Hey Kriby lovers ...

[nycwriter]

... 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?

 

[tolivac]

Some people get a visit by the door knocking Kirby man.They succumb to the demo and buy the machine.Then they use it a few times and decide they don't like it.This can happen with other high DTD brands.So--the machine is ofered for sale in the local Want Add magazines,Craigslist,Ebay,Newspaper,and yes,yard sales.I found a nice Kirby G6 at a yard sale.Same with a Filter Queen and a Watermatic.Sadly that great machine is often replaced by a cheap bagless machine--then later the former high end machine owner regrets he sold the high end vacuum-it wasn't so bad after all compared to the low end machine he bought.BUT folks like us who like such machines often seek them out.Very rarely I see high end machines on the curb-but LOTS of PLASTIVACS on the curb for trash day-often dirty,dusty,broken bagless machines.Their filters hopelessly clogged-bins packed full.Motors sometimes burnt out because of the clogged filters.The motor overheats and blows out.

 

[nycwriter]

OK, but here's the question ...

... why do you suppose they don't like them? Presumably they were blown away by the demonstration, and most people are at some level excited about such a major purchase. I wonder what causes the "relationship" to go sour so quickly.

 

[eurekaprince]

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.

 

[bikerray]

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.

 

[tase]

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.

 

[dysonman1]

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.

 

[bikerray]

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.

 

[Gr8DaneDad]

Full disclosure - I sell Aerus DTD


 


Having said that, not all DTD sales are made as Tom states - Kirby is famous locally for the 'hard' sell. I won't sell that way and I make a good living, I also have almost never sold anything at MSRP. I work hard in my area to network and build relationships and get more than 80% of my business by referral from happy customers. Hell, I have turned away sales where the current vacuum is just fine with some TLC and the $$ just don't make sense for the customer to buy new. However, eventually they do, and they call me when it's time. A potential customer needs to see value in the purchase, I do that by demo but not with pressure. When going DTD I provide information and an offer - either a room shampoo, an air quality check, or even just a request for a written opinion. If and only if the customer initiates a sales/pricing discussion do I even go there. I will happily shampoo your carpet and wish you a good evening and leave you a brochure, which I designed and printed myself because I will not intimidate my way to a sale, and my card. 10-15% of those people call me within a few days to a month and become customers.


 


Now having slapped myself on the back enough, I will also say that, by a wide margin, Kirby is the most frequently traded in vacuum and then Dyson. Most of both brands are no more than a year old. Last week, I took in a brand new, never even been out of the box after the sale Sentria II. The poor guy couldn't even move the box from where it was left by the Kirby guy. Some people are too ashamed to cancel the sale within the allowed window, some never hear or aren't told that they can.  In the past 30 days I've driven 3 people down to the Kirby distributor to cancel sales. 2 of those 3 now use Aerus, the 3rd got her Simplicity Symmetry back and decided it wasn't time for a change after all.


 


I personally love Kirby, but it's not a machine I would or do take out for everyday cleaning. It's just a bit of a beast and I've got a rather small home. Fortunately, I have a few vacuums to choose from and I do use them all, even the Kirby's from time to time, but my Electrolux Silverado and Epic 2500 upright are my daily drivers.

 

[luxman107]

I love the look of Kirby's and they are a great vacuum but find then too cumbersome to use. I have 60% wood floors and 40% carpet in my home. I do all my above the floor cleaning with a vacuum. Dust cloths and feather dusters just send the dust somewhere else in the room and doesn't get rid of it. With kirbys going from upright to canister is a pain. Love my aerus electeolux .. It s great for any type of cleaning especially above the floor.

 

[bikerray]

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.

 

[MikePdx]

The only non-carpeted area I have downstairs is my bathroom. I use my Kirby upright as my daily driver. I have been using my Kenmore Powermate whenever I have some above floor cleaning to do. That way, I can hit the carpet when finished.


 


I used to use my Electrolux 1205 a lot. For daily quick pickups, I find it (and the Kenmore) more cumbersome to use than the Heritage II. Now upstairs, I have hard floors and area rugs. A canister is VERY handy for the upstairs rooms. That's where the 1205 reigns supreme.

 

[fantomfan]

Interesting..

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

 

[tolivac]

I have a Riccar Brilliance--Have used it alongside my Sentria 2 and one-Think the Kirby is somewhat better-agitation is still better and the cleaning power for the power drawn is still better with the Kirby.The Brilliance and other Tacony tandem air vacuums really need a bell type floor nozzle-their bulky square bases just don't get around things and as close to walls as the Kirby,Royal bell nozzles do.And you can edge clean on either side of a bell nozzle.The Tacony tandem airs are nice machines,really.Its just in some aspects-like the Kirbys better.But--The Taconys do have an advantage over the Kirby-easier hose use-and you don't have to worry about blowing up the fan if you pick up that quarter behind the sofa cushion or the pebble from under the car seat.

 

[kirbymaster15]

Craigslist and ebay ussually happen to be dealers who have sold more than 5 and got one free!

 

[man114]

I find them a tad cumbersome and less maneuverable around objects than a lot of other vacs due to their design. They are also fairly heavy. If you side by side it by say a Dyson ball, the new Rainbow powerhead or something along those lines, they pivot so much easier. A Kirby works well on wide open straight line vacuuming and is not as suitable when there are a lot of low clearance things due to the height of the powerhead. It doesn't make them bad, they're fine for what they are and last forever. As far as resale value forget it. I see them all the time. I saw a Heritage II at a thrift store today for $4.99. It was in fine working condition. Attachments were another few bucks all in the box. You seem to see fewer of the other high end door to door vacs, yet we know that they hold up well too.