Tristar Products review: Total scam! 104

looks like i got scammed too. A friend of mine became a salesman for this company and asked me if he could practice his demo at my house. So, since he was my friend I said yes. He had no idea what he was getting himself into and neither did I. I WISH I HAD GOOGLED "TRISTAR SCAM" FIRST! i am so ashamed. They tell you if you listen to the presentation and refer 4 people you get the free air purifier machine. SCAM- AFTER you give them your friends names and numbers they tell you the people ARE NOT qualified for one BS reason or another and do not give you your promised gift. (but now they have the leads and can use them later) Theres scam one. SCAM TWO if you buy today you get 1, 000 off.. making the stupid vaccume a meer $2, 600 and you get a FREE 5 day vacation package to the Bahamas. Yes, i know this smelled scam but i figured id help out my friend - buy the stupid vaccume and get the cruise as the payoff. WRONG! I NEVER GOT THE CRUISE! he did not have the "paperwork with him" and his boss said he would get it too me "soon"... when i called the "office number" to complain no one answered - EVER! my salesmen friend said "i dont understand my boss just keeps saying its been taken care of"! SCAM THREE if you buy the tristar you can come to our office and borrow our rug cleaner machine when ever you want... SCAM how the heck are you supposed to do that if they never answer the phone AND THE OFFICE ADDRESS IS NOT ON YOUR PAPERWORK ANYWHERE. and to top it all off they charged my credit card FIVE TIMES! YES I SAID FIVE TIMES! AND i cant get a hold of them. and i didnt realize all this untill my 3 days were up.. so now "i cant return it" lovely. just lovely. now i have to spend more money getting a lawyer to go after these terrible horrible people. This couldnt not possibly be any worse unless the vaccume cleaner killed me. Warn your friends.

The paris hilton commercial was actually Carls Jr

Same B.S I've Went Through, Well I Got A Bingo Card In The Mail. Played It & It Turns Out I Won.. So Ive Invited The "Tri Star Team" Into My House Cleaned My Rugg LOL I Was Pretty Suprized With The Vac. Well Turns Outt I Didnt Get My Winning Prize? Trying To Sell Me A $3800 Vac Thats Crazy Talk! Gimme The $5, 000 Winning & Ill Buy It LOLS Turns Out The Sale Man Lives A Block Away From Me Lol Gave Me Printed Out 3 Days & Two Nites Accommodation Ticket What A Waste Of Time! Get A Real Job!

I bought a Ti-Star vacuum cleaner and have now owned it for 7 years. The thing is a piece of crap. It is so poorly designed and constructed that its like a flimsy piece of cheap knockoff crap from China. The plastic base plate of the power head has broken once and the neck for the power head has broken 3 times! Trying to drag this turd around the house is another pleasure since whoever the ###ed monkey ###er who designed it obviously never once tried to use it. The stupid thing has two bumper wings on it that get caught on anything and everything as you pull it along. To say that this was a waste of $2500 dollars would be an understatement. The sales pitch was over the top and high pressure as I remember.
In a nutshell, I feel qualified as a long time owner and former mark that I am qualified now to give this product a rating of -10. If anyone showed up on my doorstep now to try and sell me one of these poorly designed pieces of crap I would chase them off my property with a base ball bat!

well, ive sold kirbys this way, and if everyone reads all these comments, you should look up a kirby. thats the sole and only machine that does everything, vacuum, carpet shampooer, hard surface polisher, and more. ive sold, but morally cannot lie to someone and do all that ### to people. i just knocked doors cause thats the only way its advertised, stated my purpose, and people either loved or hated me, because they have either had one or had a bad sales experience. kirby has been around since 1906, and the first machine mass made was 1914. there is no competitor, be it rainbow, tristar, dyson, oreck, hoover, etc. i have traded them all, compared them, and still stick with a kirby. average price with a kirby and shampooer attachment, 2k is cool, most dealers get a percentage

Lewisville North Carolina. The salesman, Michael, was great. We had a very informative demo and decided to buy the machine. I LOVE it. It gets up more than any vacuum I have ever owned and I feel my house is much cleaner. We paid about 1800 for it, and I do think it was worth every penny. Let them demo and see how nasty your house is. YUCK.

I kindof enjoy seeing through sales pitches, so when we got the bingo card I let them come demo the tristar. Some things looked pretty good, like the fact that sand piled up in a way that the filter never got plugged. I even had the salesman vacuum up some lint which is light enough I expected it to cake the filter, but it didn't. Impressive. The "mini" for doing furniture and stairs looked pretty cool too. But, here's the problem. The demonstrations don't actually prove it is superior.

You have to know though, I cut my teeth repairing anything that broke. Vacuums, egg beaters, garden tractors... It eventually led me to mechanical engineering. That said...The salesman showed me how when he vacuumed something with our vacuum and then went over it with the tristar (with coffee filter) he could still pick up dirt. Then he went over it again (more dirt) and again (more dirt). This is supposed to show that your vacuum still leaves a bunch of dirt in the carpet. So does the tristar, and they even prove it by going over it and picking up more dirt each time they change the coffee filter. The reality is that no vacuum will take out all the dirt, not even the tristar. In fact, I'd wager if you could put a coffee filter between the beater bar and the cannister of your current vacuum you'd still pick up dirt even after the tristar has been over it 25 times.

