Shopping for a washer and dryer turned out to be harder than we thought. We went to Sears, with our Consumer Reports in hand, thinking that we’d look at all the CR-recommended picks and then choose the one with the best features and price for us.
Except that there were 40 or so models listed in Consumer Reports and 40 or so models at Sears and the overlap was 1. I thought washers and dryers were pretty straightforward, but there are endless variations. Aside from differences in size and color, front-loading vs. top-loaidng, etc., they largely just have different buzzwords – super agitator, ultra agitator, total care agitator, UltraQuiet, SuperQuiet, HyperQuiet, ReallyReallyQuiet. We finally settled on a reasonbly nice-looking and reasonabled priced Kenmore set. No cupholder though.
I can’t believe you didn’t get the cupholder! There goes the resale value. 😉
Did you look at the models with TV and internet access? how about a wifi hotspot? I have been a Kenmore person for years, and I love the brand. I will only buy Kenmore.
“We finally settled on a reasonbly nice-looking and reasonabled priced Kenmore set.”
So, design matters. Sex sells! 😉
In a previous life I worked for a manufacturing company. I was on a customer visit once where I was told that the outer shell of the equipment really mattered. I asked why. Our (small, boutique) customer stated that *their* customers cared about the looks of our equipment. We offered more curved edges and nice colors.