MSN's Top 10 List

I just skimmed through an article as www.msn.com entitled, “10 things you should never by used.” And I have to say that I agree 100% with their suggestions that you stick to new when it comes to mattresses and shoes.

However, I was surprised to see that vacuums made it on that list, too.

Years ago I bought a used vacuum for around thirty bucks. And let me tell you, that sucker worked really good. I mean really good.

And I know this because one of those door-to-door vacuum cleaner salesmen came to our door one evening offering a free roll of paper towels if he could do a quick demonstration. Given that I was cooking supper and was, indeed, out of paper towels, I agreed. Had I not, I’d have had to drive about six miles to the closest store so a few minutes of my time seemed like a good trade.

This gentleman hauled in his extensive collection of vacuum paraphernalia and proceeded to set everything up, explaining how each attachment was used, and why we desperately needed it.
He then took out a box of salt and dumped a fair amount on to the carpet I had just cleaned hours before, instructing me to grab my vacuum while he inserted a black cloth somewhere inside the hose of his.

Basically he dared me to try and get the salt out of the carpet. It was his un-humble opinion that nothing could do as good a job as their name brand, couple thousand dollar piece of machinery.

And I figured he was probably right. After all, ours was old, well used and, well, used. Knowing I was going to get a world class sales pitch when all was said and done, I flipped the vacuum on and made a few passes over the salt.

When I was done, Mr. Salesman took his turn and made a couple passes over the same area. Then, with a smug smile, he took the hose apart to show me the black cloth with....

....about three grains of salt.

Gone was the smile and, in its place a look that clearly said, “How did this happen?”

It’s been long enough ago that I really couldn’t tell how he managed to change the direction of his spiel, but he was wasting his time. Why in the world would I want to make monthly payments for several years for a vacuum that didn’t work any better than the beat up looking one that was already paid for?

Oh well. I got the roll of paper towels, sent the disgusted salesman on his way and finished cooking our dinner.

Back to the MSN article though. It’s just my humble opinion but they should have made it a ‘top 11’ list. Because I’ve got to say that they were lacking one item that should be on every ‘don’t buy used’ list and that would be....

....underwear.