2d ago

Why are Dyson products so popular?

This is honestly just a bit of a rant as my Dyson V10 has broken again…. This is what has broken in the last year:

trigger guard snapped
battery died
head pivot broken
empty-mechanism snapped
filter showing clogged after cleaning, needed a new filter.

Every replacement is exorbitantly expensive, and requires as complicated replacement procedure as possible. A battery that consists of seven 18650 cells which should cost ~£20 to replace is £90! You can’t replace the cells as the unit is plastic welded together.

You know what isn’t broken and has never broken; my 40 year old Sebo which is now been promoted from ‘upstairs vacuum’ to ‘primary vacuum’

24 comments

Having sold them in a previous life, marketing and hype.
We got a lot of people who would "upgrade" from a Miele vacuum because they wanted to stop buying bags, then see them a few months later buying bags for their Mieles.
Sorry to all the people who like them, but bagless vacuums leak sooner or later and say what you will about upright vacuums, you just can't reach as many spots as a low profile head on a pole.
- what do you mean by
  bagless vacuums leak sooner
  leak dust? that's when you need to change the filters, which is also the case for vacuum with bags, for sure it's less often as the bag is the primary filter itself (after reading again I realised that you just said that...😅)
  Even though vacuum with bags are easier to maintain, I still like my bag less vacuum (a corded one) because I don't have to think to buy bags
  
  Iirc, dyson advertises their vacuums never need to change filters. But thats probably that break before you ever get to replacing a filter. Lol
  
  Bagless vacuums have all sorts of low quality plastic pieces that junction together with equally low quality seals. Add enough dirt, and the only way to get it to seal like new is to take the whole thing apart and wash everything, replacing damaged parts as you go. At that point, it's more economical to just buy another vacuum.
I have an older Dyson stick vacuum that works perfectly fine. The batteries for it are reasonable in the aftermarket, but I got an adapter that lets me use Milwaukee batteries and I have plenty of those. I have only had to replace the catch for the canister. I got it for $20 at Goodwill.
My mother has a Dyson from like 20 years ago that needed like $80 in parts to fix to make it just like new. It just needed the canister latch, after being dropped down stairs, as well as the main hose and the secondary hose.
Are they good vacuums? yes.
Are they bulletproof? No.
Are they reasonable to repair? Mostly, but major parts are expensive, but we are talking about a $$$$ vacuum.
They aren't a Kirby, but they don't cost Kirby money, especially if you buy a Dyson second hand and do a bit of maintenance. For US people, shopgoodwill.com has Dyson's for sale second hand for cheap, like $50 for a stick and under $100 for an upright.
I have a dyson ball. I litterally pulled it out of a dumpster and repaired it (the brush was competlety tangled up and caused the motor to freeze up). Works well enough and for free its decent. But the build quality is meh. So many plastic parts for places to be abused and no suprised are broke. At best its a $150 vaccum imo.
- I feel like you’re my dad. But I guess he found the Dyson next to a trash can and not in a dumpster so maybe you’re my uncle.
- This is the only justifiable way to acquire a Dyson in 2025. I saved a friends vacuum from the bin by dismantling it and pulling a clog out of a pipe, so many I’m sure get thrown away because people just don’t maintain them and assume they are broken.
- Same, I made a 3d print of the little wheels that keep the floor nozzle slightly elevated, Dyson wanted $23/each and it needed 2!
It's literally just Apple.
I mean, that's survivor bias...
Lots of those had manufacturing faults 40 years ago. The ones still hanging around are the ones that didn't have flaws.
But for the Dyson, that's just how capitalism works.
The company has to always make percent profit increase, at a certain point you only get that by cutting manufacturing/materials.
Like, plenty of 20 years old Dyson's kicking around, but a brand new one is gonna be more likely to break because they're cutting more corners today.
- You do have a point… but this Dyson is my ~5th I think in the last 20 years, I think the motor went on my first one, then the on button/control board failed on the next, after we are into the battery era and I still have them but they are now ‘garage vacuums’ where genuine batteries are no longer available but they share a cheap eBay battery which needs replacing again.
  Thinking back I think I needed to replace a roller belt on the Sebo about 15 years ago, for around £2 from a shop in town. Given the vacuum was probably 25 years old at that point impressive the parts are available and so cheap.
  
  That's a bit on you, after your third why did you keep going? I've got the same Dyson I've had for 15 years, the plastic is definitely getting fragile. I won't buy another when this one goes.
Dyson?
All hype, very little build quality
They're expensive because hype. At some point they used to be the bleeding edge of cordless and bagless, they did come up first with some useful designs, they did clever marketing, and this set them up in the consumer's minds as "must be top".
Quality wise they're not bad in my experience but their price is absolutely overblown. You can get equal or better for a third of the price.
Also another thing I've noticed is that people who use clumping cat litter of any kind for their cats always have shit vacuums, no matter what brand. That type of litter will destroy them guaranteed. You need to clean the filters way more frequently and even then they're never working right. I'm not saying that's your case but if you do, just bear in mind.
- It was bleeding edge, because they break or just don’t work as advertised.
  
  Heh I think they used to be better quality before. Most houses with a Dyson Ball I've been to still has it working, nobody mentions repairs. I still wouldn't buy one though.

24 comments