What's up with GE kitchen appliences?

[Steve]

I bought a $40 GE brand coffee percolator from Walmart last summer. It seemed to work fine at first, but then after about 8 months it would no longer perk coffee?? It would basically just heat the water and I would have to pour the hot water then through the grounds to make the coffee. It got pretty frustrating. Then I looked online for GE coffee percolator reviews (a Walmart site) and lo and behold a majority of users had the same problem with this coffee maker. Luckily I still had the booklet and sales receipt and discovered that GE has a full 2 year warranty. It states to just take it back to Walmart and either get a new unit or your money back. So I took it back and got my money back. At first the Walmart person said they only go back 6 months for store returns but I told her to look in the book and so she took it back. Then I decided to buy a kitchen blender so again I went to Walmart and of all the ones there on display the best looking and sturdiest looking one was a GE brand. I looked in the booklet it came with and again it had a full 2 year warranty same as the coffee maker so I got it. So far, it has worked ok but for funzies I looked on line for GE brand blender reviews (same Walmart site) and again most people wound up bringing that same blender back for a refund due to "problems." I going to keep my receipt, booklet, and packaging materials handy for the full two years if I keep it that long..... I don't know how GE can stay in business with such a great warranty but piss poor appliances? Has anyone here had any similar experiences with GE brand appliances? Sorry this was so lenghty... Steve

[HeyBub]

Maybe it's part of the deal GE has with Iran?

[trailer]

yep-GE ain't what it used to be.

Maybe it's part of the deal GE has with Iran?

[WW]

Look at the box Made i n China ???

[WW]

Many years ago I worked for GE and they had good appliances. But because of the IRAN dealings I boycott their products. WW

[ransley]

Everything is China made now, and quality control is like how they have poisoned foods, it doesnt exist. So return the junk unit. Life is different now.

[John Grabowski]

*I thought that the GE small appliance division was bought by Black and Decker several years ago.

[Robert Neville]

GE sold their small appliance lines off a number of years ago. Electronics went to Thomson. Don't recall who bought their kitchen stuff. Part of the deal allowed the buyer to use the GE brand.

They recently tried to sell off their large appliance line but couldn't find anyone to buy it.

[sligoNoSPAMjoe]

Well it appears whatever is left of GE is going under and likely will not come back to life. It would be a great time to buy stock, if you want some. I seem to recall it was under 3 cents US at the last count.

[Ed Pawlowski]

It is about $7.50 right now. Warren Buffet paid $16 a couple of months ago.

[Steve]

So again, how can GE remain in business if they keep that 2 year full return warranty if they keep getting their "junk" returned? I guess if they do go out, their warranty would be considered "junk" too?!

[Tony Hwang]

GE is LOT more than an appliance company.

[Rick Samuel]

About 6 years ago, bought a side-by-side frig. It made ONE batch of ice and craped out. The whole thing cratered. That was my last GE product. Where you spend your money....

[Ed Pawlowski]

*************************************************

I don't know if GE is still GE for appliances (or B & D who bought them). Most is made in China stuff that probably cost 50¢ to make so they can afford to toss some. I imagine a lot of people don't bother taking the $7 toaster back but just get a new one.

[Jon Danniken]

And that is why they can get away with selling junk to people. We have become so conditioned to throwing things away that demanding quality in the first place doesn't register with the majority of people, let alone buying good quality items in the first place and fixing them when they wear out.

Jon

[Robert Neville]

GE is a bank. The appliances and engines are just the premiums they handed out to get new customers.

[Bill]

I'm buying a lot of things these days which do not last very long before they break. Also I'm buying many things which do not work new out of the box (various brands).

With many things, I am able to fix them or modify them so they work.

I'm very glad I am a mechanical/electronics type and can fix/modify these things. I have no idea how non-mechanical types (those who can't change a tire) are coping with this crap.

[Steve]

So what brand should I be looking at, if not GE, that has an equally good warranty and actually does make a high quality product that doesn't cost an arm and a leg (i.e. not over about $100)? I guess I only paid about $30 for this GE piece of crap but I would be willing to go double or up to triple that for something decent. I don't want or need anything high tech..... Just one that I can rely on to work every day as well as the day I bought it (at least up to the end of the warranty period) and is fairly easy to clean and care for. I guess that's all I ask for anything I buy....... Thanks! Steve

[mkirsch1]

Wrong.

People are only concerned with CHEAPEST PRICE. That's it. Nothing else. If you can get item X from vendor B for 1 cent less than vendor A, you buy from vendor B. Doesn't matter that vendor A's item is a quality unit and vendor B's is low end junk. Vendor B's is cheaper.

People are hopelessly stupid.

We're painted into a corner. You can't demand quality because you're the only one demanding it. There's no profit in cranking out one good blender when you're selling millions of junk blenders and the people just keep buying them up like they're going out of style.

They've taken a luxury item, a blender, and made a cheap copy that the average joe can afford. It used to be that you either got a blender as a wedding gift, or you didn't have a blender. You didn't go out and buy one for yourself. Too expensive. Now it's every man's God-given right to own a blender, but it doesn't stop at blenders. Gotta have every toy and gizmo and gadget...

[clare]

GE is NOT General Electric anymore. The name has been licenced out to offshore producers of "generic junk", and is sold by that great American retail phenomenon, Wal-Mart - the purveyor of "generic junk"_ among others. Don't expect anything from Thompson (licencee of GE) or any other product you buy from WalMart to outlast the warrantee. It's all CRAP and the sooner the American buying public (and Canadian too) fiures that out, the better.

Wal-mart is among the very few retailers in North America to see a year-over-year increase in retail sales this last quarter. In hard times you should be spending your money on something that wil LAST, not buying crap.