When we needed a new vacuum a couple of months ago, I asked the repair guy what he thought of Dysons. He said that there isn't a repair shop anywhere in Ontario to service them. They have to be sent to Quebec or Connecticut. That turned me against them. I've heard of a number of complaints about the plastic components on them.

I think you will be happy with the Shark.

If you do buy it Susan....please report back your opinion of how it works....

I have an old bissell and it can't last forever. :0)

couple of christmas' ago bought 2 of the sharks at target clearence..as far as i know, both kids i gave them to are doing ok? (and they were temps, lol)

The one I have is the shark Navigator Pro Lift away, the canister comes off and you can carry it around. I absolutely love mine, I got it at walmart, it is white. I know there's several different shark Navigators. I remember several here bought them.
Mine still works great, still very happy with it.

I finally got my Dyson working again, after not having it for a couple years. I kept meaning to take it to have it serviced but never did. So, last week I called Dyson and they walked me through checking it out, turns out it was only stopped up with a pencil!!!! I love my Dyson. Gave my Eureka to Alex when he moved out Friday.

I just got a new Shark Navigator Pro, and I am very pleased with it. I was going to buy a Dyson, but it was heavier.

Sign up for e-mails from Bed, Bath and Beyond to get their 20% off coupon--and then order it online.

Just don't get one that is to light weight. I did that one time and it bounced up and down like vacuuming a wash board. When I talked to another dealer about it he said, it's not heavy enough to do a thorough job. They need weight to keep from bouncing. It was fine on the sample carpet in the store, but not on my plush carpet.

Somebody researched all the different Shark Navigator models that are available at different stores, and posted the results on Amazon.

Apparently what comes with the vacuum can vary from store to store. As you will see, if you click on the link above, Sam's Club bundles a Shark iron with the vacuum. This interested me until I read the iron reviews on Amazon. Sounds like a good iron to avoid!

I thought about the Bed, Bath & Beyond online option, but since they charge for shipping, and also charge tax (on the shipping too), I wouldn't end up saving much. Plus at least I'd get extra points on my credit card buying from Amazon. :-)

I read a great review on BB&B, though, as well as many on Amazon and at the KT!

QVC had them on yesterday. You might compare price with Amazon. Somethings, like Wen shampoo, I can get cheaper at QVC even with them adding tax.

Thanks for the tip, Kim. I should consider QVC more often. A friend of mine sold Polish amber on QVC, and I know the prices were good. However, this time I'll pass because the $17 shipping charge puts it over Amazon's price.

just pay attention to the models since there are so many and the only one I can attest to is the lift away pro.

yes different stores may have added stuff with it, I think the one at BBB had an extra pad with it.

At one time QVC did have the right one and it came with a lot of the extra stuff like the back saver extension kit so the price on theirs was a very good deal getting that extra stuff free.

I got mine at walmart and it just comes with the standard stuff with one pad. But I have not used the attachment that uses the pad, it vacuums my tile and wood floors wonderfully on the bare floors setting.

I got a Shark Navigator lift away too. I like it but my husband says it doesn't have the power of our Hoover Mach 3
bagless. I know the Hoover is heavier and has a bigger container but I think the Shark works fine.

I had a Dyson for 6 years.When we moved back to TX in Feb.I made the mistake of "trading" it in for a Kirby with all the bells and whistles(attachments that I likely will never use).Big mistake! I have wished every day since that I had my Dyson back! A couple of months ago QVC had a Dyson ball model for 1/3 the price I paid for the Kirby with the payment plan,so I bought it.It is light weight,easy to manuever and outcleans the Kirby 200%.As an example,as soon as I got it and put it together(took all of 5 minutes),I vacuumed about a 6 foot square area in my living room with the Kirby.Went over it 3 times.Then I used the Dyson and with one swipe over the whole area the canister was half full of dirt and cat hair and I haven't had a cat in 6 years and I do vacuum often! The second swipe resulted in filling the empty container almost half full again and the third swipe filled it full.I will never own any other brand.As I said,it is lightweight,manuevers easily and gets under tables and low furniture easily.It also adjusts from carpet to hard surfaces without having to change anything.The hose easily comes out to use the attachments that came with it at no extra charge.A friend of mine bought a Dyson and though a part was broken so she called the company and they sent her a new part,free of charge.Turned out is wasn't broken,she just wasn't putting it on right but they told her to keep the part.And no,I do not work for Dyson.

Lil, in no way am I putting down Dysons. For 10 years I've been saying I love my Dyson. It wasn't too heavy for me a few years ago, but now it is.

I think I'll end up getting the Shark at Walmart. The price, even with tax, comes to a couple of dollars less than Amazon, but more importantly if there should be a problem it's so convenient to return something to Walmart. I'll check to make sure it comes with a crevice tool, which is something I'll use. (Did yours, Raven?)

Susan I'll bet before too long you will be back getting a lighter weight Dyson. I can almost guarantee it... no comparison Shark/Dyson.....Dyson..

June

Have you owned the Shark, June? People consistently tell me they love it.

In any case, simple economics guarantee that I don't get another Dyson, as Dysons aren't in my budget anymore. I gave a lot of thought to spending just $200 on the Shark.

I absolutely love my Dyson. Nothing can replace the "ball" mechanism in my opinion.

I've seen recent commercials for a cannister version. Perhaps that would be lighter? Their website also has lightweight models you can search for if you are still interested in Dyson.

I bought the Shark one that Raven did. I love it. It sucks better than my wind tunnel,(of course my wind tunnel was getting one in years! lol) and wind tunnels were rated better than dyson in consumer reports in the ones that I read over the years. it IS so much lighter too. I got the 20 percent off coupon and bought it at bed and bath. I did see one at Costco for less, but it didn't have the accessories that the one a bed and bath had. I'm really glad I bought it.

I still own a Kirby and it is put away in a closet this Shark would eat it up, I have never had a vacuum that sucked up as much as this shark does. Yes it definitely comes with the crevice tool and the brush plus the non carpet floor attachment.
That is exactly why I ended up getting mine at walmart the ease of returns and I did have to return the first one, apparently someone had bought it to steal some of the parts out of it then packaged it all back up to look brand new and returned it, we picked it up not knowing that of course and got home to find out so we just went back to walmart and told them, we went and got another one opened it at the store to make sure all the parts were in it and they were.
I hate when people do shaddy things like that then tell the store oh no it is all there and fine we just changed our mind bla bla bla. Then some poor person ends up with their left overs. However the stores should throughly check returns.

From what I remember the only difference between the walmart one and BBB was that BBB got 2 of the cleaning pads and walmart got one.

I have a friend with two huge Newfie dogs she got the Dyson pet and hates it, I stayed with her for a while and would vacuum for her because with those dogs you have to vacuum often their hair is so fine it sticks to everything. I was not impressed with her Dyson on that fur. But that is the only one I ever used.

I am sure there are pros and cons to any of them, but weight definitely begins to be a factor with age and arthritis!