Thread Number: 25264
Hey Kriby lovers ... |
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Post# 283933   6/10/2014 at 05:21 (3,579 days old) by NYCWriter (New York City)   |   | |
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... honest question: Why do I see so many nearly-new Kirbys (with attachments that look like they've never been used) for sale on eBay, Craigslist, and on the pages here, of people posting great deals like that Kirby G5 for only $20 at a flea market or wherever?
Why would people buy such an expensive (and frankly wonderful) machine, only to ditch it a few years later ... and what do you suppose they're replacing them with? |
Post# 283938 , Reply# 2   6/10/2014 at 06:42 (3,579 days old) by NYCWriter (New York City)   |   | |
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Post# 283941 , Reply# 3   6/10/2014 at 06:59 (3,579 days old) by eurekaprince (Montreal, Canada)   |   | |
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I'm going to hazard a guess here, Matt: the Kirby salesperson's pitch first succeeds. But then in real use, the new owner realizes they don't like the bulkiness, or it's too heavy to shlep up and down stairs, or it's too complicated to convert to tool use. It may just boil down to ease of use - the salesperson makes it look easy to use, but for the new owner it does not turn out that way. And maybe they realize that they just bought a Rolls Royce, when in essence all they really need is a Honda Accord.
The final blow may be their neighbours who just picked up a sleek Miele S7 at Sears for half the price, and they start to wonder whether the Kirby was worth it. |
Post# 283945 , Reply# 4   6/10/2014 at 08:46 (3,578 days old) by BikerRay (Middle Earth)   |   | |
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I know of one vacuum the guy loved it and bought it, his wife hates the thing.
You hear comments like it's too heavy it's a pain to take the nozzle off for the attachments now I can't get the nozzle back on the brush doesn't work (did you get the belt on the belt lifter before you put the nozzle back on?)(funny thing there are directions in the manual) it's a pain cleaning the stairs I also found a new Rainbow 2 speed in the garbage the people never emptied the basin the fans and separator and hose were plugged with mud and dog hair It was almost time to call Rotorooter for this vacuum If people would read the directions in the manual and take care of the unit some of these wouldn't end up in the garbage or on ebay, craigslist, etc. |
Post# 283955 , Reply# 5   6/10/2014 at 10:59 (3,578 days old) by TASE (Colorado)   |   | |
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Everything bikerRay said is 100% true.
However, I don't really mind that people get rid of them so quickly. I got my Sentria II almost free. The lady who originally owned it would rather have a used, outdated Kindle Fire than her Kirby vacuum. To me, that's almost sad. She did say she had back problems, and I almost asked "Well, did you pick up the machine during the demo or did you just throw money at it?" but I decided to keep my mouth shut. |
Post# 283956 , Reply# 6   6/10/2014 at 11:07 (3,578 days old) by dysonman1 (the county)   |   | |
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The door to door salesman's first job is to get into the home by any means necessary. His second job is to make the home owner UNHAPPY with their present vacuum. He MUST make them unhappy with what they have or he will never get paid. He'll say anything to achieve that. The home owner is shown the new Kirby (or whatever brand), and is tricked into buying it. No wonder people are so unhappy with the Kirby (or whatever brand) so quickly.
Instead, Simplicity and Riccar brands are sold in retail stores. A person must be SHOPPING for a new vacuum OR be a repair customer with an expensive repair - in order to be shown a Simplicity or Riccar. These people already know they are going to have to buy a new vacuum (or pay for an expensive repair), so they are in the MARKET for a vacuum. These people tend to be happiest with their purchase, as they were 'looking' when they bought. People with Wal-Mart vacuums are buying on PRICE alone. They receive no help in making their purchase, so the purchase isn't custom tailored to their needs (as opposed to buying in a vac shop - where the sales person can recommend the correct model for a customer's needs). Generally speaking, customers are happiest with a Miele, Simplicity, Riccar, Sebo, etc. purchase - they also have met the repair person (in many cases). They are comfortable in making the purchase, as they know exactly where service parts are available from. To that respect, Aerus alone among door to door brands also succeeds because the sales person has more than one model to show, and will return to the customer's home with parts and service when needed. |
Post# 283984 , Reply# 7   6/10/2014 at 15:32 (3,578 days old) by BikerRay (Middle Earth)   |   | |
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We had a woman in at the shop who's complaining that her Kirby is a piece of garbage, the transmission doesn't work right, that it's always breaking belts, etc.
Her husband put on a new belt, put the roller brush back in the nozzle on setting 3 even though it's a new brush. She has the Kirby run all the way down to the lowest setting and leaves it in drive even when it's unplugged and she's just pushing it down the sideway to the shop. We've told her not to leave it in drive and she tells us she knows what she's doing and to mind our own business. Then she wants us to fix it for free because she has a lifetime warranty. It's lifetime if you send it into Kirby and you don't abuse the vacuum. |
Post# 284008 , Reply# 10   6/10/2014 at 18:52 (3,578 days old) by BikerRay (Middle Earth)   |   | |
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For above floor cleaning I use one of my Electroluxs or my Rexairs or my Rainbow.
Last night I used my Electrolux LXI, then checked to make sure the ejector still works on it. Put in the test plug and it does. The front drops down and a few seconds later the bag shoots out. For the carpet I use one of my Kirbys. Even my Kirby 509 will pull stuff out of the carpet without a problem. |
Post# 284071 , Reply# 12   6/11/2014 at 12:29 (3,577 days old) by FantomFan (Rochester, New York)   |   | |
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I love Kirby. I think they filter well, are well built, and clean great. BUT,
It really isn't for everybody. I am going to admit, I don't think I could use a Kirby everyday in my 2 story house. It really is heavy, and you still have to take the brushroll housing off for tools. It really isn't worth the trouble for me. I feel VERY bad for my aunt. She spent way too much on her Sentria, just because the Kirby salesman tricked her into thinking that the Kirby is 1000's of times better than her BEAM central vac with a Eureka Vibragroomer 2 powerhead. Kirby's are still great, but they are not very-user friendly in my experience. I would rather have a Riccar Brilliance if I was looking into a very high-end vacuum. -Mitchell |
Post# 285837 , Reply# 14   6/22/2014 at 20:17 (3,566 days old) by kirbymaster15 ()   |   | |
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Craigslist and ebay ussually happen to be dealers who have sold more than 5 and got one free! |