Another demo he did was to put a coffee filter on the end of the hose and put a 4" furniture end on to demonstrate how quickly a filter bag gets plugged. This is supposed to show that you lose suction very quickly once the filter bag gets caked with dirt. However, the filter bag is much larger than the 1.25" filter he just demonstrated. Don't beleive me? Change the bag (or clean the filter) on your existing vacuum, then while the vacuum is running put your hand over the hose before and after vacuuming for 10 minutes. You might feel a difference, but I bet you still have pretty good suction. I haven't changed the bag on our built in kenmore in over 2 yrs. You'd think if bags get caked and clogged so easily that it wouldn't have much suction right? I made him put a coffee filter over the hose on ours (wanted to see if the more powerful built in would get affected as much) and it ripped a hole through the filter before we even filled the filter with dust. Oops!

Here's a few other half truths you might not want to believe...
a) It's built to last much longer than your existing vacuum. It might outlast an upright, but I don't know of anybody that has had to replace a built in because it quit working. Both my parents and my in-laws have had their built ins for over 25 years. Nothing they can show you in an hour (or 3-4hrs) can prove that it will last any longer than a $50 walmart special. Don't believe it just because its not made of plastic or because the salesman told you so.
b) Your current vacuum is broken because its not doing what you bought it for (to pick up dirt). If you trust this statement, even the brand new tristar is broken since it doesn't pick up all the dirt.
c) The cost to manufacture the tristar is $1798 (or some other number the salesman makes up). This is pure BS. Sorry, I design consumer products for a living. I've never done a vacuum, but I'd guess the cost to make a vacuum is probably alot closer to $100.
d) Suction(negative pressure to be technical) doesn't pick up dirt, flow rate does. This is actually kindof true, particularly when it comes to deeply embedded dirt. However, pressure (or negative pressure) and flow rate are related. A good vacuum would have a high flow rate at a fairly low pressure. A flowmeter would be the best comparison here. I mentioned our vacuum breaking the coffee filter. The filter does allow airflow through it, so for a given amount of resistance, our built in pulled enough volume of air that the pressure in the hose exceeded the strength of the coffee filter.
e) The tristar is good value. Really? compared to my $400 kenmore? My spare $300 Eureka (with HEPA filter)? Or how about compared to this 3hp industrial dust collection system: http://www.grizzly.com/products/3-HP-Cyclone-Dust-Collector/G0441. I don't think so. You may not want to install an industrial dust collector in your house, but it certainly would have airflow!

The point is, the tristar looks nice, filters well, and might last awhile. But for $1800 you've got to be kidding!

I just recently bought the TriStar. I did a phone survey (which I never do, but for some reason I did this time) I did not know what it was for but I answered like 5 simple questions on allergies and stuff. Then the same number called back a few days after saying because I did the survey I get a gift. So a person was to bring me the gift and I had to watch a demo. We are not at all in the market for a new vac, and went into the demo very negative, but by the end we were so impressed with it we both wanted (my hubby and I) so we got the $3600 vac for $1050 after 2 hours of negotiation on our terms for a payment plan with nothing down and no interest for 1 year. So we will pay it before the interest hits AND we negotiated so good they gave us the "Mini Star" part that they wanted $250 for it and we got it for $60 Haha. I feel like we took THEM to the cleaners. ;) I LOVE my TriStar I recommend it to anyone, BUT not for $3600, just be stubbern and they will come down and down and down until they really cant go any lower. It is a fantastic machien and cleans awesome and the attachment are so usefull and the reusabel bag is great, my floors have never been cleaner and I use the hard floor vac part on so many things, like my bulk head beams on the roof, my windoe frames and ledges the speakers, my ceiling fan... LOVE IT!

Wow...this has been quite the amusing evening! Do people even read comments, or just feel the need to express themselves?

Since this event (that of witnessing a vacuum demo) is one in which everyone should experience (cummon...who doesn't want to say they've done it?) I shall share my experience with you. But first I'd like to say that I have actually read EVERY comment, so, if there is repetition, I apologize.

I am in the process of building a new home and as such, am looking for new products to fill the home with. I received one of those lovely Bingo cards and...surprise surprise, I won a prize! I must inform you that I am surely no fool...I knew there was no prize. My teaching is done for the semester, and I thought it would be interesting to take some time and see this presentation (not for the product necessarily, but for the presentation. I have been in sales before, and like to see the techniques people use).

I called the number on the Bingo card at around 5 pm this evening. They asked a few questions, including what I did as a profession.

A sales rep was here by 7:30 pm...the same day.

"Suspicion #1: If this machine is so great, how the heck are they able to see me within 3 hours of calling them? It took almost a week to get someone in to do an estimate for my window coverings!"

Kathy was very lovely, but a tad underdressed for a sales pitch.

"Suspicion #2: Who does a product demonstration in lululemon pants?!?!"

She read her script, with the continual annoying YES questions, and showed me how the machine worked. Okay...I was truly impressed. The machine worked very well. Reading about the flour comment though, I am not so I'm impressed anymore.

We spoke for a bit, and she informed me that she was a student (ha...go figure), and told me that she was also aiming to be a teacher.

"Suspicion #3: First of all, she said she was in school to be a teacher, not that she was in an Education program. Second of all...they already asked what I did as a profession and they expect me to believe this girl just so happens to be in the same field? HA."

After the demo, she used MY phone to call her Boss, with whom she addressed as a Mr.

"Suspicion #4: This one is two-fold...first, she used my phone so they could screen my calls when they saw me calling to complain (if I had purchased the machine). Second, she asked for Mr. when calling her boss. Who the heck refers to their boss as Mr. unless you're a teacher speaking around children?!?! If anything, I've only heard someone call their boss Dr."

When speaking with the Boss, I discovered that he too was in school (HA!). Oh yes...he was in pharmacy and doing his practicum.

