The Toaster- the greatest example of wasting money

[wilt the stilt]

My cuisinart toaster broke this week. it cost around $50.00 and it was the first time I ever spent more that $15.00 on a toaster. It turned out to be a colossal waste of money. It didn't last any longer that the $8.00 toaster and it certainly didn't toast my bread any better. I just spent $18.00 replacing it and I bet this new one toasts my bread just as well as the $100.00 toaster.

[Hassin Bin Sober]

1. I'm really beginning to wonder if it makes sense to spend the extra...

... money to buy "quality" products when it comes to electronics and appliances.

[phantom power]

6. If choice between warranties is any indication (and it is), then definitely not.

I've been grumping for a while that the economic niche for "stuff that costs more but lasts a lot longer" is essentially unfilled in recent history, in almost any common category of goods

[wilt the stilt]

8. top notch electronics are worth it.

You have to have the right source(Vinyl or SACD and the slighly lower quality of CD's.
If you know what you are looking for on ebay you can get some top notch equipment for very little money Last week my CD player broke. It was a top notch component.I replaced it for $95.00 plus 20 for shipping. This CD player is excellent and is the same maker. I don't usually recommend a changer but I got it for my wife.

I'll put together a system for my son when he gets his own apartment in college.(he is in a frat house and it would be destroyed). I'll put together a good system $300 and a very good system for $600.

I own a $5,000 system myself. Anyone who listens to MP3's my advice is don't waste your money. The format stinks. My son finally noticed it and realized how bad mp3's sound.

[shanti]

20. appliances

i prefer to buy them at costco. at least if they break down, you can return them for full refund, no problem.

[Hassin Bin Sober]

42. For how long?

My 2 year old GE fridge ice maker is acting up - making noise not producing enough ice. I just know it won't be long before I'm replacing the ice maker. The warranty was only one year.

I recently replaced the drum on a 5 year old LG dryer. Luckily for me, I'm handy and adventurous. I was able to replace the $100 dollar drum without labor charges. People on-line are crying about the $3-400 dollar repair and how LG denies there is a defect. At that point, the dryer becomes almost disposable. Don't get me started on LG - AKA "Lucky Goldstar" maker of really cheapo electronics in the '80s now re-branded.

[shanti]

66. manufacturer's warranty? not sure

but this is one of their perks of membership. give them a call.

[Bozita]

69. Yup, Costco adds a year to the mfr's warranty ... at NO extra cost!

My Vizio 55" teevee went south in its 23rd month in my home. Mfr warranty was for 1yr.

We contacted Costco and were given a phone number to call.

Got a new Vizio 55" in a slightly newer model with little/no hassle. New one was delivered to my home, set up, and the old one hauled away.

I'm a firm believer in Costco and its no-charge extended warranty.

[TlalocW]

2. The only reason toasters should cost more than $12

Is if it has more than two slots.

TlalocW

[Whisp]

33. and only if those 2 slots are separated

into 2 toasters melded in one power wise.

Cuz a normal 4 slicer sux as it divides the power by 4.

[TwilightGardener]

3. Along the same lines, I can't figure out why anyone would spend more than

$25,000-$30,000 for a car. After that price point, what are you getting?

[HughBeaumont]

31. Usually worse gas mileage.

[Grave Grumbler]

44. In the case of sports cars, performance.

If you want to go 0-60 in 3.4 seconds, you can get a 2013 Corvette ZR-1 for $112,000.

[Fumesucker]

55. Or you can get a Mitsubishi EVO X for $34,000 that will do 0-60 in 4.4 secs..

Big price tag on that one second difference..



http://www.motortrend.com/roadtests/sedans/1203_2012_mitsubishi_lancer_evolution/viewall.html

[Booster]

4. I can't tell you how many small appliances I have stuck in out of the way corners. Americans want

to buy cheap crap made in China because it cost less. They don't seem to realize that you end up buying about 3 of whatever it is during the year because the 1st one craps out. After going through my 3rd DVR in 1 year I told the tech that brought the new one that if these things were made here instead of China they might last longer - he just looked at me and nodded. It's also, in my mind, almost a scam by the cable cos because your 1st is free but the rest cost you $160 every time you need a new one. You know they don't pay anywhere near that much to buy them. Pisses me off.

