I have a Bluestar range top. My experience is that the burners light on 1 to 4 clicks. If there is a pan on the burner it tends to be a 1-2 click light. I believe that the pan contains the gas and blocks drafts. The 22K burners are the quickest to light the simmer burner routinely takes the most clicks to light. I infer that it is related to the amount of gas around the spark (click). The shutter adjustment definitely has an effect on the ease of ignition. My experience with other gas range tops is that as they age (the Bluestar is still new) they become harder to light. This could be probably be migrated by cleaning and adjusting frequently. I had a Wolf (commercial hot plate) that, without a pan on the burner, you had to blow on the burner to get it light. This is just not a big deal for me; I consider it part of the cooking with gas experience. It sounds to me that given your concerns you would be a good candidate for induction.

Yes, "what the market will bear" is a big reason for the pricing of anything. It's worth what people are willing to pay for it up to the point where you increase demand so much you have to start hiring a bunch more people and building a new factory. At that point you raise your prices and fewer people will want what you sell but you're making more per unit than before. The other big factor is economies of scale. Most cheap freestanding ranges go into apartments, motels and the like. When you make lots and lots of the same thing, it costs so much less to make that you can afford to sell it for a lot less and actually have a bigger profit than if you sold fewer. Those are usually old tech models that have been made for years. They only cost resources and labor to make. The kinks have been worked out so they don't require a lot of warranty work. They're not for discriminating cooks. They're for landlords who can't rent a unit that has no oven (seriously, in some localities you can't get a certificate of occupancy without one--a cooktop by itself isn't sufficient). Of course, plenty of folks also buy these for themselves. The price and general reliability are very attractive. If it weren't for the thousands of units that you never see because they don't pass through retail inventory, however, the price would be a lot higher. As are wall ovens and slide in ranges. (And the design of the slide-in range isn't almost the same because it's a different model. Anything that isn't made from the exact same parts on the exact same line in the exact same way has different variables and a whole different cost/price structure.)

Thank you for asking. I've owned both the Samsung slide-in gas range and cabinet depth refrigerator for approx. 3 months, and must say I love them. The slide-in range has exceeded my expectations. I love the two front power burners and the oven bakes and broils very well. I'm least excited about the 5th burner griddle, which I don't use it much, but still glad to have. Only wish it had more than 10.5 btus, as then I could really grill a steak. I also haven't used the warming drawer, which was a must have, but now find I don't need. I almost didn't buy this stove since there is a strip of rubber in between the range top and the front panel which I worried might wear out, but find its a non-issue. Regarding the fridge, its shallow like any other cabinet depth fridge. The first or 2nd day of operation, it started making a loud whirring sound - so I was certain it needed to be returned, but now think it may have been undergoing a warm-up period and is fairly quiet. I like the alarm that goes off when the doors are left open, and I also like the meat and cheese drawers. I was uncertain about the bottom freezer but find I like it. We did buy insurance on both appliances. Overall for the price, these excellent appliances. LMK if you have any specific questions and I will do my best to answer.

Well, in the end we went to an appliance store in Boston which had oh-so-many ranges on the floor. After comparing several models we ended up jumping up our price bracket to the professional lines. Our top three were the SKS, JennAir, and the Thermador 4 burner. I can't believe I did it, but I bought the Thermador and I bleeping LOVE it. I'm more of a cook than a baker (although one daughter's a culinary student, the other bakes all the time). If I were a baker I probably would've chosen the JennAir - they have an amazing rebate right now. I NEVER thought I would have spent so much on a stove, but I did -- and incredibly -- I don't regret it. Best of luck in your searches!