"Suspicion #5: As a teacher, my job is to prepare my students for the future. As such, I happen to know a thing or two about different careers and the education needed. He was lying and had no clue I could call his bluff."

So, I played with him. There was this "great" neutralization system to be sold with the vacuum, and I asked about the solution. On the bottle of the solution it claims that the product actually denatures the protein of different bacteria, etc. So, of course, being the science teacher that I am, I asked what it was in the product that did this.

"Suspicion #6: He didn't know! But he could find out in 24 hrs. Too bad my great 25 yr warranty wouldn't be received if I waited until then. But hey, no pressure. Also, if he was in his final semester of pharmacy, I'm sure he would be more than too interested in finding out what it is in this product that works so magically."

I have never in my life shopped for a vacuum before, but I didn't need to, as they just so happened to have the prices of some comparable brands. I was floored. Who in their right mind would buy a vacuum for over $3000?!?! I am glad I love research, because right after she left I checked those products. NONE listed prices ANYWHERE near what this TriSTAR company was claiming. This is plain and simple lying (yes, you guys do lie! Perhaps not about your wonderful purification system...).

I told the Boss that I was buying my house with my sister, and needed to consult her on the purchase of our home purifying system. Right away he told me that she would reject my proposal of the purchase because she wasn't there to see what this machine could do.

"Suspicion #7: If he believed in his product so much and was comfortable with the price-point, he should have had no problem with me consulting her." *This was at the $1700 price...not the original $3000 quoted.

I called my sister twice, but she did not pick up. So, I thought, why not call my mom? Mom's are usually good with advice, so why not? As soon as I told her the price, she just about choked. Lucky for me she was entertaining some guests, and they all suggested this price was WAY beyond a reasonable one (recall that I had no clue how much a vacuum system should go for before this time).

So, I told Kathy that I must reject the purchase at this point in time, but may have someone come do another demo at my future home (hey, the offer was only good for the household, not the person!).

Right after the sales rep left, I found this site. Thank goodness! I am glad I am not $1700 in the hole for a freakin' vacuum. Btw...she told me that she didn't believe half her boss' BS either! :P

A lot of these complaints seem to be about either lax/poor salesmen or people not reading or listening before agreeing to things. That six-reference thing we ask for? It's printed plainly beneath where you put the names that only married couples with at least one of them employed or professional singles qualify, etc.

As for the prices we list for our competitors, I *did* Google them before I did any sales pitches because I don't (personally, not speaking for all TriStar salespeople) lie to potential customers. I believe in creating a positive experience so we don't get blacklisted. We're obviously not listing prices for our competitors' low-end products, but the deluxe home models because IT'S MARKETING.

The thing is, our salespeople are not going to be the next Billy Mays. Our office hires anyone who walks in, has a driver's license, and passes a forgiving background check. We get three days' worth of training and are *required* to call in after the first no to let our manager objectively pressure the prospect into buying, even when I, as a person who's talked with the customer, knows they shouldn't be buying it unless they're financially comfortable. As such, I warn the people before I even start my demo that my boss can be pushy and to please understand that I meant it when I said, "no obligation to buy anything."

Having done a few presentations, I stopped asking a lot of the questions printed in the book. How is ANYone going to answer, "Do you sweep?" That's just offensive.

Oh, and the reason we don't call it a vacuum? Look up vacuum in the dictionary. The TriStar isn't a vacuum cleaner, but neither is any other vacuum cleaner. They're airflow cleaners, if anything. It's a semantic argument, I know, but still.

The reason we don't leave the box? You're less comfortable having it picked up if you change your mind when you can't pack it up all nice and neat.

If you're offended by the dust we pick out of your stuff, when the salesperson isn't doing their job AT ALL. No one wants to buy from a jerk, and I'd rather have people not buy, but let me show their friends. That way, only people who want it and want it at the price for which I'm offering it will buy it, and everyone's happy. Well, not my boss, but I can live with that.

Oh, and I'm not speaking for all offices; just ours. We're encouraged to have a cell phone charged and ready so we're not fumbling for numbers or costing the customer money. We're also told not to lie to the customers because, as it noted a ways above, we're not employees, but independent contractors. What we say is what we're beholden to, not TriStar LLC. To paraphrase our training director, if we say it does something, it better do it, because that's our ###.

All that said, I do own one, and I love it. I've personally taken the TriStar up against some great vacuum cleaners in playful competition with prospects and know that the TriStar is a great product. Deep down, though, I do sometimes say, "Well, I could have settled for a cheaper one."

I agree 100%. I sold one of these machines to some poor lady, not knowing of course that the sent me back with one that had no box. Which means she can not return it and here warranty is void! Oh did I mention they still owe me $250.00 for the sale and have moved their office and changed he numbers. Curt Wages is his name I think, he lies so much I would not bet on it though. One thing is for sure, if he comes across my path we, will have some word at least!

The $250.00 is not the bad part though, I wish I would have kept one of these machines so i could at least have gotten paid for the terrible thing I did to this lady. I would go tell her, but there is nothing I can say, he fooled me as well as her.

I have researched quite a bit about Tri-Star Systems and all the complaints seem to revolve around their sales practices. No wonder people have a preconceived notion about salesmen. My brother-in-law actually just started working for them. And that was why I even came across this post. I have to say that the gifts are a trick to get into your home. As for the hard sell, that is the way door to door products are sold. Which has to get you thinking, if the products are so great (well, at least as good as they claim) then why do they stick with the door to door thing? A lot of people would be willing to pay top dollar for something that is supposed to be THAT much better.