[snooper2]

34. Or you can fix it when it breaks..

One of my LCD monitors when to shit this morning..

Just ordered a 150uf 400V capacitor online for the inverter board

[Booster]

40. How I admire you for knowing how to fix shit. I'm a 7- yr old woman and not smart enough to fix

anything. I had my nephew come over to fix a ceiling fan. He went into the attic and a couple of hours later he said "ok, it's fixed". Now when you flip the wall switch, the bed lamp comes on very dim; when you turn the lamp off the ceiling fan comes on, but no way can you have the lamp and the fan on at the same time. I told him I liked it that way and now I'll call an electrician.

[snooper2]

48. Sounds like your bed lamp and fan were sharing the same hot wire, and he re-wired it

into a two-way switch, look for beer cans in the attic LOL

fixing pretty much anything is easy these days, we have the googles! I had no realy idea why my monitor died, but the googles had plenty of advice


More examples, I just randomly typed in "hamilton beach toaster quit working" ---

Viola!
http://www.fixya.com/support/hamilton_beach/toasters

I have a 4 slice toaster.the left 2 slice slots will not stay down.the heating elements work and everything else works well,how do I fix the hold feature of the toaster?

The toast carriage is held down by an electro-magnet, not by any type of physical clasp or hook.
So the most frequent problem with elector-magnet is due to the heat some wire or springs become loose so the electro-magnet is not working properly so it does not stay down.
Another reason that electro-magnet not work properly is due to bread remaining does not leave the lector-magnet contacts to contact. You should clean between where the metal of the Electrical contact meet each other.


Or another, how to fix blemish in finished furniture-
-BAM
100,s of thousands of hits-
http://www.ehow.com/video_4426824_how-fix-small-blemishes-wood.html


Or sticking doors, how to fix sticking doors-
BAM-
http://www.google.com/search?q=how+to+fix+sticking+doors&hl=en&gbv=2&gs_l=hp.1.0.0i5i30j0i22l6.1500.5329.0.8766.22.20.0.0.0.0.297.3376.2j10j7.19.0...0.0...1c.cfqtxqwdVog&oq=how+to+fix+sticking+doors



Everything is on the googles for us to learn

[JohnnyRingo]

5. How's it work on pizza?

Maybe if you lay it on it's side, the cheese won't run down to the bottom. I guess that way if you set a paper plate next to it, the slices will eject neatly stacked and ready to eat. LOL

I just bought another yard sale toaster oven for $5 and gave my old one to my son. As a committed bachelor, I couldn't live without one. It has the added bonus of saving energy and time over a real oven.

At $5 I'm reluctant to even clean them anymore, and they're always available from housewives who find little merit in them, but for my lifestyle a toaster oven is the appliance of choice. I reheat more than I cook. Oh yeah... it make toast too.

[wilt the stilt]

10. the post said toaster

toaster ovens are a different category.

[JohnnyRingo]

39. I disagree.

Nobody needs a toaster and a toaster oven because the latter toasts bread just fine. Indeed it's even better because the window allows one to monitor the progress as it toasts. It also works great with frozen waffles, French bread pizza, and other items that you'd have to jam down the narrow slot of a standalone toaster, all at a fraction of the cost of heating up the old Kenmore range. Since it's small, it significantly speeds up baking times too.

The marvelous toaster oven eliminates the need for a singular purpose machine that does nothing more than put sienna colored stripes an a slice of Wonder bread and takes up no more room on the counter. I wouldn't want to survive without one.

[GoCubsGo]

14. That's what I did, too.

Granted, I paid $6 at the local SPCA thrift store. It was practically brand new. The previous owner cooked something that started on fire, and scorched the plastic handle and a few other parts. Other than that, there was absolutely nothing wrong with it. A little Barkeeper's Friend got rid of most of the scorching. I wish I could afford to discard practically new appliances because they no longer look pretty.

