richest but certainly not the poorest part of town here and, needless to say, I was a bit surprised at his answer and even more surprised when he said he'd be selling no Mieles now or ever. His reasons for not were due to mapped pricing, the high cost of parts and also his feeling that there were vacuums just as good at better prices. Per his teling of it, replacing a Miele telescopic wand prices at about $150.00. Laying a lot on the economy, he stated his customers are not necessarily willing to spring for vacuums that come at elevated prices.
He also said that even a vacuum cleaner he really liked, the Riccar Radiance, has been dropped from his inventory because of less than enthusiastic shopper interest at his store by way of price. Presently, he is banking on "disposable" vacuums to mainstay his business. He does stock Riccar canisters and lesser uprights. He also recommends the Sebo "automatic" uprights for durability if getting a good machine you plan to keep a while is on your mind.
I of course iinquired about Dyson, which he does not sell, and got a loud snort before the reply that, "I have two in the shop now with burned out motors and they are less than two years old. His spin on things is that the Dyson billions can sure support a lot of advertising and that that attributes more to the number sold than the quality of the machine. He feels "yuppies" -- the young upwardly mobile -- probably think them all the rage due to their more advanced appearance and the belief that they'll cost nothing to maintain. Though the store owner did concede that Dyson is great on bare floors, he stuck to his guns as far as its less than stellar rug cleaning ability was concerned.
All things considered, I feel even more sure that door-to-door brands like Aerus, Rainbow, FQ, etc., are going to feel an even worse pinch.
Best,
Venson
This message was modified Oct 7, 2008 by Venson