I don't agree with hard sells, it just creates tension. And as for the insults, I believe that these salesmen need to grow up. And to address the living in filth thing, if you lived in an environment devoid of any germs and bacteria, your immune system would have been so weakened, that when you get exposed to it outside your home, you would become more ill than a person living in a "filthy" home.

I'll just put it this way, when I was asking questions to my brother-in-law about what is was he was selling, he already had the automatic responses that the company had devised down pat. Even when I used facts and logic, he would go back to what they had trained him with. So the conclusion is this, don't let vacuum salesman, or any door to door salesman into your home. Save yourself the headache, the "gift" really isn't worth it. If you want a Rainbow, or Tri-Star, or whatever type of vacuum, buy it online at a 75-90% discount.

I sold Tristars for 4 years and loved it. I made great money and was recognized on a regular basis for doing a good job (something many companies would be wise to do). I was promoted into management and eventually opened my own distributorship. I can definitly understand how some people would be pissed off though. How we recruited was mildly deceptive but how we got into customers homes to demonstrate was not. We offered people a gift for their time. If they didn't want to participate (and many didn't) they simply said "No Thanks". IF you tell people they're gonna sell vacuums when recruiting though they don't even show up for the interview. Many excellant reps who made a career out of sales would have never even discovered the opportunity that direct sales can offer. And simply hoping that people would understand the benifits of owning a Tristar without doing a complete inhouse presentation is wishful thinking, thats why they aren't sold in stores. Everything that I have is because of the experience I gained from the Tristar business. I still own a Tristar and love it even though I have moved on to running a new business selling medical products. For every negative comment on this site I guarantee there are 50 to 100 happy customers. The problem is happy people don't rant and rave about how happy they are, only angry people do.

...If I had known your story sooner...
Yesterday came to my house a Tri-Star salesman for a demonstration and apparently a forced sale.
Then he handed me a phone to talk to his "boss" to explain the reasons for not wanting to buy the vacuum and I told him I already had one, he replied "I can not sale soap to pigs"!

Obviously I threw the salesman out of my home along with all his stuff and extremely angry and disgusted at Tri-Star Brand.
If in the future I had considered buying the vacuum, after yesterdays episode not in my wildest dreams!

Needles to say this case will be reported to local television, local newspapers and Consumers Association of Canada.

My wife answered a "Texas Hold 'EM" card that we had recieved in the mail and "won" a prize. As soon as I heard they had a demonstration to go through before giving any prize, I knew it was a scam. Quatliy products at a quality price do not need an angle to get in your house.

Anyway, since she had already agreed ot listen to the presentation we let him in, even though he was two hours late. He was supposed to show up at 7:00pm, but got to our home at 9:00pm, but it's only a 1/2 hour presentation so - no big deal. Well the presentation ended up being over an hour - and the the hard sell begins.

THE DEMONSTRATION IS A GIMMICK.

The whole coffee filter thing? Try that wih your current vacuum and it'll probably pick up some sut from wherever he already cleaned with the Tristar.

The "50-90%" lost suction as soon as your vacuum bag or filter get's a little dust in it (he told us 5 seconds of vacumming... Just turn on your vacuum, stick your hand over the nozzle and see how much suction it has. Then vacuum the floor and test again. You won't feel much if any difference.

"It's also an air purifier" - Look at the size of the "air purifier filter". Why not get a furnace mount unit or a portable unit for a fraction of the price that does the whole home?

THE HARD SELL

Of course the salesman is a struggling student - they all are. He has a list of questions, which are designed to generate "yes " answers but aren't really about the vacuum.

Do you value a clean home? Is your home an investment worth maintaining? Does it cost money to clean your home? If you owned the Tristar, would you use it?

The price is $2998, but as soon as I say "no thanks" the price drops to $2398 instantly (but only if I buy today)
The unit comes with a 25 year guarantee (only if you by today).
They offer a no charge repair for 25 years if you damage the unit due to operator error (only if you buy today).
They will give me $600 for my old built in vacuum, which they donate to charity (only if I buy today)
They offer free use of their rug shampooer any time I want for the next 25 years (only if I buy today)
The unit comes with a free gift I can chose from his catalauge (only if I buy today)
They can actually drop teh price even further - down to $1800 (only if I buy today and I can't tell anyone because it's a deal reserved for friends and family - very confidential)
They offer no money down and $100 dollar / month payments (only if I buy today, and I can't tell anyone because this is a special offer only reserved for friends and family - again very confidential)

Anyway, it took a long time to get rid of him. They are trained to not take no for an answer! It was past 11:00pm before he finally left.

I never make a big purchase before doing some research and taking time to think it over. Any sale or deal that is "only valid today - must buy right now" is going to be a scam.