I am another who reheats more than I cook, but I also cook fairly frequently in my toaster oven. I have cooked single pieces of chicken and fish, frozen falafels, homemade flatbread pizzas, single servings of frozen cookie dough, single servings of frozen sweet potato fries... Why heat up the big oven? And, I if I don't bake a whole batch of cookies, I don't eat the whole batch of cookies in a sitting. And, I make toast, too. With toaster ovens, you can butter the bread before you toast it, which gives it a whole different flavor. Even better if you make cinnamon toast. The cinnamon sugar gets all nice and caramelized. Delish! Can't do that in a regular toaster.

[enlightenment]

7. After going through three $50 plus drip coffee makers

in a year, we are now happily using a 40 year old electric percolator that works great and makes fantastic coffee. Picked it up for a song at a yard sale.

It was an expensive device when it was new, but it was quality - can't say that for most appliances anymore. So, you might as well buy cheap, since they all break at the same rate, regardless of cost.

[jberryhill]

9. A percolator?

Heaven forfend. For under $20, you can get a French press, and it is likely you already have a tea kettle.

[enlightenment]

12. I like perked (cooked) coffee.

Never cared for the taste (or sieving grounds through my teeth) that you get from a cafetiere. I was actually glad the last drip machine broke - drip isn't 'cooked' either.

Definitely have a tea kettle, though.

[jberryhill]

15. The only real solution....

For "American" coffee is an industrial grade Bunn-O-Matic:

[enlightenment]

45. It's still drip . . .

[jberryhill]

46. Yes, but

Sitting on those burners for a couple of hours accurately simulates the taste of percolated.

[enlightenment]

50. You think so?

You've never had a decent cup of perked coffee, then.

Actually, I obviously have no idea what a good cup of coffee is - I think most of the stuff you buy tastes like activated charcoal, have always added milk and sugar to my coffee, and really prefer a nice cuppa tea!

[coalition_unwilling]

53. Letting it sit for 8 hours or even longer gives a whole new

meaning to 'coffee bar' (as in, the kind you have to cut out with a knife

[GoCubsGo]

16. I don't even bother with a tea kettle.

I just get out the Pyrex measuring cup, fill it with water, and put it in the microwave for about two and a half minutes.

[jberryhill]

17. I tried that...

But got tired of finding a cup of cold water in my microwave several hours later...

[GoCubsGo]

35. I don't heat it unless I use intend to it right away.

That solves the cold water issue.

[tammywammy]

68. That's what I do.

electric tea kettle and a French press. Yum, Yum!

I do have the $40 or so Mr Coffee burr grinder for the beans. I also have a Bialetti Moka Express. That plus a little battery operated milk frother and I have delicious homemade cappuccinos.

[jillan]

26. We went thru coffeemakers too - like crazy. Cuisinart and other fancy models thinking that

we were going to get better coffee? what a joke! They were great looking - but pure crap.

We ended up buying a $20 Mr. Coffee that is now on it's 3rd year and is still working great.

[marybourg]

30. +1

[Scuba]

11. My toaster was made by the same corporation that builds nuclear plants. It failed after four years.

How's that butter your buns?

[HopeHoops]

13. I have to have a 4-slice wide-slot toaster (also inexpensive) because we love bagels.

Even still, they make bagels so huge now that you still have to cram them in. I use wooden chopsticks to pull out the stuck bagels - no electrocution issue. Expensive doesn't mean better. We've had this toaster for longer than I can remember and with five of us in the house (and a shitload of toast and bagels running through it), I'd say it's held up pretty damn well.

No Jesus sightings yet. (sigh)

[gollygee]

18. Appliances these days are awful

My washing machine broke. It was just past the warranty, and the part would cost so much as to make it not worth fixing. Typical.

I was frustrated and decided not to give any corporations any more money for appliances right then, and got a used old one off Craigslist for $40. Best washer I've ever had - it washes clothes better than the expensive one it replaced.

Used appliances, if they're old enough, are better than new ones these days.

[bongbong]

19. Chinese

Most "Cusinart" brand products are now made in China. Check the label.

Here are a summary of the differences between an old or ancient "Made In America" toaster bought at a garage sale for 5 bucks, and a brand new Chinese toaster:

*) the garage sale toaster will last 6x as long as the other one.

[datasuspect]

21. it's like Zumbar told me at Sabra Giant Electronic Wholesale

"is Sony guts, all the same shit, my friend."

