Thread Number: 8598
Costco & Kitchenaid 		[Down to Last]

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Post# 161931   10/22/2006 at 18:45 (6,388 days old) by luxflairguy (Wilmington NC)        

Made a trip today to our closest Costco here in Seattle; 200th & Aurora N. They had the gun metal gray Kitchenaid HE# style machines at a "good" price...Interesting to see such a "high end" label on our Costco floor...
P.S. Didn't buy them...have 3 month old Whirlpool duet sports and really like them.!
Greg aka Luxflairguy




Post# 161943 , Reply# 1   10/22/2006 at 20:09 (6,388 days old) by jonv112 ()        

You would be surprised at what brands Costco sells, and who buys there. I saw that the Costco near Yorkdale Mall here in Toronto sells brand new Bosch 3200 units, and my local one sold brand new Duets as well.

Post# 162146 , Reply# 2   10/23/2006 at 21:59 (6,387 days old) by johnb300m (Chicago)        

johnb300m's profile picture
CostCo seems to be the Rich man's WalMart/Sam's Club....sorta like a Target right?

they sell really nice stuff, at good prices.

Post# 164320 , Reply# 3   12/31/2069 at 18:00 (19,832 days old) by frontloadfan (Wellfleet, Ma.)        
Kitchen Aid Ensemble for $1250!

 I have had the Kitchen Aid Ensemble for over a year now. Really love the machine! I paid $1,600 for it.

Now, as others have seen, they are selling the Ensemble at Costco for $1,250. I looked the machine over and it is identical in appearance to my machine in every way. As far as I can tell, there is only one difference. The top spin speed is listed at 1000 rmp. Makes me wonder - did they put in a cheaper motor to bring down the price? Or, did they make internal adjustments so that the motor never ribs up to the top speed.

Any case, now at Costco you have two options for front loaders. You can go budget and get the bottom of the line Whirlpool front loader for $850 or you can spend $400 more and get the Kitchenaid with 12 cycles, heater, extra insulation, premimum paint job, ect.

It is really interesting as now Whirlpool is selling what appear to be an identical machine under two different labels. You go to Home Depot and buy it as it as the Maytag Epic or go to Costco and buy it as the Kitchenaid Ensemble.

Maybe this is a short term strategy. Can't help but think it would be it their best interest to have more distinct machines. On one hand it has been a strength of whirlpool to have machines that have the same basic elements (Duet/Kenmore Elite/Kitchenaid). While these machines share basic elements, they also had elements that set them apart (different options, different cycles, etc.)

Has anyone heard what Whirlpool plans for the new Duet?

While the Kitchenaid Ensemble has a superior appearance compared to the Duet, the Duet has additional cycles (bulky and active wear) and the Wash Delay option (kitchen aid has Delay rinse option).

In any event, I hope that Whirlpool moves forward and comes out with new innovations for it front loaders. For instance, how about direct drive? steam? up the capacity to 4.0?

Post# 164335 , Reply# 4   12/31/2069 at 18:00 (19,832 days old) by agiflow ()        

How much more capacity does these FL washers need? Personally from an aesthetic viewpoint, the ensamble still has a large square of plastic around the door. I personally find the KM HE4 machines the best looking of that whole lot of offerings from WP.


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