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Thread Number: 14622
Why so many Kirby Omega's? |
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| Post# 154735 , Reply# 1 10/9/2011 at 20:39 (4,576 days old) by vacman117 (Chicago, IL) | ||
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| Post# 154741 , Reply# 2 10/9/2011 at 21:03 (4,576 days old) by thissucks () | ||
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not just here but all over ebay too. the omega is my favorite, minus the shake out bag. | ||
| Post# 154749 , Reply# 4 10/9/2011 at 21:28 (4,576 days old) by twocvbloke () | ||
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Here in the UK, there's tons of LegendIIs, the majority of ebay listings for Kirby machines are LegendIIs.... :\ Just varies from place to place I guess... | ||
| Post# 154758 , Reply# 5 10/9/2011 at 21:53 (4,576 days old) by thissucks () | ||
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huh, interesting. | ||
Post# 154759 , Reply# 6 10/9/2011 at 22:00 (4,576 days old) by KirbyClassicIII  (Milwaukie, Oregon) |
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| Post# 154769 , Reply# 8 10/9/2011 at 23:23 (4,575 days old) by Sablekid () | ||
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Didnt Kirby really pick up a lot of steam during the Omega model?
Flooded the market with them.
I know in this area, they were very popular.
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| Post# 154784 , Reply# 9 10/10/2011 at 05:07 (4,575 days old) by kirbymodel2c (Nottingham, England) | ||
Kirby Legend II in..
Hi. The reason why there are allot more Kirby Legend IIs in the UK is that the legend II was out till mid 1992 over here. Where the Generation 3 came out in the USA in 1990. So if there had to be a recall on the new style kirbys it's easier to do it just from the USA.
Also the person in charge of Kirby UK and Ireland who was called Frank Scott had over ordered LIIs so the Warehouse over here was packed full. One of the reason there aren't that many Generation 3s around in the UK as by time the Generation 3 came out mid 1992 by 1993 the G4 was out. They also sold allot of Kirby G4s over here. James:o) | ||
| Post# 154804 , Reply# 11 10/10/2011 at 10:02 (4,575 days old) by aeoliandave (Stratford Ontario Canada) | ||
Up here in Southwestern Ontario Kirby G's seem to fall out of the sky and land on curbsides or at the Thrift stores.
My theory is that Gramma bought the Kirby and used it for years or found it too awkward in her advancing years, so it was relegated to the back of the closet. Then the kids inherit it after Mom goes to her great reward or gets placed in 'the home'. The daughter finds the whole contraption much too heavy and overly complicated for accessories and passes it to her husband who uses it inside on the new Great Room renovation, outside in the garage and to vacuum the pebble drive, the bag fills to stuffed, the fan or brushroll jams and out to the garbage it goes or is donated to the Thrift. Same thing for pre-powerdrive Kirbys. Lovely aluminum sculptures and fun to use once or twice but seriously, I have much more maneuverable uprights to use regularly around my little house. As a collector I like Kirbys and have 14 different models but it's more for the colours and over-engineering of a robust vacuum designed & built to last for generations. Unfortunately, too often they are passed on to lesser households that have a need for something lighter and less cumbersome. Kirbys are a throwback to an earlier time when houses were BIG and carpets & floors could be measured by the acre. They are just too much vacuum in a standard home but ideal for monster mansions. I would like to see more of them used in great hotels but again, they are just too heavy for the room staff. I do find sparkling Kirbys being used in large grand homes that have 'the help' to bulldoze them around the foyer. Dave | ||
| Post# 154806 , Reply# 12 10/10/2011 at 10:07 (4,575 days old) by KirbyLover (Louisville Kentucky ) | ||
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Dave, I have no idea what Kirby has up their sleeves for their 100th anniversary, but I'm hoping they will have more then 1 model. Perhaps something small and light and more maneuverable like a 500/Sanitronic. They could easily crank out 7+ amps and it would be a hell of a machine! | ||
| Post# 154807 , Reply# 13 10/10/2011 at 10:08 (4,575 days old) by KirbyLover (Louisville Kentucky ) | ||
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Dave, I have no idea what Kirby has up their sleeves for their 100th anniversary, but I'm hoping they will have more then 1 model. Perhaps something small and light and more maneuverable like a 500/Sanitronic. They could easily crank out 7+ amps and it would be a hell of a machine! | ||
| Post# 154863 , Reply# 14 10/10/2011 at 14:15 (4,575 days old) by turbo500 (West Yorkshire, UK) | ||
Legend 2's in the UK... | ||
| Post# 154865 , Reply# 15 10/10/2011 at 15:11 (4,575 days old) by BrianKirbyClass (Eudora Kansas) | ||
The guy that owned the Kirby Sales and Service office/Dealership in my area has been in business since 1952. He is retired now, and passed the dealership onto his son, but i heard the old man say once that the Kirby Classic 1CR, and Classic Omega (and the red Classic 3) were by far the most sold models of all, from his dealership, in this area anyway.