[frylock]

64. it's pinnacle!

[FarCenter]

22. Keurig, K-cups, and Green Mountain coffee and its ilk are the greatest wastes of money

[sammytko]

59. Not if you use a re-usable K-Cup

And get that cup for 3 bucks after 15 dollar coupon from jcpenney!

I use my regular coffee. I don't waste coffee by making too much. Its nice and hot too.

[Fumesucker]

23. I have a post up on the Frugal Living group about this issue on a lot more expensive scale..

http://www.democraticunderground.com/11281253

[Enrique]

24. thrift stores are full of stuff like that

sitting there on the shelves just waiting to toast bread, like the toys in Toy Story waiting to be played with.

[coalition_unwilling]

57. My wife says, "Aw, that's so sweet and cute." I'm sitting here laughing

my ass off. Our 2nd hand coffeemaker ($10 at Goodwill) has been going strong for 15 years now. Great coffee, although since it is a Krups, I'm hoping no concentration camp labor was used in making it (little shout out to fans of William Manchester's "House of Krups&quot .

[KurtNYC]

25. disposable electronic devices are what the economy is built on now

ink jet printers, electric razors, laptop computers, smart phones and the like. All designed to last only a certain length of time.

They test and engineer for failure at a certain timing. On some electronics there is actually a chip that counts either time of use or number of sheets printed and then stops the device from working after that is reached. It is not the fact that these things are made in China -- they could be made to last 70 years but that isn't the spec because the buisness model is to sell you the same stuff over and over (on credit cards).

[HiPointDem]

36. +1. i remember when this model started coming in circa late 60s early 70s. there was a definite

period of transition from a culture where people's psychologies were geared toward repair/reuse toward the present-day one, where they're not for the most part. Wasteful society, deliberately engineered.

Also has the effect of dumbing people down, as things not being repairable = fewer home tinkerers = people don't know how things work.

[KurtNYC]

38. with light bulbs it started much earlier

They initially lasted 2,500 hours or more. The major companies formed a cartel and would fine each other if they caught one making bulbs that lasted longer than the target. In the 1920s they set a target that no lightbulb should last more than 1000 hours. Lightbulbs today last an average of 800 hours.

Japanese cars made major gains in the 1970s by violating the 7 year target of American car makers. A Honda from the late 1970s can do 250,000 miles. While a K car was designed to be in the scrap heap at 80,000. The Cubans love American cars from the 1950s because they can be repaired.

They are still shortening the life of products. 3 years used to be short enough now they are down around 18 to 24 months.

Trailer:

full doc:

[coalition_unwilling]

58. = "Planned Obsolescence" - n/t

[tridim]

27. IMO the only important feature in a toaster...

Is that the cages that grab the bread must grab it from both sides. Super cheap toasters don't do that, but a-bit-more-expensive-but-still-cheap toasters do.

[jillan]

28. I had an HP laptop that crapped out on me after 3 years. I was told that was not uncommon!!

I'm sorry - but I don't have an addition $500 to buy a new laptop every 3 years.

[MineralMan]

29. My toaster dates back to the 1950s.

I bought it at a Goodwill store in the mid 60s, and it's still popping up perfectly toasted bread. It even has a slide-out crumb tray so it stays free of toasty snids. It's a Westinghouse. I love it.

I also have one from the 1920s that still works, but you have to turn the bread over to toast both sides. I bring it out when there are more than two people for breakfast, and make more toast right at the table. Yum!

[formercia]

32. Remember those small appliance repair shops?

Much like the computer repair shops of today. Their demise was making things so cheaply, it wasn't worth repairing, even if you could.

I worked with a fellow who had been an Engineer for GM. His main task was to find ways of saving money on windshield wiper motors. Just replacing the screws with rivets, saved the company millions. The units were designed no to be repaired, but to have a MTBF comparable with the vehicle. They don't make money by selling a set of replacement motor brushes, but they do by selling you the whole motor assembly.
Like someone said earlier: They want to sell you a new vehicle, when the value of the old one becomes more than the cost of replacing the worn out assemblies.
I remember, back in the 70's, replacing the clutch on my VW bug with nothing more than basic hand tools and a rope slung over a tree branch to hold the engine aligned with the transmission shaft. Try that today..no way, Jose.

