Geez the last thing I wanted to do was get into a pissing match. I give responses to posters with my opinion and I back them with my reasons why. They are usually because I have worked on or used the product. Posters can take that or leave it. Don't know why that bothers you. While you give very good information you however don't give any reasons how you base your information. The best analogy is your opinions are like that of an academic while mine are from a professional. In actuality, you could have 30 years of experience and your own chain of stores... but, that's how you come off. I repeat --- I try to sell my customers the best vacuum for their needs. Lucky51; First, I used Miele and Sebo to prove my point, because they too have a feature for better maneuverability, just like Dyson. You brought up that people really do not ask about it. I wondered how you sell the Miele S7 uprights and the Sebo Felix. You sell that feature on those two brands. You just do not like Dyson. I think the turning mechanism is a secondary selling feature on all of those brands. Here's the problem I have with you, while I realize anything put on a chat board is fair game, I find it distasteful you bring up personal information originally offered to a specific post and re-apply it to another, out of context. You create ASSUMPTIONS. The "You just do not like Dyson" is a perfect example. Can't recall when I said that. Saying I don't like how the company is run or that they use cheap wiring and they sell against their own dealers are opinions that don't make a definitive blanket statement. I evidently am an analytical thinker in contrast to you as a Concrete thinker. I see gray areas and degrees while you see black & white, yes or no, all or nothing. Were different so it's probably best to not comment on my opinions. I also used Miele, Sebo, Bosch, and Tacony, because you do not care for Chinese vacuum cleaners and companies owned by the Chinese. Plus, you do not like vacuums made in other countries. You believe it is better to purchase USA-made vacuums. Yet you sell Miele, Sebo, Bosch(when sold here) and Tacony brands. You sold Chinese and Korean made Simplicitys. Did your store also sell the Chinese made Mieles? The response to the OP who said she had great luck with a Simplicity before, I suggested for her to support that company again, because it is in my opinion a better product. If I didn't think so I wouldn't have suggested she buy it. The ADDED ADVANTAGE of giving support to an American company is not a bad thing in my opinion and I don't care that you and soulless companies don't care, I see my neighbors out of work. You see, I am trying to prove a point to you and others and I think I did. The world is changing. Not all Chinese vacuums are bad. Some are are really good. The Hoover, mentioned by OP is really good. Users also like the Hoover upright. But you think she should not get it, because it is owned by the Chinese and made in China. If buying American is bad and supporting Totalitarian Dictatorships is good because "that is the new world order, just accept it" we will have a difference of opinion. Talking about Hoover. It was sold to Chinese, because of Whirlpool stockholders. Why didn't the Hoover employees, vac collectors, etc. have Maytag stock(before Whirlpool purchased) or Whirlpool stock(after purchasing Maytag) and save Hoover? Each share of stock is a vote. They also could have banded together and started a company and purchased Hoover. Don't just blame the CEO's. Alot of the time, stockholder vote for a sale of the company. How much do you want to bet Americans were stockholders in Maytag and Whirlpool. Stockholders usually just want to make sure their stock makes money. They will agree to the sale, if it benefits them,IMHO. Yes I'm sure that investors would drop what they were doing for a living and start a company rather than make a quick buck off the backs of people they will never meet. Your way of thinking is not the way the companies of the world are thinking, sorry to say. It would be great to have American-made appliances and electronics only, but that would mean you could not sell Miele and Sebo. Some things we cannot change. I would suggest that you create your own vacuum cleaner company. Some more of that concrete thinking there Sparky. PS The "start you own Vacuum company" was amusingly juvenile.

After purchasing a Dyson DC17 "Absolute Asthma and Allergy" vacuum and returning it a week later because all I did was sneeze, cough and wheeze during and after its use, I decided to buy a Miele a few days ago. I was also replacing a top-of-the-line, year-old Sears Progressive canister, that spit out more dust than it took in (further proven by a particle scanner)-and although it worked beautifully, smelled terrible and made me cough and sneeze. This is how I decided on the proper Miele model: First, I reminded myself that albeit expensive, the model that I chose was not a life or death decision. Second, I put into priority order the features that were most important to me. For my intense dust mite allergies and asthma, I needed the most intensive filtration system. A close second on my list was how well the machine worked for my home's flooring (mostly hardwood, a few inexpensive area rugs, and two small fully carpeted spare rooms), followed by quality/longevity, and finally, convenience. I did web research, of course, then visited a few Miele retailers. Various salespeople narrowed it down to the Callisto, and so did I. However, the store where I was most comfortable purchasing the Miele did not have the Callisto in stock. So, I went to the next model up (the "Gemini") which they did have, and the only difference is the color, the buttons next to the rotary dial light up, and it has an overheat light. This model comes standard with the smaller 217 turbo head and the parquet floor brush. If the 217 power head is used on Oriental carpets, I would think that the suction power on the vacuum itself could be turned down to a more minimal level, and it shouldn't harm the rugs...just my opinion. I have no problem pushing the smaller power head on my medium-density carpets (and area rugs), and I believe it was the right-sized head for my home's flooring. As for the highest models in the S5 series, (Aquarius and Capricorn, I believe), they have electronic "radio controlled" features, where the lower models in the series do not- they have the rotary dial instead. Primarily, the radio controlled features allow the suction level to the increased or decreased on the hose's handle itself, rather than bending down to change it on the vacuum's body. Also, as you go up in the S5 series, Miele includes the ergonomic handle (which the "Gemini" has, and it is comfortable). I love convenient, electronic touch controls, but besides making the vacuums more expensive, one of the shop owners strongly advised me against getting these electronic models. I imagine they would be more prone to breakdowns, and much more expensive to repair. Another poster was absolutely correct- some of the parts (HEPA filters, heads, etc.) are interchangeable across the Miele models. One can always start more basic and add to their machines- but electronic might not be the best way to go in the long run. As an aside, you will see little, if any, information about the "Gemini" model on the web (and the same for one other in the series, I believe), because Miele forbids these models to be sold or even DISCUSSED on the web. I can't even begin to imagine why. Another note, I talked my dealer into one hundred dollars off the retail price. It took some doing, but I was firm. This is another reason that I didn't mind stepping up to the unit I purchased. From research to purchase of my Miele took two days. I vacuumed on and off for over an hour yesterday and did not sneeze or cough ONCE. I did other cleaning in my bedroom also, but this is the FIRST time that I did not blow my nose at least 5 times upon waking. PLEASE steer clear of Dyson's hype about being allergy and asthma "friendly-" THEY ARE NOT. All of the repair people with whom I spoke cringed at the Dyson name. One referred to Dyson as "that junk." I can't vouch for Sebo or any of the other high end vacuums out there. All I can say is that I am absolutely amazed by the Miele- for both its function, quality, and for being a TRUE asthma and allergy machine. I am sorry for the length of this post, but I wanted to help others out there.