I wish there was a way to agree more whole-heartedly. Not only was I one who was duped by this company, I was "employed" with them. I say employed like that because usually a "job" entails making some kind of money. I think the whole ordeal was entirely a hoax and a big joke. I mean, ok, I did like the product, it was very nice and everything. But, and that is a huge but, the way they go about the business is something yet to be desired. I honestly feel that this company (along with those Kirby folks as well, but that is an entirely different story!) is the reason (or a big reason, anyway) why salespeople get such a bad rap. I am here to tell you that the way they conduct business is deceitful, conniving and low. Starting off with the way they advertise their ad for new hires in the newspaper. They make it sound like you will be getting paid somewhere between $13-15/hour (roughly). Then, when you go in for an interview, they tell you that you are not just strictly commission-based; you are guaranteed some form of an income. If you don't make so many sales a month, you are able to get a base lump sum. If you go over so many sales you don't qualify to get that. So, at the time, I am thinking that no matter how good or bad I do, I will get paid all the same. However, they neglect to tell you the fact that in order to get that guaranteed money each month, you had to have run at least 55 appointments each month! They way they were set up was Monday-Friday, you would have 3 appointments and Saturday, 2. That only leaves Sundays as your only official day "off" and if you wanted a day off all you needed to do was let them know 3 days in advance, but that turned out to be useless as well. So math aside, you were potentially able to get well over 55 appointments... Of course, we know this isn't going to be the case! Coming in new, you were lucky to get ANY appointments at all. All the "good hitters" were given all the good leads. Not to mention the state of our lovely economy right now. I was only there a month becuase I needed something called MONEY. I had bills to pay and things of that nature. I could not afford waiting to "get lucky" with a sale. It would have been one thing if they paid for your gas in order to go out to people's homes, but you had to pay for everything. Thankfully I didn't have to buy any product, then try to sell it! I finally got another job, and it is sad to say that my first 2 hours of employment elsewhere (and bear in mind that that was only making minimum wage at $7.30/hour) was already more than I made the whole month I was employed for TriStar. Do not only beware of TriStar, beware of all private subsidiaries. Tristar is the big company, but you are likely to hear from the people from the small owned branches. Where I worke was called Sonstone LLC, even though they were affiliated with TriStar. Take it from somebody who was on the inside, BEWARE!

As a newlywed couple we bought our first TriStar vacuum in 1986. I agree that the hard sell was there, but it wasn't all that bad and we expected it. We bought our vacuum for about $700. It worked great and with minor repairs lasted for at least 20 years. When we divorced we both wanted the vacuum. Now it is five years later and we replaced the older model with two EX20s, one for each of us. We couldn't be happier. Got them both on the internet used for $200 and $175 respectively. Sorry you all had a hard time, but we didn't. We still prefer this rugged little bugger over anything else we've tried before. I expect these vacuums will outlive us both. So, as previously stated, get one off of eBay or Craigslist and then you'll be getting a great price for a great product. Cheers, R & S.

flush is the grand prize winner. they are obliged to give the prize or they get fined.
who ever did not get a prize can report them. In Edmonton they are located on 45Ave above a cabinet store.
across the road from crystal glass

...(x) location of tristar ...

============45ave===================
...(y) location of crystal glass distribution center
9413 45ave
take 51 ave to 93rd st make right
93rd st becomes 45 ave
tristar distribution is on the second floor go at 1 pm you will find the managers there.
both doors upstairs is tristar. the one to the left is the distributor. the Boss of Edmonton tristar

the building they are located in, is the one west of 94th street NW on 45th ave
how this helps people resolve problems in Edmonton AB

there is no name on the doors.
the map i made did not save properly.
hope this is helpful to people
tristar vacuum scam

this is an add on to the above

9413 45Ave edmonton ab T6E 6B9

as a tristar salesman i agree with all of i hate my job the company i work for is a con so if you live anywhere in central florida and someone comes to your door offering you free gifts for your opion slam the door in there face the only reason i do this is because i cant find another jobs and for you other tristar saleman acting like your a customer on this blog just to let you know iin the 5 months ive worked here ive made the elite 8 htree months in a row so i dont think i cant hack it i just have a soul and i dont like ripping people off and to everyone else im sorry for the trouble that tristar con artist cause you

I just want to say that I am sorry for any of the unfortunate comments above. Like a couple of posts, I was very fortunate. Our salesman arrived on time. He showed us our free gift for just coming and listening to him, a $20 gift card to Wal-mart (he had receipt of purchase in his hand). He showed us the air purifiers then showed us the Tristar. I have a Dyson and was shocked on how it did not clean my carpet like I thought it was suppose to. We were given an awesome deal, bought the Vacuum, got a free air purifier, liquid purifer and a years worth of bags and a years worth of shampooing for our carpets. And all of our stuff was in a box, brand new and even checked to make sure that there was nothing wrong with our product before he left. He even left us all paperwork needed, proof of sale, and a business card. Told us repeatedly to call if we had any problems with anything. I was very satisfied with my experience.

yep waht a scam i can buy one on line for 700.00 why do i need to spend 2600.00 its a big scam and if you look at what you are going to be paying for the filter to i can get a bagless one that works just as good as the tri star and then to tell my air in my house was bad what joke i have fresh air sys on my house so she put in a small room to show us how good it works will the joke on them it did nothing

I just want to say I own a "little gray pig", a Tristar system I purchased..wow, in 1992 or 93. I refuse to give it up. Nothing beats it, nothing at all. Plus, even as old as it is, it's fixable when something breaks on it or wears out, though I've not had anything wear out in all those years. My experience with the demonstration was a good one. However, there is no excuse, ever, for any salesperson to be rude to a potential customer. That guy needs to get another job, maybe detailing cars; anything that doesn't require a lot of customer/human contact. You should have just smiled and told him the filth you live in was no where NEAR as bad as the ignorance flowing out of that public [censored]house he called a mouth. Then kicked him, literally, out of your house. By the way, you are blessed. The new Tristars don't come half way up the wheels of the old one. They suck, but badly. :)

Hey, I just read the comment from John Walker. Now there's a real piece o work. You will notice that particular bottom feeder didn't let us know what office he worked out of, mainly because he has at least a low 2 digit IQ that not only tells him that scamming will eventually land his big mouth in jail, but he'd get his [censor] fired for posting crap like that. I might of shook your hand, but it wouldn't ever cost me a cent and might have cost you a tooth or two. Loser. I'd kick your shins till you bled to death.

