I need to purchase two new blenders. The ones at the beach are in constant use by our renters, (who doesn’t like a round of margaritas by the pool), and consistently broken. In the three years that we’ve owned a beach house I’ve purchased four blenders. We keep two in the house and this year another two are in need of replacement. I’m not certain if the blenders are broken because of constant wear and tear or poor manufacturing. Up until now I’ve purchased moderately priced appliances, but that approach clearly isn’t working. I should either buy more expensive blenders in the hopes that they’ll last through through a number of rental seasons or purchase a large supply of inexpensive blenders knowing that they’ll need to be replaced each summer.
Since I’m not certain which approach to take I’m not certain where to begin. Usually I know what item I wish to purchase, so I head right over to froogle to find the store with the cheapest price. I tried this tonight but with so many blenders on the market it’s difficult to decide whether to go the expensive route or find the cheapest ones available.
I googled for blender bargains but couldn’t find any current offerings. I visited the clearance section of various online shopping sites but came up empty handed. So I’m asking the readers of this blog… how would you search for bargain blenders? Any input you can provide would be greatly appreciated.
Hello! I’m not sure what’s broken about your blenders, but I have had great luck replacing the jar and lid and the blade assembly at the Hardware store. Maybe I’m blessed with an especially good one, but it’s just the neighbourhood franchise of Ace. It’s cheaper than buying a new blender. Good luck!
I would go somewhere with a good return policy like Williams and Sonoma or Bed Bath and Beyond. I believe both stores have a lifetime warranty as long as your have proof of purchase. Then you can either exchange the blender every year or get your money back if it keeps on breaking. I would also keep your original box just in case.
What I would do is check the manufacturers websites to find one that has the features and durability that you need, then try searching for the model name and number at online retailers like the amazon outlet or overstock to find the best prices for that model. You can also check the websites of places like walmart and target and a lot of times you can order online and pick up at the store.
Good luck in your search!
check out consumers reports at the library and buy high quality once.
Costco always has high quality for great prices.
check out one of the following sites:
mybargainbuddy.com
dealnews.com
ebates.com
bensbargains.net
good luck!
Sounds like your renters are using the blenders to chop ice for drinks and smoothies. If this is the case you need a blender with more wattage to be able to cut through the ice without burning up the motor. A more powerful motor will cost more but will last a lot longer therfore saving you in the long run. A cheap blender is fine for an ocassional drink or smoothie but if being used more often go with the more powerful blender.
Thanks to Nancy I started looking into blenders that come with replaceable pitchers and blades.
As many of you pointed out I didn’t explain how the blenders are broken each year. Sometimes renters break the jar itself, other times the blades or lid are missing or broken.
I didn’t realize that you could purchase replacement parts for particular blender models. So I’ve started looking for manufacturers that sell parts separately.
The Oster brand sells a lot of it’s parts separately for anywhere from $6, (for blades), to $12 for a new pitcher. Rather than purchasing a new blender each year I might be able to replace just the broken parts.
This saves money and the landfills. Once I find a make and model that sells replaceable parts I’ll be able to check Consumer Reports and the list of stores you all mentioned to find the best price!
Thank you all for your great suggestions.
Most brands will have replacement bits available – they probably don’t advertise that fact widely.
When the plastic thingy that drives the blender bit of my combined blender/ mixer broke I took it to a repair place that specialised in that brand and they ordered in a new part for me. I’ve also in the past got new bits for a kettle that broke…
And if your tenants are mainly using the blender to crush ice could you buy an icecrusher instead?
Buy one really nice one and one really crummy one. That should help you figure it out!