What's in the vac Shops

[gsheen]

This is a dyson dc15 that we rebuilt,Please excuse the writing I had  edited it for advertising purposes. The rebuilt ones have ther own stands aswell so it looks better , we offer a 2 year guarantee as well as 2 free Anual services on our rebuilt models. It keeps customers coming back to the store and that ay they will buy something else aswell.


 


The only hassle is that they look so good after been rebuilt many customers wondered why pay more for a new one. so we now always make sure that the rebuilt ones are of a different colour or spec to the new ones. That is a problem but I make the same profit off a new dyson as I do off a rebuilt one so it doesn't hurt me financialy at sale but it does hur new sales which inturn hurts overall turnover but untill there are more brands in SA there is not much I can do about it.


 


However , if I had the choice of brands like you guys do then I probibly wouldn't do rebuilts either , It just does not make sense if you have that many brands so I do understand why the shops stopped doing them.  

 

[sarasvacshack]

Every market is different

I must say this has been an interesting topic to read. I think every market is different. Location, area economics and the dealers marketing strategy all seem to play a very large role in what is offered at the local vac shop. When we opened up our shop, we did not have much of a strategy. Since we do not have any affiliation with any major manufacturer, we specialize mainly in refurbished units. Electrolux has been always been our top seller locally, and I can sleep well at night knowing the customer got a great vacuum and a great value. Price point is 300-750. We sell quite a few lower end plastic uprights, like Hoover Windtunnels, Bissell Healthy Home 5770, Panasonic and Kenmore uprights, all in the $50 range, mainly for cabin vacs, college students, and the like, but I always let the buyer know what they can expect. Having repaired/reconditioned quite a few Riccar and Simplicity canisters, I would have a really difficult time selling one to a local customer under the pretense that they are "built to last", and at the hefty MAP. Don't get me wrong, I am not bashing Tacony vacs, but having seen what they look like after a few years of heavy use, they are definitely not worth the $1000. Miele on the other had has me quite impressed with how well they hold up, and their price point is under $1000. Availability of parts is a bugger though.

Most of what is on our showroom floor is reconditioned, with the exception of some commercial units, and D2D sold vacs purchased from dealers that closed their distributorships.

 

[scvacuumguy]

Which models are you reconditioning? The Immaculate and Impeccable units are very well built.

 

[gsheen]

Miele availability of parts is a bugger

Oh so its a world wide problem then?


Miele SA recently asked us if we would sell there vacuums in our store, we had been considering it, I bought a s7 upright to test out but when a supplier asks you then you have a bit of an advantage as far as getting what you want.


One problem I have always had with Miele here in SA is that spares are not always available when you need them but then a hose  costs about half the price of a new miele vacuum as-well. What are the spares prices like there?


I do like the machines though and am glad they have asked 

 

[sarasvacshack]

Riccar/Simplicity

I have never touched either the Immaculate or Impeccable, but have worked on several 1800, 1500 Simplicity units, which would be the Simplicity equivalent. The hose/wand/power nozzles do not seem to hold up well, nor do the canisters for that matter. Working on units in the second hand market (I used to be a FQ d2d guy for 10 years), has given me a much different perspective of what quality really is, and they sure as heck don't make vacs like they used to.

 

[bagintheback]

Lloyd (sarasvacshack)

What is it on the Riccars that seems to be built with low-quality? I have always thought of them as durable machines. My neighbor owns a Riccar 8000s series from the 90s that he uses to clean houses that he rents out. The plastic used is not the greatest but all the stress points are metal.

I am enjoying reading your opinion on this topic. You seem to have a good idea of what people want in a vacuum.

 

[scvacuumguy]

They are very durable machines. You obviously have had absolute zero experience with the American Made canister from Simplicity and Riccar. I certainly hope you get to go by a real vacuum store who carries new brands like Riccar or Simplicity so you can check out the latest from Riccar.

There are a lot of new things coming out very soon that will shock you in terms of the Riccar product line. I can't wait to share it with everyone on here!

 

[fan-of-fans]

In my area I don't think we have vacuum shops anymore. I used to see a few but I think they all closed up. When I went to them they sometimes sold used vacuums. I remember one shop sold Riccar uprights and the Sanyo Transformax machines. I guess most people don't have their vacuums fixed anymore and buy a new one instead.