Wow, so many comments about a funny little sturdy vacuum cleaner! My mom (now 84) used to blow through vacuums like crazy... they were always burning up, breaking, whatever. My parents went on vaca about 1979 or 80 and I was staying at the house. The vacuum went, wouldn't ya know. They always used to get Kenmore everything, so off my oldest bro and I went to Sears but were very unimpressed. I found a vacuum store and asked the guy what was the best. He showed me the Compact, and after much talk, I brought that then $700 baby home. She still has it and we have both used and loved it over the years! It IS a little blue pig! Once you know how to maneuver with it, it is just the best vacuum system! Nobody came to our house, and I originally went to look at Electroluxes, which even then were all plastic and crappy. I would like one myself, but it's hard to reckon paying $1000+ when you can get those cheapies at Walmart or Target. Would I rather have an all-metal made in USA machine? You bet! No question about it. My stupid Royal and Hoover just make tons of noise and push the dust around, straightening out the carpet pile.

I was a tristar sales rep for about four months.

All I will say is this... once you refuse to buy the machine, do not let the salesman use the same bathroom where you keep your toothbrushes.

I feel I should add, the Tristar is genuinely the best vacuum cleaner. The only real advantage any other might have is being upright, and that's largely personal preference. But the self-cleaning bag is truly superior. It will clog and lose power though if nothing is picked up to agitate the bag, so toss a few noodles or something in first.

Hi my name is Dustin and I work for Tristar. I think that all the negative things that are being said are rude to the company and not everyone that works for this company is pushy and inconsiderate . I do beleave in this company, and the product that they have is one of a kind. I have a Tristar MG3 in my home and it works . I am sorry that there are people or reps out there that are pushy but not all of them are like that .
The product that they have does not have to be a one time pay you can purchase it many different ways . We are not here to take food off your table we are here to help you have a heathy home and to make sure that the particles that a taditional vaccume is leaveing behind - the Tristar MG3 air flow system will pick it up . Agian sorry if there are some sales reps that do try to pressure you into buying a Tristar. I work in Canada and I love working for this company. Now as for the guy that said that this is a scam please do some research before you unjustly criticize this company . If anyone knows anything about a scam then they will know that this is not one . As for me I am not anything like that - I will not come into your home and tell you that it is filthy. All I do is just show you what your vaccume system is leaving behind and if you think that it is gross then that's all on you not on us; we are here to show you not to judge you on it. That is what they tell us, our job is not to make you feel bad so that you get one of our systems, but just show you that a vaccume system is not all the time doing the job right. If I gave a mechanic a fork and a knife to go and change my oil and he came back to me with a confused look on his face, do I have the right to get mad at him? No i have no right to get mad at him because of the fact that they do not give people that right systems to clean your home . If this was the only thing on the market then you would get it wouldn't you? Yes you would. Now you will not find this system in any store . That is why we come to your home because if we just told you that this worked then you would have second doubts . So we go to your home to show you what it is capable of doing . There are things in in demo that we show you on how much you time, energy and money you are spending to clean and PEOPLE SPEND WAY TO MUCH MONEY TO CLEAN THERE HOME . We are trying to help you SAVE money. It may look like alot of money to purchase a Tristar but we help people save an AVERAGE $10, 000. So the next time that you think this is a scam just let them do there job and show you. What are you going to loose? Nothing but a few moments of your time. Agian sorry if there are some reps that do that are pushy and seemingly forceful toward people but not all of us are like that .

Thank you for your time
Dustin in canada

I disagree with all these complaints. There is nothing wrong with the tri-star home cleaning system. Most people are just to blind to see that the TRI-STAR HOME CLEANING SYSTEM and the PURE-STAR TRUE HEPA filters will keep a superiorly more Healthy Home than any vacuum ever can. This saves money over the life of ownership( which is 25 years or more) by protecting home, furnishings, and health. You pay for high quality materials, AMERICAN MANUFACTURING LABOR WAGES, distribution costs and of course the professional sales person . YES THE SALES PERSON DESERVES TO MAKE $$, TOO. If the salesman or saleswoman are rude or not properly trained, then that reflects on that person and the distributor they work for. NOT THE PRODUCT. If you feel like you are being scammed and you opened up your wallet to buy, then look in the mirror- YOU'LL SEE THE PROBLEM STARING BACK! YOU are probably such a SHEEP that you read one of these blogs and changed your mind because of another idiot. You can't force anyone to buy anything.
Furthermore, people don't want to work hard. It takes money to make money. So if new representatives quit in training, its because they are the type of people that should only be flipping burgers, digging holes, or possible bagging groceries. Any sales takes a hard working, dedicated and most especially a respectful person . Rude sales people fail at their professions.
As for people who say the machine doesn't have suction, thats BS. They probable don't wash out their filter bag, as required for proper operating use. After all it is a filter and if not maintained eventually is will start to clog- just like ordinary vacuums. The difference is ordinary vacuums lose power in minutes, NOT MONTHS LIKE A IMPROPERLY MAINTAINED TRI-STAR. After all they built a GREAT machine, NOT A MIRACLE machine.
HONESTLY people are scammed by marketers in TV ads, print Ads, infomercials. TRI-STAR has one of the few AMERICAN PRODUCTS available. These distributors can't afford TV ads, and lets face it a machine like this and their other products are HOME CARE products! If you care about your home and family then the best place to see the TRI-STAR is in your home~ NOT ON A RETAIL SHELF IN A BOX. It is worth seeing it in action in the home.
Everyone has opinion, but most unfavorable comment about tri-star are simply cry baby former employees that could'nt hack it or owners that don't know how to care for the machine. Buy CHINESE if you want inferior product and support their country, if thats what you want!
I hope anyone reading this and has not seen a TRI-STAR home cleaning system, have an open mind, you don't have to buy it. IF the sales person is rude kick them out and report that to the company.
I love my TRI-STAR, it keeps me and my family HEALTHIER and my home HEALTHY.

