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jennifer_hogan285

Garage Freezer Died - sharing comparative shopping notes

last month

My 9 year old garage upright freezer bit the dust.


Found another that I like and was available everywhere. The lag time for delivery was really long for some (43 days for Best Buy). Prices were similar as were delivery and haul away with the exception of Costco who doesn't charge for delivery or haul away. Return window was crazy short for Lowes and Home Depot (48 hours).


I ordered from Costco

Here are my results:


Comments (20)

  • last month

    Delivery dates are not cast in concrete. Who do you want to support? Your local appliance shop or a big box store's parent company? My local appliance shop closed last year and now there are no well-informed sales staff or in-house installers, just big box staffers.

  • last month

    The first call I made was to our local appliance store. Bought my range and dishwasher there and I was prepared to order the freezer from them until they told me that the earliest they would be able to schedule delivery was a month out. I can't ask others to keep my meats in their freezers for a month.

  • last month

    Jennifer - I appreciate the information you've posted re: freezers. We just discussed purchasing a separate freezer last night. I haven't started looking yet - but it's helpful to have this information.

  • PRO
    last month

    When speed is a must I use HD often even a sale . It is fins to support small biz but reality is you need a freezer ASAP You can even get a warranty from HD

  • last month

    Walmart has a stainless 10 cu.ft. manual defrost upright Frigidaire for 278 or so online. Link You could get two.

  • last month

    Great graph. How many people have 1/4 of those options? Truth is convenience wins most often. People shop where they can. Last we shopped we had two 'local appliance stores' and they delivered once a week so buy/delivery wait depended when you shopped. Currently there is only one applicance store left and our last purchase--a clothes washing machin, I would not say we were advised well. One salesperson in these places--to assume expertise on all appliance types is a stretch.

  • last month

    @ dan1888 - that is not comparing apples to apples - I compared the exact same freezer at each store. Walmart does not have the model I wanted in stock.


  • last month

    I waivered between Home Depot and Costco - really wanted fast delivery, but the 48 hour window for returns bothered me. Freezers usually either work or don't - but the lemon may work for a few days and then stop. 48 hours is just too risky for me.


    Our local appliance store used to be wonderful. I was unimpressed when I spoke with the salesman. There aren't a lot of options for upright garage ready freezers. Frigidaire or GE, size and finish.


    Even though my last freezer was only 14cf he started by suggesting a 20cf GE and we worked our way down in price from over $1k to the under $700 range. He took baby steps downward even going with the stainless finish over white when available ($100 extra). He didn't mention the lag time for delivery until we were ready to order and I had gotten out my Credit Card. Not sure why he was limiting to in stock items if we had a month to get something else in. Maybe it takes the manufacturer longer than a month to get it in or they don't schedule delivery until it arrives. Didn't ask at that point.


    I know in the past they would have kept a few slots open for the emergency replacements, but now it is strictly first come first serve and he didn't talk about why he liked GE better (more expensive) than Frigidaire. When I looked it up on Google and read reviews both offer solid track records with GE offering nicer shelving. Google AI "GE generally offers more feature-rich units, while Frigidaire excels at providing solid, functional units."


  • last month
    last modified: last month

    This is the 10cu.ft. Frigidaire model available for $278. What model number are you looking at. This model is made in China through Curtis International using various producers. Manual defrost which triples the freezer time without burn you get after 2 months in a defrosting model.

    Frigidaire 10 cu. ft. Upright Freezer with Platinum Door & Recessed Handle, Adjustable Temperature Control, Flush Back Design, Efficient Cooling, EFRF1007-SS

  • last month

    dan1888

    When looking for a freezer or any other product, the price is only one point of consideration.


    I selected the size that I needed and a model that met my other priorities, including auto defrost, garage ready, a low temp alarm and had good ratings over several websites.


    The one that you selected did not meet my specifications. Manual Defrost, no low temp alarm, smaller than I need and low overall ratings with 21% 1 star ratings. Delivery is not set up and haul away, but through fed ex shipping. Delivery would take as long as others (April 29th) and still has a 2 day window for returns.


    In addition, it is being sold at Walmart. I boycotted Walmart in 2002 based on their impact on American companies that were forced to take production off shore to meet the pricing demands by Walmart (Huffy Bikes, Master Locks, Vlasic Pickles . . . ) Sure, the consumers were getting low prices, but when the consumers lose their jobs the low prices aren't making up for the lost wages. I have never shopped Walmart since with the exception of buying kitten formula late at night when all other stores were closed and I someone abandoned hungry kittens with no momma to feed them. My ethics didn't allow me to let animals suffer due to my economic and political stance.



  • last month

    Oh wow. I knew it was bad when it comes to outsourcing, but the pickles too? Holy cow!

  • last month

    \What this highlights is the way to present comparative info so we can get more benefit from your work. The specs and brand with model number is important. That makes a comparison possible. Auto defrost, capacity and the other features you wanted in the freezer. You list them and sometimes good responses come back.

  • last month

    dan1888 - I stated in my original post that I compared the same product from each source. I had already ordered - wasn't asking - just sharing so that others looking to replace would have the comparative data - how long they are taking to deliver, how long you have to replace, do they include delivery/haul away.

  • PRO
    last month
    last modified: last month

    We just got a fridge from Costco. This one can be either a regular fridge or it can be a entire freezer, guaranteed to run as a freezer even if the garage were to go as low as 0*. In a month or so, I will move that freezer food to the one in the basement and use the new one in garage for cold drinks, cheeses, etc. Get right to it from the pool. Love it. Were I ever to do another kitchen, I would buy two, put them side by side, and use one just for fridge and the other just for feezer.