I'm sure the larger areas have the stores that sell Miele, etc, but not here.

 

[gsheen]

many yers ago we had vacuum repair shops at nearly every shopping centre.  some sold new vacuums but nothing like how you guys have it.


Trouble is Cape town is beautifull city and is very popular with wealthy internationals and movie stars , they all own houses here. the problem with that is it pushed the property market thru the roof, greedy landlords did the rest and many of these shops closed due to rent.


 


We now own the only Vacuum shop in the whole of SA that is not tied to one brand. Even we had to make a move a few years ago when rent got so out of hand in the shopping centres I could of been paying off a Ferrari for the amount of rent I was paying, No Jokes  Its true for a medium sized shop. Thsts why we built on a shop at opur home and then extended further.


 


Its sad to think that many stores have closed due to bbs stores. Its changing here people are sick of the bad service you get at bbs stores but now we need to improve our range of vacuums and get more machines like Royal, and the tacony brand of vacuums here but importing here is an entirely other messy game 

 

[sarasvacshack]

Riccar Canisters

I would like to clarify that my negative opinion of Riccar and Simplicity is with their canister units, not the uprights. The uprights hold up really well and are very cost effective to own and use. It is the made in China canister vacuums that are disappointingly not worth their $1000+ price tag. The units that I have seen come through literally are falling apart, and they do not show wear well. I understand brand loyalty, as I said, I sold Filter Queens from the Limited Edition model (very good machine), through the 80th Anniversary model. You could not at the time tell me there was any machine better than a Filter Queen. Looking back, I was blinded by brand loyalty. The 75th Anniversary was definitely a piece, and it is rare to find one that is not falling apart now 10 years later. The 2005-2006 SS models of the 360 used a lower quality motor than previous models, and burn out frequently in under 5 years.

If Tacony has gone back to making a canister in the US, even if it is from globally sourced parts, this would be a wonderful thing and maybe the quality has improved.

bagintheback - That 8000 series is a heck of a machine. Even now, almost 20 years later, the units have good resale value and are still in demand. Most of the 8000 series units we get in are sold very quickly at 149, which is pretty good for a 20 year old bagged upright. The metal bottom plate and brush roll make the unit a good fit for light commercial use.



The

 

[scvacuumguy]

Again, we have a full display room of many different brands. We carry all major brands except Miele. There is no loyalty, except what sells. I was simply updating you on some information concerning the American Made canisters. When I used to bo-jack used machines like you are doing, I was not up to date on the recent developments in the new vacuum world. I seriously doubt you will see many of the newest American made canisters in for awhile, unless you buy a load of trade-ins from a REALLY good Kirby dealer.

 

[gsheen]

Do you sell the new electrolux's and eureka's more upper models ?


 

 

[lunchboxsean]

@sarasvacshack - It's funny that you say it's rare to find a 75th Majestic that isn't falling apart. I just sold one 75th Majestic on eBay in great shape and I have another one for sale right now on eBay, also is great shape. If you want to see it, use advanced search and type in seller: lunchboxpatterson

 

[kirbykid63]

I sell mostly parts

I have enjoyed reading all comments of this thread,I am a eBay power seller with 100% positive feed back in Tucson Az.I have found with the bad economy it is more profitable for me to sell used and refurbished parts for high end vacuums.There's just two many used high end vacuums on Ebay for me to make it worth my time,My customers are people who don't want to buy a new machine but elect to keep there ten to twenty year old vacuums working and I help them do that.I have always had a passion for vacuum cleaners,and I enjoy picking and parting out used kirby's,electrolux's,rainbow's,kenmore's and anything else high end that i run across in Tucson.

 

[lunchboxsean]

Well, we've talked about the new vacuum market, the used market, the repair market, and now the parts market. I tell my friends that I handle vacuum cleaners and they laugh at me. Look at all the great ways to make good money doing it!!!

 

[gsheen]

Kirbykid63 


 


I must admit we do the same thing here with our Kirby and rainbow trade inns, especcially the g range of kirby's , While I like the look of both machines I won't resell its not my market, I rebuild the motors on the Kirby's , new bearings brushes and resell them , I turn enough of a profit just on selling the motor , the cords sell well aswell due to them been very expensive new, One of the Kirby branches in a city near the north of SA is one of my biggest clients, sentria Motors and cloth bag s & handles sell well for me too.