I asked him why, and he said it was because at the time, the shag and wall to wall carpet and large homes were popular, and Kirby had came out with the totally redesigned model (the Classic 1CR), doing away with the 500 series (DS80 being the last) The newly designed Kirby, with its new large bell shaped head,and everything else newly designed practially sold itself. Plus,at the time many businesses in the area also used Kirbys. Also about this time the Kirby West plant was opened in Texas, so the manufacturing was going like gangbusters, as were the salesmen out in the field. Back in those days, if the salesmen sold 11 Kirby's, they got the 12th one free, to do with as they wished. They usually would sell it for a HUGE profit, which was a great insentive. He said that at the time of the Kirby Classic, and especially Classic Omega, and Classic 3,,,he had over 100 salesmen,each selling at least 12 machines a day. Truckloads of new machines and attachments had to be ordered DAILY in order to keep up. The walls of his office were covered with sales award plaques, and he had a lineup in his office of the gold Kirby's from Classics to G3s. I know at one time he even had a Kirby van with a HUGE Kirby Classic Omega logo on the side, that the office would use to pick up and deliver repaired machines. I know they did alot of the repairs right out of the van, in the customers driveway,,and i would see his big gold cadillac around town once in awhile. It had a Kirby Classic Omega bumber sticker on the rear bumper. A lady from the area told me once(late 70s) that she had an older ( prob 500s series, she said from the 50s) Kirby that needed repair, and the van happened to be in her neighborhood. She waved them down, and they took her Kirby, saying it needed repairs that only the shop could do, so they would have to take it in, but would deliver it back to her when it was repaired. She never saw her Kirby again. She called after several days, but they told her they had never heard of her. So, maybe his dealersip was a little crooked? Who knows. But that lady said she would NEVER EVER have anything to do with a Kirby after that! | ||
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Post# 154957 , Reply# 18 10/11/2011 at 02:11 (4,574 days old) by tolivac (Greenville,NC) |
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Any of the Omeegas I have or seen are kinda beat up-like they came from the barn.Haven't seen anymore.the ones I have were DONATED to me by the vac shops here-the machines run-but they have no attachments,and in poor shape.the supply of them is dried up here.Mostly G series machines now. | ||
| Post# 154961 , Reply# 19 10/11/2011 at 03:42 (4,574 days old) by gsheen (Cape Town South Africa) | ||
 I think Kiry SA has done well with the sentria, But I agree with dave , most houses here are 50/50 carpet & woodflooring so a kirby doesn't make sense any more. especially wih its antiquated design and no on board attachments. people are sold on the idea by the salesman but in reality they find it to difficult to use. That is why you can go into any cashconverters here and find at least 5 sentrias, not to mention gumtree, all you see are sentrias. you never saw that many g4 g5 g6 models while they were on the market. I remember rading in a ultimate G while they were still been made and our local cash converters offered me a fortune for it just to have the latest Kirby on there floorfor sale, Now you will be lucky if they offer you $50.00 for a sentria there are just so many to choose from. I bought 2 at a flee market for $20.00 each with everything , we will use them for parts though. the newest kirby in my collection is a G5.
Loads of legends available to | ||
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