Tidbits

Sleepover at Ikea - Maybe this is the only way to get to the $1 early enough…
A ramen bath - Japanese spa with special baths resembling instant noodles. I wanna play!
Old age homes for dogs - 1) Old dogs don’t like to be abandoned at strange places. 2) Playing with young puppies will probably cause the older dogs to die faster due to exhaustion.
A remote-controlled pigeon - Oh the poor thing…
An article on a brilliant method of teaching grade schoolers about bats and rabies. I smell a lawsuit.
Will trade beer for Crumpler bags. Tempted by the beanbag and messenger bags…

Canadians Deserve Affordable High-end European Appliances Too!

November 12, 2005, 6:29 am

So it all started with my birthday gift. A few months after moving into our Waterloo apartment, we managed to gradually slip in furniture pieces and household bits on the odd weekends, until all that is left is a vacuum. There were no extra ones in our households to be had. Feeling practical minded one day, I told Mike that we need a vacuum, and joked that he can get me one for my birthday. Well, sort of joke, I was half serious.

I thought it was pretty silly of Mike to have a dream vacuum, which was a Dyson, one of the best bag-less uprights around. I think that spoiled it for me, when I realize that vaccums can be pretty high quality product. Afterwards, examining the cheap-looking Eureka�s and Hoovers at Futureshop and Costco, I felt something was missing, and was not too enthused about buying any of them. Then Mike led me to a TA Appliance store in Kitchener, and saw the $600 plus Miele. We were intrigued, but the prices were rather outrageous. (We also saw a $3000 coffee maker by Miele, I think I�ll asked for that for Christmas�)

So finally, we went to another vacuum store in Waterloo, and over half an hour of vacuum lessons and pointers later, walked away with a Miele Solaris Turbo Plus for under $700 after tax. And no, it doesn�t vacuum all by itself, but after using it, you just might become obsessed with using it all the time�

So it all started with the vacuum. Then Mike started reading about other European appliances. Apparently all the Maytag appliances that came with the apartment are among the most efficient in Canada, with our dishwasher holding the number one honour. It is good we only use it for a drying rack� So now he is interested in a new washer, dryer, dishwasher, and steam oven. And he is not alone. It�s sad Mike can relate to that article, and sadder still how I recognize all the brand names mentioned in it due to the tidbits Mike shares with me about his research.

Alas, most of these products are unavailable in Canada, or are ridiculously priced because of some ridiculous monopoly licensing and distribution agreements these companies have with Canadian retailers. There is just no competition! Case in point: Mike had no regrets about slapping down $700 for a vacuum, a vacuum !!, until he saw the Bosch Formula.

So he ended up getting the �blue� model for his mom (he brought our Miele home and his mom was hooked, and she subsidized most of it), which is basically one model higher than our Miele equivalent, because it comes with a HEPA filter and electric brush (yes, those terms have meanings to me). He paid less than $500 for it, since Bosch is a bit cheaper. But only after jumping through a few hoops. Basically we told the small retail guy about how Linens n�Things were selling it for two hundred less than his price, and he got all fussy and ranty about how Bosch could do that to him, how could they let the scary large retail chain undermine small loyal businesses like this, but still ended up matching that price. So the guy called Bosch rep later, and it turns out that it was only a hundred less, and Linens n�Things were not authorized sellers of Bosch products, because it is a �territoried product� in Canada, and they have to take this product off their shelves in Canada. And after a week of delays in shipping the product, phone calls, and email exchange, Mike settled on paying a bit more for the mistake, even though he had paid the original price last week. Can companies do that? Increase the price after you�ve already signed for it, because they hadn�t charged the credit card yet, and the product have yet to be delivered? Still, the guy is reasonable and the new price is more than fair, so whatever.

Anyways, we now have TWO high-end German vacuums to try out, and Mike still somehow ended up not “owning” either.