MTBF= Mean time between failures.

[MineralMan]

37. The auto industry has taken modularism to

it's full extent. No longer do you pack wheel bearings. You replace the whole hub on today's cars. What used to cost little now costs a lot. You no longer take two bolts out and swap in a new fuel pump. Instead, you drop the fuel tank and replace an entire assembly. Big bucks.

Nobody overhauls engines any more. You just replace the whole thing or junk the car.

That said, today's auto components generally last for at least 100,000 miles without failing. After that point, when they fail, it's always a toss-up whether to fix or junk the car. Depends on what fails and whether you can replace it yourself or not. Labor prices at dealerships are up to $100 in most markets, so it doesn't take long to run up a major repair bill. I just saved $675 by replacing a fuel pump myself. The dealer wouldn't just replace the pump, and would only replace an entire fuel gauge sender assembly that holds the pump. For $125, I replaced the damn pump myself. It just took two hours. But, I have some wrenching skills. On a 20 year old car, it was the difference between another year of driving it or the junkyard.

[slackmaster]

41. I've been using the same $9.95 Proctor-Silex toaster almost daily since 1989

More expensive is not always better. To twist an old saying into something more truthful:

You don't always get what you pay for, but you do always pay for what you get.

[Cleita]

43. I feel the same way about coffee makers. The cheap ones do as

good a job and last the same as an expensive one.

[ProdigalJunkMail]

47. used toaster... n/t

[Blue_Tires]

49. Funny you bring this up...

My mom's toaster just died a couple of weeks ago and we ditched it...It was a wedding gift from June 3, 1972 and was used in continual operation from day one...They *really* built stuff to last back then (fwiw, it was a General Electric)

[Arugula Latte]

51. I don't know how many toasters I've gone thru in 20 years ...

yet my mother's toaster from her wedding in 1956 is still going strong. They don't make 'em like they used to -- the cliche is true.

[Alduin]

52. I have a $10 toaster and it works just fine.

I've had it for six months already and it still works.

[MrScorpio]

54. Get a toaster OVEN

I bought one for my wife on our first anniversary in 1991. We're still using the same toaster oven today. She always tells me that the oven is her favorite gift from me EVER!

It was inexpensive and money well spent.

[Motown_Johnny]

56. Everything is disposable now, get used to it.

[Drahthaardogs]

60. I have no use for a toaster.

A cookie sheet and the broiler work fine for me. Takes up valuable counterspace and they all get filthy.

[matt819]

61. How about one on sale for $130?

I was at the local kitchen store a few weeks ago - can't remember what I was buying. There was a toaster on the counter, and the clerk ooohed and aaahhhed over it, telling the shopper that this was a fantastic toaster and that he was getting super deal for only $130 (or maybe it was $230 - whatever, it struck me as absurd). This was not a toaster over. It was a toaster. It toasts bread. How on earth can you put together a home toaster that costs that much money?

[silvershadow]

62. I have said the same thing about electric can openers. I love to

find the older models, still working, on ebay.

[hunter]

63. Everything is a waste of money.

When something like a toaster breaks and I can't fix it I'm never in a hurry to replace it.

Something will show up in the thrift stores, or in somebody's trash, or by other serendipity.

Or I don't need it.

I won't buy anything new unless my wife makes me.

If everybody was like me there would be no economy. Sometimes I think that would be a good thing.

Storytelling hunter-gatherers walk lightly upon the earth.

[SoCalDem]

65. Tahitian hotel-room coffee

The resort had a little water warming pot (for the tea).. We like coffee, but got tired of schlepping to the restaurant for it @ $4 a cup...no refills.., so we bought some paper towels, a small plastic pitcher & a can of ground coffee at the local market & made our own coffee ..

I made a little "pouch" for the coffee from a double paper towel, got the water boiling, and then made coffee from my "coffee-bag "..

Necessity is the mother of invention

[brooklynite]

67. And yet, you bought a $50 one...

...when there we obviously cheaper models available?

And why criticize all toasters?

[wilt the stilt]

70. matching the stainless steel for my other appliances n/t