I too am Canadian and have had same experiences with Europe's Best. Product of Belgium, Chile - or CHINA! Europe's Best did not used to use fruits/vegetables from China - so I make very sure when I buy them to check the back and hope for the best. I was aware that Highliner was bought by the Chinese - and also aware that if box is Made In Canada - the food inside may very well (and often is) a product of China. Last summer I e-mailed Heinz to ask which country produced the tomatoes and other ingredients - and specifically asked if any of the ingredients were Made in China, but labelled Product of Thailand, Mongolia etc. - since we all know about that farce. I was also interested if any of the ingredients were Products of Canada or the U.S. - not "North American" since that - unless I am crazy, includes Mexico. The response was that the tomatoes were Product of North America and the other ingredients sourced from "other countries" - so yes, China - but of course they were "very careful". What I really hate is that no matter if a product such as shoes that were normally Made in Italy but are now Made in China, still cost the same. Last winter I was in Holt Renfrew in Toronto (our Saks type of store) and saw several pairs of Coach boots that looked "normal" -but also were all size 9 - I am a size 9 and to see 7 pairs of Size 9 normal boots is extremely unusual. So I looked on bottom of boots - Made in China. Not a chance. And they were 50% off - but still $400 Cdn. I have seen shoes "on sale" for 25% off the regular price of $1,000 - Made in China. (I have to go through shoe dept. at Holt's to get to ladies' room - so I look, but of course do not buy.) We do not eat processed food if at all possible and when buying fresh fish I ask where the fish came from - and a general "the Pacific" doesn't cut it. Fortunately my dog's food was not on the recall list a couple of years ago. It is a small US brand sold by a few retailers in Canada and suddenly became a big seller.

Thank you all for your wonderful advice! Formerly LanaRoma, I'm lana_roma now. Apparently, my email address was lost during the move, but my old username still remained in their database, although I couldn't get it confirmed even after multiple attempts. I asked the GW/Houzz staff to restore my account but received no help from them. I gave up and got a new account to be able to use GW. Oh well. The point about looking for hand painted vs decal is a great one. Now I'll make sure to have a magnifying glass with me when looking at china. Made a list of brands that you suggested and Googled them. Mottahedeh looks fabulous and very high end. V&B Anmut is such a sophisticated choice! Royal Doulton looks lush and Victorian - wish I had a Queen Anne house to go with it. :-) Spode Stafford is lovely. Lenox, Limoges, Pickard, Wedgwood and Bernardaud are on my list too. There's a lot of Noritake and Mikasa china on CL, but my understanding now is that those are pretty much mid-range brands. I'm confused about Haviland. There are Haviland sets for sale on CL, but some ads say that not all the items in the ad are Haviland, although they all have the same design. For example, this set is lovely: The ad Haviland Set on CL says that some pieces are "Haviland France, some are marked Z.S., & Co. Bavaria, and one is marked Japan", although the pattern is identical. Am I right to doubt whether it's a quality set? I'm a little confused about bone china too. I have two cup and saucer sets of hand painted bone china made in St. Petersburg, Russia. The china is very thin, translucent and with fine detailing. I also have a cup and saucer set marked as bone china and made in England. It's a nice set, but not as fine as the Russian sets. Thicker, a bit clumsier in shape and doesn't look so refined. Funny, when I browsed the local CL today, there were two Mikasa Classic Flair sets for sale. I like my Classic Flair set because I'm partial to Art Nouveau styling, although it's definitely not everyone's thing. Tureens - I use my Noritake Belle Rose tureen to microwave rice pilaf that comes in boxes. Works great! But it's marked as Cook'n Serve. Also, is there a high demand for fine china overall? Some CL sellers ask such high prices for used china. Like $1500 for a Royal Worcester Evesham Gold set: Evesham on CL . This baffles me. I have an Evesham Gold serving dish ( a gift) and it isn't really that high end to me. It's pretty, but not more.