I have been out of the vacuum business for over ten years, but was a national recruiter for direct marketing in the vacuum business. While it is true that some reps end up not being able to do this job, and many salesmen/women are unscrupulous; Not ALL are. The Tri Star is one of the best Cleaning systems available. Period. Having been in the vac business inside and out, you become an "expert" at the whole industry as you would in any sales position. An insurance salesman is an "expert" at insurance and knows his competition great and bad. He would know if he is overpriced, under priced, etc. There are other machines that do clean as well or better, however when you purchase the machine from a sales rep in your home, you get a brand new product. In ANY retail industry, you have a profit margin. Whether it be cars, hotels or vacuums. YOU PAY FOR WHAT YOU GET. Comparing a Tri-star {brand new} to a dirt devil {brand new} is like comparing a caddilac to a daewo. Buying a vacuum used on the internet is like buying a used car... Yes you can get it much cheaper, just as you can get a car much cheaper. It is a matter of choice, do you want a used car, a new car, a luxury car or a junker? The reason you would spend alot of money on a cleaner for your home is: 1. makes furniture and carpets last longer by getting 80% of the dirt out of it as opposed to 20%. 2. you don't have to replace it as often. The point is you will pay for a good vacuum whether you use on or not. No matter what you buy, a profit has to be made somewhere. No matter what job you have... the end has to be money is made and you get paid, even if you are a garbage man. There is a salesperson somewhere selling the garbage service so that you have someone to pick it up from. Do you think the contract comes from thin air? Were they gullible innocent people wasting money because they could have taken it to the dump themselves? Some people, when they take the time out of their day, and use their electricity and push a vacuum around... some people want to get most or all of the dirt and not just some of it. These are the people that buy TriStar and other top rated top dollar machines. These are the people that have the nicer cars, and houses and expect and want to get the most value and luxury they can for what they spend. I completely understand why some of you can't relate. It's OK, as a Lowly sales person, I drive a hyundai and love it. But my son has asthma and allergies as do I, so when I clean, I use a machine that works, and doesn't just put pretty lines on the carpet. To each his own.

So it's funny how all these former sales people talk about how good Tri-Star is. Brainwashed losers. It's all about the money, nothing else. I've been in sales for over 20 years, done quite well for myself, thank you very much. All ethically. If I was introduced to a product or company that didn't make a quality product, or had a quality sales staff, I passed. I've seen these vacuum cleaner companies...there are a few of them. They always hire the lowest form of [censor] to sell their stuff. They're good at exploiting the desperation of those looking for jobs and train them to exploit the desperation of their customers. The hard sell is an unnecessary tactic and myth. If you need to rely on it to succeed, you're not a good salesperson...you're a bully. Most of y'all live your lives that way too, you vacuum cleaner, door to door "sales" people. Leave the term salesman for those of us who earn it. Ethically and correctly. You guys, you're just bottom feeders...and it doesn't last.

our tristar that we paid to much for is going off and on now, We were asked not to tell people how much we paid . It had fair suction, when it worked, but the proper filters cost almost 100.00 and bags are expensive. The floor brush broke in less than 6 months, we had to buy a different one as it was so expensive for the original .
I bought a little Shark vacuum for about 70.00 that works much better and is lighter to move around the house. Can't even get in touch with Tristar company !
Another person was going to buy one but salesman wouldn't give a price until he committed to buying. Needlee to say he lost that sale and when I was told about it, I let him know he saved himself a lot of money for a vacuum that only thing going for it is casing and the salesman almost threw it at me to show how light it was. I didn't find it that light. Should have charged him for ig scratch he put in hardwood floor with his breifcase .

I can see how people would be upset with some of the sales tactics they experienced. We were luckier with our salesman. Yes, we paid too much - about $1600 five years ago. But we are very happy with our machine. We rationalized the purchase at the time by the fact that we were paying $200-300 every year for a new vacuum. We vacuum a lot because we've got a two story house and a big family with lots of pets. Its not uncommon for us to vacuum 1-2 times a day. So we were literally burning out a vacuum every year so we figured if we bot a Tristar maybe we'd get about 5 years out of it. That would make us break-even. If it lasts longer then we're ahead. Guess what? It still works great after 5 years. At the end of the day its still a great vacuum cleaner - just try not to pay too much for it.

All vacuums will loose suction, so they must be cleaned often. I found the dyson to have the best suction mostly due to the smaller opening on the motorized head and with 5 years warranty from a trusted company why waist thousands of dollars on a tristar for nothing.

My girlfriend and I bought a Tri-Star about 2 weeks ago. Maybe overpriced, but a really good vacuum. We have 3 kids, which make messes, and the vacuum helps keep our home clean. Is it better than any other vacuum, maybe, maybe not. To me, YES! The salesman was very courteous, and even had a beer with me. A very good experience!

