to think that there can’t actually be people out there who justify paying £400 plus for a kitchenaid food mixer?

[wannaBe]

just received a load of special offers from qvc for kitchenaid products. there are items such as

toasters for £295. coffee makers for £615. Food mixers upwards of £400 up to as much as £700!

Surely nobody in their right mind actually pays those kinds of obscene prices?

[LaurieFairyCake]

I've a Kenwood, had it ten years so far - got it as a wedding present (actually it was John Lewis vouchers).

Still totally perfect obviously - will likely outlive me.

I've also got a £200 quid coffee machine - had it 13 years and its saved me a fortune as I don't buy coffee out.

[Wheresmycaffeinedrip]

I have one. I hardly go out, I don't smoke, my clothes are mainly from charity shops I get my hair cut like twice a year. Everything I earn and that my partner earns goes on rent bills and the children. So, I'm allowed one treat in seven years. :o

[wannaBe]

impecuniousmarmoset I had a magimix food processor which lasted me about ten years I had a £10 hand mixer which lasted me about the same.

Tbh I think for me it's the kinds of products, i.e. a food processor is multifunctional, you can do all sorts with it chop/slice/grate etc etc and it is versatile. But a food mixer is just that a food mixer. it doesn't do anything that special apart from mix cake mixes and whip up a few egg whites and maybe a bit of bread dough.

I find it more amusing really than anything that that kind of money is seen as a good investment iyswim...

[ImTooHecsyForYourParty]

Justify it to who?

I am sure there are people who are so rich that £400 for a poncy kitchen appliance is no big deal

[JackieTheFart]

I would, if I had money to burn.

Totally jealous of those that can afford expensive gadgety stuff!

[freddiefrog]

I've got a big Kenwood. Not much change from £400 and that was on sale.

I used to make wedding cakes for a living, it took everything I threw at it and more.

My Mum's must be at least 30 years old and still going strong

[Poledra]

Dunno about the KitchenAid, but my Kenwood came with a food processor and blender, both of which fit to the top of the machine.

[GoldenGytha]

I'm no cook, and have no money so £400 for a mixer would be out of the question for me. If I could afford it, and was a better cook, then who knows?

My £5 Blender from Asda will do me for now!

[DeWe]

Dh get me a kitchenaid because he knew I was covetting one. we don't usually get each other big presents, so it was really nice of him. However he didn't pay the full price, he got a discontinued colour from a shop with a 20% sale. I think it was about £250, which is a huge amount for us. More than we paid for our car

But, it's brilliant. It's also really good for cooking with kids and even my 6yo can make cakes almost alone. And it whips egg whites brilliantly too.
Dh got me the juicer attachment which is also really good, particularly on pancake day.

[StUmbrageinSkelt]

Love my KA and love my thermomix. I love to cook and I love the shiny gadgets that make it easier and fun.

I have a Kenwood from about 1950 and a Kenwood from 1970 which both still work but I wanted the pretty.

[Sparklesandglitter]

I love my kitchenaid

[whatsthatcomingoverthehill]

wannaBe

Some people have said it is a fashion statement, but those who actually them say that it is because it will hopefully last a lifetime. Yet you only seem to hear those whom you already agree with....

I have a Kenwood Chef, and it is hardly a fashion statement, being covered up most of the time. You also don't seem to know anything about food mixers - they have multiple uses with liquidisers, food processors, meat grinders, pasta makers etc

[ouryve]

I paid £150 for my Kitchenaid. It's white and doesn't have any bells and whistles, but it does what I need it to do.

£400 is a lot of money to spend on a mixer, but each to their own. I'd never pay QVC prices for anything like that, anyhow.

[BrianTheMole]

One of my friends has a kitchenaid. It is very very cool. I wouldn't buy one, even if I had the cash, but I could easily blow that cash on a camera or something. I can see why she wanted the kitchenaid. The cheap ones don't last that long.

[Kveta]

I won a kitchenaid, and I LOVE it - best thing in my kitchen. Simple enough for 3 yo DS to use it, and powerful enough for me to want to use it - it makes better cakes than my old kenwood chef, but that was 30 years old (was mum's old one), so who knows how well the KA will last? Even so, I think it really is worth the money in the case of the KA - they really are that good.

