What you consider *superior* products

[tmm99]

I don't know how many products you ended up buying to get to the final product you could really be happy with, but I have had my shares of purchasing "not so good" products in the past. Some of them I returned to the seller; some I donated.

This has happened to me with steam mops, portable vacuum cleaners, and skincare products; probably more, but I am probably refusing to remember them all.

Anyway, I wanted to start a thread where everyone can share their own consumer reports for the products they personally have experience with.

My recent one is with the mixer/blender/smooth maker.

My Cusinart blender is good enough for blending, but not much more. I have a food processor (Cusinart) - not so powerful, plus it is bulky to take it out/put it back - it can chop and blend fine but again, not much more. A few months a go, I bought a Magic Bullet thinking this could handle making small amount of pesto, making frozen smoothies, but I was wrong. (it is not powerful enough for either. Basils stuck on one side of the bullet, and it just didn't do a good job, and smoothies with ice weren't smooth at all.)

Anyway, the winner for me was a Ninja Master Prep. This only cost me $45 on amazon (I think Magic Bullet was $70 or so - it came with a lot of cups) and the Ninja Prep crushes ice very fast and small (you can put pretty good size ice cubes and it crushes them up finely). I can just put frozen berries/fruit, ice cubes, yogurt and it makes a smoothie. Very powerful. It does chopping great too, and the head is small enough that I can just leave it on the kitchen counter).

I am glad I didn't have to resort to buying an expensive Vitamix (which I couldn't afford anyway - it costs about $350) just for making smoothies (mine turns out more like frozen yogurt since it is really thick...)

[FinanceDude]

Shark Steam mop, the two-sided microfiber one. I have some vinyl flooring, and the steam does a great job of getting all the gunk up, along with drying in a couple minutes.

Riccar upright vacuum cleaner. We have had it for 12 years, and it still works great.

If anyone wants a gently used Magic Bullet, they can have it for $20...............

[CCdaCE]

We've had a Dyson D14 vacuum cleaner for a couple years. They really suck, in a good way. Cat's been dead for about 6 mos., it's still pulling hair out of the carpet. I guess you can look at this two ways, though. "Why didn't it get the hair before?" or, "man that thing's got suction".

-CC

[plex]

The problem with any quality product is, you need to get that particular model of the product. Other later models, with the same brand, could end up being a big lemon, no matter how wonderful an older product was.

Because of this, I never trust brands, I lookup as many objective reviews as I can before buying something. Since I started doing this, everything I have bought has been a quality product. Sometimes I end up not needing it as much as I thought, but it works the way it is supposed too. The reviews also help dispel any misconceptions I might have about what the product can actually do, so I can comparison shop properly. It is bizarre how there are almost always drastically inferior products for sale that can be 2-3x as much as a quality product.

[audreyh1]

We spend a lot of time reading reviews, etc., before buying something. And we are willing to pay up for something better if the advanced features really seem worth it.

As a consequence we are usually happy with what we buy. Or, at least well aware of some limitations ahead of time but decided we could live with them.

Audrey

[FIREdreamer]

When I shop for an item I first do a lot of research on the internet to narrow it down to a few candidates that meet my requirements. Then, I read reviews (sometimes several hundreds) for each candidate which usually helps me arrow it down to a single product. And that's the one I buy. This approach has served me well so far.

The products I would consider "superior products":
our Apple iPhone and AppleTV
our Canon G10 Camera
our Panasonic Viera TVs
our Dyson and Electrolux vacuum cleaners
Several of our second hand/antique pieces furniture
my Tissot watches
my Johnston & Murphy leather goods

They all are good quality, durable products offering good value for the money IMO.

[FUEGO]

Along the line of things that blend well, the Hamilton Beach Professional blender we have is wonderful. $40 retail, about 10 years ago. After experimenting with numerous other blenders during college in search of the perfect margarita/pina colada/daiquiri (the frozen kind, not on the rocks), this guy won. Two speeds, low and hi. Those other blenders that have 8-10-12-14 speeds suck in comparison. Who needs all those different speeds anyway. The Professional blender is a step above and gets the job done.

Other products? Vanguard mutual funds? Do they count?

[WhoDaresWins]

My favorite product that I have used for something like 30 years is Elizabeth Arden flawless finish makeup. I have occasionally been bitten by the thrift bug and bought supermarket products instead but ended up quickly abandoning them. I have also tried other pricey brands, but they just never suited as well. Totally worth the money to me and a little goes a long way.

[kumquat]

I'm a great fan of "Brand Name" jeans, even if I have to pay a bit more. Mine are always Kirkland.

[Moemg]

Quote:

Originally Posted by WhoDaresWins My favorite product that I have used for something like 30 years is Elizabeth Arden flawless finish makeup.

I also am a fan of the flawless finish make up . It is totally worth the price . Another thing I do not cheap out on is lipstick either Elizabeth Arden or Clinique . They hide those tiny lip lines woman of a certain age get .
As for home products I love my Shark home floor steamer. It cleans my tile perfectly and gets up the gunk around the stove . Plus if you find a bed & bath coupon you can buy it for 20% less .

[Nords]

Interesting that the discussion so far is focusing largely on cleaning products and makeup, both of which I avoid using whenever possible...