 


Rainbow is even better , there agency here is Nuts , a power hose on a SE will set you back $450.00, I trade rainbows in for about $20.00 I have a supplier who can sell me the hose ( no ends ) with the wire in it we then refit it onto the ends and sell it at $ 120.00 which is still alot but customers are happy with that rather. Nice thing is that the new hose we fit in is better quality so it lasts and we can make the hose longer two , we buy 20 m rolls at a time .


 


Breaking up a Kirby or rainbow will net me about 3 times the profit I would have made reselling it as a whole unit. its also faster to sell parts. people already have the machine they just need it working again

 

[gsheen]

Sean let your mates laugh , I started fixing and selling vacs while I was in school , working for Electrolux in my holidays too. all my mates laughed but in our last year we all got cars, they had old Toyota corrola's, Mazda and  golfs ,


I bought a demo model Audi A4 2.8 quatro , they stopped laughing then 

 

[lunchboxsean]

I guess I have about 4 or 5 Kirbys laying around that I should part out instead of trying to sell whole. GSheen, How do you break up the Kirby into sell-able parts? Obviously Power Head, Handle, Bag, Cord, Accessory Kit, Shampooer, etc. What I'm wondering is if you sell the entire motor assemble and housing as one, or do you break that up, too?

 

[gsheen]

I sell the motor complete but we strip it out of the machine frame , will post pics tomorrow , its 1.30 in the morning here so I want to go to bed 

 

[kirbykid63]

I rebuild kirby and electrolux motors

I rebuild and sell kirby and electrolux motors,I also part out kenmore canisters and rainbows that I find or are sold to me from other pickers.I sell the whole G series motor and tech drive units refurbished and bench buffed to a nice shine.

 

[sarasvacshack]

Filter Queen

@ Lunchboxsean

The 75th Anniversary motor units were good, but the hose/wand/power nozzles were not. Ends snap off the wands, hoses known to short, the silver nozzles had poor design with the bearing end on the non belt side freezing, causing the nozzle to vibrate to the point of falling apart. The entire nozzle is held together by six screws, which screw into brass inserts. It is common for the plastic housings to crack, so the screws will just spin. We sell many hoses, wands and nozzles for these models both online and to our FQ customer base. The direct connect attachment sets are just not as reliable as the older ones were, and the replacement costs of parts are much higher too. The motor units use the same motor as the 112B Limited Edition, so they should last for a very long time.

Lloyd

 

[scvacuumguy]

Lloyd, I feel your pain there. FQ screwed up big time on the first generation DC parts. It is usually a $449.99 repair when the neck goes bad, shorts out the wand, and subsequently shorts out the hose.

 

[blackheart]

What about

The newer black nozzles that came with the Majestic 360? are they as faulty as the silver ones? Mine does vibrate pretty excessively, ever since i got it. It's a shame i like the new set up and the handle grip the most comfortable of any canister i've tried yet

 

[sarasvacshack]

360's

They have continued to try to make improvements on the hose/wand/power nozzle. FQ was aware of the intermittent shorting problem shortly after the 75th came out. I remember as a distributor at the time replacing many hoses, wands and power nozzles. They made a couple minor changes to the nozzle when the 360 was launched. Antistatic plastic on the neck and wand to eliminate the problem with the wands not separating from the hose and snapping off. A new brush roll design with a double racer on the non belt side of the brush roll (nozzle motors from these early 360s were faulty too). Late 2008 I think it was that the 360's built from 04-06 were recalled due to the shorting problem, just google HMI recall. They send out hundreds of new accessory sets. In 2008 they redesigned the way the screws mounted into the nozzle (no more brass inserts), so they hold together much better. I was surprised they did not use stainless steel screws for the nozzle, and we include them free with the upper and lower housings. Now flash forward to 2011, a complete redesign of the wand, thicker stainless steel, thicker wand ends with the wiring on the outside of the wand...they are now supposed to be repairable but the outer wire is not available yet, AND the wand ends are snapping off again. I wish they would just redesign the nozzle, hose and wand set.