Kirby Vacuums

[savoy6]

for awhile i sold these as a side job..wasn't really good at it though..lol..moved into the service dept. for several months.when i was there i saw just WHY these vacs last as long as they do.the motor is completely sealed off from the dirt going into the vac.the motor compartment is sealed with just a shaft that carries the impeller to create the suction and a belt that runs the beater bar.this design keeps the motor free of dirt and thats why they last as long as they do.we had one elderly lady that brough in a 1937 one the simply needed to have a the belt changed....it had been rebuilt once ,back in 68, and needed a belt about every three or four years...

 

[ChadHahn]

I seem to see them all the time at thrift stores. Generally they don't know how much they cost new and sell them for the same price they sell all the other ones. I've seen fairly new ones for about $25. Sometimes they even come with the attachments.

Chad

 

[Mr_D.]

My mother always told us of our uncle that sold Kirby vacuums door to door.

I also remember us owning one of these when I was a kid.

http://thevacuumcenter.com/rainbow-d4c-se-vacuum-cleaner-professionally-reconditioned-p-3666.html

 

[JakeHolman]

I briefly sold Kirbys in the UK and though undoubtedly sturdy I found the sales techniques I was coached in completely unscrupulous. The job was heavily incentavised by target bonuses which certainly contributed to the heavy-handed tactics.

You are taught how to use closed questions which is not unusual in sales (you'd show the punter a microscopic picture of a bed bug and ask 'do you want these living on your carpet?'). However, the volume of the questioning was unrelenting and lengthy. The salesman would stay in the house for hours if necessary breaking down the victims will. It was particularly unsettling to see the 'top performers' demo'ing to vulnerable people who were cleary confused and upset and not at all able to afford such a thing without incurring some debt.

I remember distinctly the boss - perma-tan, shiney suit - taking me for a little chat, leaning back on his office chair and saying 'One day you could have a car like mine...', a particularly untasteful Sierra Cosworth.

I lasted one week.

For this reason, although built to last, I will never own a Kirby.

 

[scotrace]

I've just gotten a Kirby model 509 (1949), but it just has a floor polisher attachment. It looks all original, but I'm on the hunt for the regular front-end vacuum bit and attachments.

 

[Bruce Wayne]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kirby_Company#Criticism_of_marketing_and_sales_practices

For what it's worth, it is the same way at a Rainbow store that I worked at last year. I lasted 42 days. All I had to show for it was $300 for the $2000 vacuum that I sold to my parents & 2800 miles on my truck. I lasted the longest beside the guys trying to get the store up & running.

 

[Stanley Doble]

I had a Kirby for a short time in the early 80s. Believe it or not I found it in a dumpster. Complete with a set of attachments in the original cardboard suitcase or carrying case. At the time I didn't need a vacuum so I gave it to a friend.

They have sold a lot of them and most of them are still around. So if you want one it shouldn't be too hard to find a used one.

 

[rocketeer]

I briefly sold Kirbys in the UK and though undoubtedly sturdy I found the sales techniques I was coached in completely unscrupulous. The job was heavily incentavised by target bonuses which certainly contributed to the heavy-handed tactics.

You are taught how to use closed questions which is not unusual in sales (you'd show the punter a microscopic picture of a bed bug and ask 'do you want these living on your carpet?'). However, the volume of the questioning was unrelenting and lengthy. The salesman would stay in the house for hours if necessary breaking down the victims will. It was particularly unsettling to see the 'top performers' demo'ing to vulnerable people who were cleary confused and upset and not at all able to afford such a thing without incurring some debt.

I remember distinctly the boss - perma-tan, shiney suit - taking me for a little chat, leaning back on his office chair and saying 'One day you could have a car like mine...', a particularly untasteful Sierra Cosworth.

I lasted one week.

For this reason, although built to last, I will never own a Kirby.

We had this and agreed the sale, I think it was around £1200, the salesman playing on my partners asthma and how the Kirby would help. The cleenr sat there unopened for 2 days before I got my Mrs to admit she did not want it and thought it was done and paid for. No. I called the salesman and told him to take it back as it was un used, un opened in the original packaging. Eventually I had to quote the sale of goods act and he came and got it.
My partners sister got her own back by getting an invite for the same salesman to clean her carpet, he did a bit and then got down to the sales pitch. Poor man Hahahaha, she then said he can get on with the sales when the carpet was finished and she had to deal with her children. When the salesman had finished, she said to him "No better than my Bex Bissle, sorry not impressed and I want to watch Eastenders now so you will have to go" :eusa_clap
He then had recommendations for two more 'customers' who also had dirty sofa's and carpets. No Sale.
We were given an old 1950s version sometime later with all the attachments used it for a while but the Mrs found it was just too heavy so the motor went to my garage projects and the aluminium to the scrap pile.
Yes we bought a few cheap plastic cleaners over the years but the price of those easily outweighed the aggravation of the Kirby.
John

 

[William Stratford]

I briefly sold Kirbys in the UK and though undoubtedly sturdy I found the sales techniques I was coached in completely unscrupulous. The job was heavily incentavised by target bonuses which certainly contributed to the heavy-handed tactics.

You are taught how to use closed questions which is not unusual in sales (you'd show the punter a microscopic picture of a bed bug and ask 'do you want these living on your carpet?'). However, the volume of the questioning was unrelenting and lengthy. The salesman would stay in the house for hours if necessary breaking down the victims will. It was particularly unsettling to see the 'top performers' demo'ing to vulnerable people who were cleary confused and upset and not at all able to afford such a thing without incurring some debt.

I remember distinctly the boss - perma-tan, shiney suit - taking me for a little chat, leaning back on his office chair and saying 'One day you could have a car like mine...', a particularly untasteful Sierra Cosworth.

I lasted one week.

For this reason, although built to last, I will never own a Kirby.

This is my experience as well. I went to an interview with them back in the 80s, not realising anything about who they were, and was horrified by the hard sell tactics! Since that day I have sworn never to own one myself - fantastically well built, but sold (in the UK, in my experience) by the spivvy dregs of the sales world.

 

[SHOWSOMECLASS]

My Dad owned a cleaning service and they were all we used for many years. I could take it apart and assemble it like Forest Gump could his rifle. They are very, very heavy and wide also. If you own a house w/ stairs you might decide it was to much to carry. Yes they are well built but "Boy Howdy" if it did break; get out your wallet. The cost was similar to taking your car to the dealership. Many times the parts were so high they weren't stocked, so your vac. was 10-7 until the part came in. Yes one part and labor could easily be the same cost as a new plastic Hoover from wally world. If you buy one hold on tight. If it gets away from you, it will take out a tree and a small child before it stops.