[siblingrevelry]

I was bought one for my birthday by DH. I am starting an at-home cake business (isn't everyone!), and after seeing the blisters on my hands from making 100+ cupcakes, I think he thought the time had come.

It is something I've coveted ever since Nigella first burst onto the scene, and we're very skint and frugal so I think my husband thought he could justify it as it helps me to make money (as the business has grown it has enabled me to be more efficient), and in the last 6 years I've given him 3 spectacular children (and as a result had to give up smoking 7 yrs ago, have barely been able to drink because of near-continual pregnancy/breastfeeding, and have been fed up with the body changes and excess weight so I don't spend on clothes).

And we can't afford a much-longed for 4th baby (longed for only by me I hasten to add), so I think this was his compromise!

We used to spend on ourselves and each other a lot, but over the last few years we've stopped the big pressies for each other, so it meant a great deal to me that he got it (usually so careful with money so I know how much it would've hurt!)

And he loves me.

And I'm worth it.

And when the nuclear attack happens, all that will be left are the cockroaches and the Kitchenaids! £400 is a lot, but they're virtually indestructable so if you could re-assess in 20 yrs time I reckon the cost per use is equivalent to cheaper versions.

[wannaBe]

actually whatsthat the ones I have seen for sale generally come with just a mixing blade, a dough hook and a wisk. Anything extra you have to pay extra for... None of the kitchenaids I've seen have blenders or food processors included in the £400 price tag - if they did I'd think that a far more justifyiable price

As I said I'm not judging, I just think it is an awful lot of money to pay for something unless you actually make cakes professionally In which case of course you would want the best.

Fwiw I think the same about spending that kind of money on a handbag. but I would spend more than that on a keyboard so it's what works for one iyswim

[ouryve]

And we gave in and bought a Dualit toaster (the proper clockwork ones) after a run of toasters which lasted about a month longer than their warranty. We got a good deal, so it was about £80. At 9 years old, the timer started sticking. DH stripped it down, we ordered a new timer and fitted it and now have a fully working toaster again. The timer cost the same as a new ordinary toaster might, but instead of disposing of a whole toaster, full of electronics and plastic, we disposed of a tiny little clockwork device.

Now, i just wish we could get a kettle so reliable and easy to service, without it being too heavy for my poor hands. I simply can't lift metal kettles.

[tabulahrasa]

I've got a friend who makes cakes (not professionally), I know she covets an expensive mixer...she burns through the motor of her cheap one about every 6 months, of course the upside of that is that they usually have a 12 month warranty and she just keeps taking it back for a new one, lol.

[FeckOffCup]

Meh, I can't get worked up about what expensive gadgets other people buy. Why do people buy a ferrari when a vauxhall corsa will get you from A to B or spend hundreds on an icandy or bugaboo when you can get a basic buggy for £30? Because they think it looks nicer and if they can afford it then good for them.

[DoItTooJulia]

Buy cheap buy twice. Simples.

[BrianButterfield]

I have a kitchenaid mixer - I used to make a cake a week and it makes it sooooo much easier and the cakes are always gorgeous. I can't believe how much quicker it is to do things and I will use it until it dies, which will hopefully never.

[Gingersstuff]

After a procession of cheap toasters, we bought a Dualit chrome one with our wedding vouchers, though at the time the price was an eyewatering £175 I think. However, that was over 17 years ago and it's still going strong. For me, it's not just about buying something beautiful and of great quality, it's about the environmental impact too. Surely it's better (if you can and want to) to buy the one thing that will last for near enough a lifetime, than to keep buying lots of inferior things that might do the same job but only last a short while?

[DaisyBD]

I've got one, I can't possibly justify it as we couldn't afford it (was a houswarming present from my parents) and I don't cook much during the week, but I absolutely love it and I do use it every weekend, it makes brilliant cakes and icecream. I love love love it and I don't care what other people think. I've got a mulberry handbag (more than one in fact but I only use one) too and I can't justify that either.

[IShallCallYouSquishy]

My DH got me my kitchen aid as my 30th birthday present. It's raspberry pink and beautiful and I love her. I use her all the time and DH knew how much I would love one, so to him was worth every penny he spent on it.

So ner