    In case anyone has the same issue with a too cold garage shutting off fridge:


    https://www.costco.com/hisense-10.2-cu.-ft.-garage-ready-frost-free-convertible-upright-freezer-with-seal-break-handle.product.4000353948.html

  • PRO
    last month
    last modified: last month

    Who shall pay more? Whose productivity, brains, skills, imagination, tolerance for risk, shall we tap. How and how much of "wealth" or income should be confiscated to keep someone, anyone else from want?

    You will run out of money. Everyone else's money. Yours too.

    Did the meat survive this conversation? : )



    The top 1% of earners pay approximately 38–40% of all federal individual income taxes, while The top 50% of earners contribute over 97% of the total revenue. The bottom 50% pay roughly 3% or less of the total revenue of federal income taxes. The federal tax system is highly progressive, with top earners paying higher average rates. Who Pays What Percentage of Federal Income Taxes (2023 Data)

    • Top 1%: Earned 20.6%–22.4% of total income and paid 38.4%–40.4% of federal income taxes.
    • Top 10%: Earned 49.4% of income and paid 70.5%–72% of income taxes.
    • Top 50%: Earned 87.7%–88% of income and paid 96.7%–97.1% of income taxes.
    • Bottom 50%: Paid 3% or less of federal income taxes.

    Average Percentage of Income Paid (All Federal Taxes)
    The U.S. Treasury estimates that federal tax rates (including payroll, corporate, and individual income taxes) increase with income:

    • Lowest 20%: Negative or close to zero average tax rates, as they receive more in refundable tax credits (e.g., EITC, CTC) than they pay.
    • Top 10%: Average tax rate of roughly 27%.
    • Highest 0.1%: Average tax rate of roughly 33.5%.

    Key Data Points

    • Rising Tax Share: The top 1% of taxpayers have seen their share of total income taxes rise, from 33.2% in 2001 to over 40% in recent years.
    • Downward Shift: The share of income taxes paid by the bottom 50% fell from 4.9% in 2001 to around 2.3% in 2020.
    • Individual Income Tax Rates: The federal tax structure consists of seven brackets, ranging from 10% to 37%.
  • last month

    What about the existential position that our possessions are our masters, and we are the slaves?

  • last month
    last modified: last month

    @JAN MOYER - Good question - How much of the wealth or income should belong to the owner and stockholders and how much should be shared by the workers?

    Were things so bad for the top 1% in the 1960s, 70s or 80s?

    The top 1%'s share of taxes has risen even as their top marginal tax rate fell (from 50% in 1986 to 37% today). Their increased share of the total tax pie is a reflection of their increased share of the total income pie.

    I know a couple who doesn't need their SS checks. They put them into an account and every year they drain the account and pass the money on to their kids.

    I also know seniors who are living on less than $2000 a month, some on less than $1000 a month.

    When I think back to the 70s my parents were wealthy, we got pretty much anything we wanted that my parents agreed was an appropriate want. We had a 3000 sf custom built home, Dad drove an Imperial LeBaron by Chrysler (black with red leather interior ) while my mom drove the quintessential Ford LTD Country Squire station wagon. My mother had an interior designer who catered to her wants, she had the sub zero refrigerator and freezer and the top of the line in every appliance. She had a housekeeper who came once a week to clean our home. She shopped at higher end department stores and as children we had all the socially appropriate lessons (horse back riding, tennis, ballet and tap, baton twirling and learned to play the organ.)

    My dad earned 5 times what the average wage earner earned in 1970. putting our family in the top 1%.

    Today if my dad earned 5* what the average worker earns he would earn $400,000 a year.

    $400,000 a year can provide most families a pretty lavish lifestyle. I think my mom could still afford the sub zero refrigerator and freezer and the top of the line appliances. She could have a housekeeper come in once a week and both she and my dad could drive a luxury vehicle.

    But the reality is that the people who would have earned 5 times what the average worker earns now get more than 8 times what the average worker earns. Meaning that my dad would earn $660,000 vs $400,000. That extra $260,000 that used to go to the average worker now goes to the top 1% Split by remaining 99% that is $2636 a year that the lower 99% lost.

    How much money is enough to support a luxury lifestyle? Is a million dollars a year sufficient? What more could you want to purchase, what couldn't you afford with a million dollar a year income? Who really needs to earn $23 million dollars a year? What could you spend it on? What type of lifestyle do you need to support?

    How do we justify a few getting more and more of the pie while we see the number of elderly and children who are food insecure going up and up? How on earth is any one person worth paying 1.4 billion dollars a year? (17,500 times what the average worker earns).

  • last month

    @JAN MOYER - my meat did survive. New Freezer gets here on Friday and I will run around town and collect my food from the 1/2 dozen freezers that friends and family were able to share with me while I waited for delivery.

  • PRO
    last month


    Inequities are a fact of Capitalism and a democracy. Equal opportunity is fact. Identical outcomes are not. Are we born with equal brain power? Can some excel at one thing, be unable to master some other task or discipline? Absolutely.

    You can survey our 250 year history as a country, and you will find times of flourish and times of struggle. Yes, it's a flaw in Capitalism if what you seek is a guarantee. - there are none. it's the "worst of all economic systems, except for ALL the others" and that means every single one.

    I earn 32 times what I earned at my first real job. Am I rich? No.. : ) But by someone else's standard, I might be very wealthy. .....could be called lucky. I might even hear "you didn't build that"...so with that, i am o.u.t : )

    Friends and family and meat rescue, hoooooray!