Buying our 2006 Prius a couple years ago was a life-changing event for us, in a good way, and I don't think we're ever going back to beater cars. Used, sure, but probably not below $5K. Maybe not below $10K either. By the time we get around to buying again our threshold will probably be above $15K.

Anyway our "superior" product is a Series 2 TiVo. Series 3 HD TiVos are probably in the same class of "it just always works and I don't have to care how". I hear a lot of complaints about DirecTV DVRs and our local Time-Warner cable company's generic HD DVRs are worthless.

We've been hacking along for a few years with a low-end countertop convection/microwave oven, and we're about to upgrade to a GE Profile under-cabinet model. We'll probably even pay full retail, although we're waiting for a sale.

Furniture. We have a couple solid-oak seven-drawer executive desks that I bought from Furniture In The Raw over 25 years ago and stained/varnished. They've made 19 military moves with nary a scratch, let alone breakage, and all the finish/hardware is still flawless. Today we can find similar solid quality pieces on Craigslist, so I doubt we're ever setting foot in a furniture store ever again.

I also spend the extra money to buy the thick-walled copper pipe for all plumbing projects, but I don't want to get into how I learned that.

[tmm99]

WhoDaresWins and Moemg,

Which Elizabeth Arden flawless finish makeup are you talking about? I looked it up and I see
Flawless Finish Radiant Moisture Makeup
Flawless Finish Sponge-On Cream Makeup
Flawless Finish Mousse Makeup
Flawless Finish Bare Perfection Makeup
Flawless Finish Dual Perfection Makeup

http://shop.elizabetharden.com/searc...+finish+makeup

[travelover]

Quote:

Originally Posted by kumquat I'm a great fan of "Brand Name" jeans, even if I have to pay a bit more. Mine are always Kirkland.

+1 on the Kirkland jeans.

Costco's $18 dog beds are a great product, too. Pooch prefers the round one.

[WhoDaresWins]

Quote:

Originally Posted by tmm99 WhoDaresWins and Moemg, Which Elizabeth Arden flawless finish makeup are you talking about? I looked it up and I see Flawless Finish Radiant Moisture Makeup Flawless Finish Sponge-On Cream Makeup Flawless Finish Mousse Makeup Flawless Finish Bare Perfection Makeup Flawless Finish Dual Perfection Makeup Elizabeth Arden Skincare, Fragrance and Cosmetics featuring PREVAGE Anti Aging Treatment line, INTERVENE Skin Care line, Mediterranean perfume, color lip and eye makeup and many other prestige beauty products.

I use the dual perfection makeup...powder and foundation in one compact.

[Moemg]

Quote:

Originally Posted by tmm99 WhoDaresWins and Moemg, Which Elizabeth Arden flawless finish makeup are you talking about? I looked it up and I see Flawless Finish Radiant Moisture Makeup Flawless Finish Sponge-On Cream Makeup Flawless Finish Mousse Makeup Flawless Finish Bare Perfection Makeup Flawless Finish Dual Perfection Makeup Elizabeth Arden Skincare, Fragrance and Cosmetics featuring PREVAGE Anti Aging Treatment line, INTERVENE Skin Care line, Mediterranean perfume, color lip and eye makeup and many other prestige beauty products.

I go for the Bare Perfection . I have to have sunblock in my foundation .

[GoodSense]

Room & Board chairs. Probably 3 x the price of a similar IKEA chair but I will keep them forever, so it's worth it.

Granite countertop. Was a splurge but pulls the whole kitchen together.

Other than those, mostly everything else I own is cheap/free. I really wish I didn't have so many wobbly Ikea bookshelves!

[Rustward]

Parallel to Fuego's post:

Hamilton Beach Commercial Blender: Ours has been making margaritas every week for over 15 years. Crushing ice cubes is hard on blenders, but this blender stands up to the task. < $100 in 1995 or possibly a year or two earlier.

TiVo: It Just Works. We have an S2DT (two tuners, analog cable) and an S3 (two HD tuners via OTA antenna + analog cable, has cablecard capability that we have not used because we receive all the HD programming we can handle OTA in our particular location). We are not very big on electronics in general, but we really like TiVo. Some people with DirecTivo or a DVR rented from their cable company say those are just as good, but those who have ever had a real TiVo say cable company DVR's are just not the same as a genuine TiVo. Of course if you don't watch TV TiVo doesn't count. I see that Nords nominated the TiVo.

[tiuxiu]

More normal response to these kind of threads is "Toyota" but that doesn't have quite the ring in recent days.

[W2R]

Quote:

Originally Posted by tiuxiu More normal response to these kind of threads is "Toyota" but that doesn't have quite the ring in recent days.

Toyota!!

My Toyota Solara was a terrific little car. I love my new Toyota and the recall doesn't worry me because the aftermarket carpet is well anchored.

Also, I like my Thorlo Trekker socks and high end New Balance running shoes because the combination makes my particular feet so comfortable.

I have a little Sudoku book with spiral binding, about 3"x5", with high quality paper and it is just perfect at bedtime. It isn't heavy to hold up and opens flat. Cost almost nothing but someone was thinking when they designed it.

[NW-Bound]

Spectrum analyzers and signal generators by HP (now Agilent) and oscilloscopes by Tektronix.