Tri star is the worst vacuum and company I've ever had the displeasure of working with. In 2001 I got scammed into one, then sued for non payment by their finance company, their mistake not mine. Their service provider in our area, Phx metro was incompetent, and when the unit broke, blamed us for not treating it properly! My husband pieced the crappy thing back together and we never went back to authorized dealer again. 10 years later, I'm so happy to finally beat the hell out of this thing with a bat and buy myself a Dyson. They are no Kirby, which is what I had used for years, and I only kept limping this thing along for a deacade to try and recoup some of my almost $2000 investment. NEVER AGAIN, and I will share my story with all who'll listen. Don't care what anyone has to say, I've been in sales for 20 years and this company has no ethics, period! Stay away from this product and company. Oh and in the last 10 years that we'ved lived here, that was the only time that Tri-Star was selling in our neighborhood.
Interesting, once they scam a neighborhood they know not to hit it again. Thats my story and I'm sticking to it!

When I saw the website "Tristar vacuum scam" I figured I better check it out because I bought a Tristar Cleaning System which is a very good vacuum cleaner. I am sorry for anyone who had a bad experience with the salesperson (I had a good experience). But the people who say it is as good as any "vacuum cleaner" don't really know quality. I have owned my Tristar for 19 years. Yes, I have had to replace a few parts (19 years is a long time) but every time I had to fix something I still had a better machine than anyone else who did not have a Tristar. I traded in my Kirby for my new Tristar and they don't even compare. I received the warranty services as long as I was supposed to. I was told when I purchased it that the warranty would no longer be good if I used it to clean other houses for money. Well, I have to tell you that I did have my own housecleaning business for a couple years and I used my Tristar and did a superior job. When I quit, one of my customers went out and bought her own Tristar because she knew it was better than what she had.
I clean the inside of my house and then go outside and vacuum out there. It will pick up leaves and small debris. I blow out my dryer vent hose with my machine. It also turns into a blower if you connect the hose to the rear end of the canister.
The Tristar has suction that is incredible! So if you say the machine "sucks" you are right! I wish everyone could be as happy with their vacuums as I am.

It is really too bad that this machine has to be characterized by rude sales people and goofy promotions. I sold these machines back in the 1960s when they retailed for about $180. We gave away steak knives instead of airplane tickets. These machines are the finest quality and still out perform everything on the market. I still have one that I bought in 1970 and it works great. The only thing I have replaced are the brushes on the floor tool and dusting tool. At that time you could buy the best vacuum cleaner that Sears made for about $50. I doubt that anyone still has a 1970 Sears machine that works at all. A Kirby cost about $300 and was also good quality but this machine (we called them Compact back in the day) made a Kirby look silly. It was fun to stick the hoses on the two machines head to head, turn them on and watch the Compact implode the bag on the Kirby. We would suck up three or four big ball bearings and they would BANG! against the back of the composite metal lid. We would suck up a big bucket full of sand in a couple of seconds. The most fun was putting the transparent demo lid on with a sheet of white filter paper under it, and pull a big ugly load of dirt out of a couch cushion that the lady thought was squeaky clean. If you had to work at it by pulling three or four times to get a trace she was devastated. If one pull filled the thing half full and she scoffed, you knew that she really didn't care about cleaning. Direct sales is all about hype and if the salesman can put on a good enough show to make you part with a big fist full of money. If you don't want to part with three or four times what you think it's worth, go buy a used one. People die and leave them to posterity. My mother lived to 93 and couldn't wear hers out, so I turned it over to my cousin who lived to 85. One of her kids probably has it now.

I sold the TriStar MG8 model for a few months. I got out of it because I'm not a sales person, but I was thoroughly impressed with the machine. I did no-pressure demonstrations in homes where they had just had the carpets professionally cleaned, and pulled incredible amounts of pet hair and dirt out of the same carpets. The people were shocked! I did a demo for a friend who had just cleaned his carpet with another well-known, very expensive brand just before I got there, and I pulled multiple bags of pet hair out of his "clean" carpet as well. Another lady raised and sold expensive, rare cats from her home, and was looking for a vacuum that could clean not only cat hair from the furniture and carpets, but litter from the hard wood floors. Her Dyson, designed for pet cleanup, just wasn't doing the job. She vacuums her house every day to keep the possibility of disease down, yet the MG-8 was able to pull an amount of pet hair from the carpet that truly surprised her, and had no problem with the litter on the floor. The engineering of this machine is like nothing I've ever seen. There is absolutely no loss of suction or power because the air flow is over the top of the dirt in the bag, and it never clogs. The force of the air flow is so strong around the bag that you can put sand in it almost to the top, open the lid while it's on, and turn the whole machine upside down and not lose any sand! I loved doing that part of the demo because it blew me away every time I saw it. It's expensive, and they will negotiate, but at the same time, you won't find a machine that is as powerful and cleans the way that thing does. It was designed by aircraft engineers who designed the air filtration systems on jet aircraft. They had to run for hours in flight without clogging. We were so impressed with it, that my wife and I are still looking for one that we can afford to buy. There are always people who are going to be disappointed with the presentation, and even the product. But I can venture to say that all of those who are happy with the TriStar machines aren't going to be on blogs like this, and they way outnumber those with complaints. I discovered that the reason they do in-home demonstrations is because you have to see this thing work and understand the uniqueness of the design to appreciate what it is. If you saw it on a store shelf somewhere, you'd have no idea how to compare it to other machines. I don't sell them anymore, so I don't have a thing to gain by my comments, but I still want one. I truly believe they are the best vacuum on the market ... expensive ... but still the best.

I have to say, i was pleased with the salesman. My husband and i bought a TriStar vacuum and are pleased with its work. Unfortunately we were promised yearly maintenance and vacuum cleaning at a local store. Needless to say, that was a scam. The local vacuum store did not honor the certificate. I am happy with the vacuum, but would i buy an other one, probably not.