What Would You Be Willing To Pay if You Weren't a Collector?

[bagintheback]

If you were an average consumer, how much of an investment would you be willing to make for a vacuum? Not to get into a disscussion of personal finances, I don't mean how much you could pay, but what you would be willing to pay. I ask becuase as collectors, we're pretty well read on the market and what models provide the best value, and can find ways to justify $1000+ machines like Kirbys and Rainbows. But for me at least,  if I knew very little about vacuums the price of a Rainbow would seem outragous. 


 


Depending on what I could afford, I would probably be willing to pay around $150 or so for a used model, and maybe $400 for a new one.  I really value quailty products, and I would have to find out one way or another that cheap Target plastic vacs are not a wise investment.  

 

[MikePdx]

Probably what I pay now...LOL. I wouldn't give more than $30 for a used model (more depending on condition). New? Maybe $150, give or take.

 

[Gr8DaneDad]

I'd spend what I spent... I became a collector because because I bought an Electrolux Marquise back in 1987 for a then obscene amount of money and it's still running like new today with minimal service. I now have a small but growing collection of Aerus/Electrolux models and a few others, including 2 Dyson's, a DC07 which isn't a bad vacuum and a DC14 which is horrid and a wonderful Hoover Constellation and I just bought a Kirby Sentria II that I found on Craigslist for next too nothing which I'll play with when the weekend gets here.

 

[tase]

Well, coming from a family of Kirby owners, I would purchase a brand new Kirby as a normal consumer.

Almost everyone who was and is alive post 1930's on my dad's side has bought a Kirby and use it for at least 15 years. Kirbys are just what we buy.

 

[godfreys_guy]

I'm not really a collector anymore...

Except I have some 110v Hoovers and an Amway!

I forked out $1500 for a Sauber (Lux Intelligence) and $500 for a Shark Rocket and $500 for a Rotator... in retrospect, I would rather have just bought the 2 sharks.

 

[sebo_fan]

Good question, well at the moment currency rate wise $150 turns out to be around £89, $400 turns out to be around £238..

If I wasn't a collector I'd probably spend around £200 to £250 for a vacuum cleaner (that's $335 to $415 roughly) on a good quality vacuum cleaner. Id also be prepared to spend lower than £200 if I spotted something that looked or felt like a good quality vacuum.

That's not to say I don't like a bargain - bizarrely I'd like to spend new on a cheap "plasti-vac" rather than consider something second hand.

The reason being is that I don't consider all plasti-vacs as being a non-investment. Some last longer than others but it very much depends on the amount of care and maintenance you choose to put into the machines, as with mostly other appliances.

On the other side of a coin, not many vacuum cleaners are an investment. They may be seen as an investment if they last long, but to use the real word "investment," to me, means recouping the same price I bought the machine at the same price if I was to sell it. Vacuums are worse than cars - grossly over priced and depreciate far too quickly, regardless of whether they are vintage OR modern.

 

[vacuumman206]

I find it hard to put myself in that position, because I've always had the eyes of a collector...that said I feel I would be willing to pay more for a vacuum as a consumer.As a collector, if I don't like it and it isn't cheap (price, not quality) I'll pass on it, but if I only owned one vacuum and needed a new one I'd go to the store regardless of price and pick one out.

 

[nycwriter]

There are a lot of variables ...

I'm not a collector, but I just spent thousands last year on an Aerus.

I appreciate quality, and I don't mind paying for it, particularly when I know in the long run I'll be paying less.

That's how I am with everything. For years I held of buying "grown up" furniture for my apartment until I had the funds to buy Stickley; solid and built to outlive both me and my children (if I had any!). I don't like spending my hard-earned money on stuff that doesn't last.

Fortunately, I have the means for which money is often not an issue. However, t'wasn't always so. But even during my "lean" years, I would have been much more likely to buy "the best" of something old and used, rather than something mediocre that's brand new.

 

[vacuumssuck213]

in todays market....

if I was a serious consumer and not for my collecting purposes I would probably spend 300 upwards just to get the quality I desire I hate these new ones you can pick up at target Walmart etc. recently I saw some Maytag's and Hotpoint vacs that were quite compelling.