Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

First - a comment on some of the previous negative ratings as they ALMOST caused me to change my mind about buying this. I'm glad we ignored them and bought anyway. You have to remember, lots of people buy items and don't rate them at all, but love the item, I sometimes think people are more likely to rate when they have a problem, such as slow or no shipping or before they read the manual. Sometimes, people don't realize a product is defective or don't call the company if they have a problem (They will offer suggestions) Because of this, and other good ratings elseware, we bought this FoodSaver V3835 Vacuum Food Sealer with SmartSeal Technology. We have used it since it arrived and it now has a PERMANENT place on our counter. There have been some BIG advances in this model Foodsaver. First off, it looks classy and upscale. That has nothing to do with how it works, but it would be under the counter if it was clunky looking. It's heavier than older models and better made. It can be mounted on a wall I believe and there is a bag cutter easily accessible by opening the bottom part of the cover. This means you can make your own bags much easier and even store the roll inside still. There's a bag cutter for when it's time to cook and open the bag. The old tubing connection for cannisters and the instant marinade container is right inside and pulls out and retracts with ease! No fumbling through drawers looking for the old seperate one. Everything is RIGHT THERE. Now, as for waste - we don't see it. We sealed up 4th of July BBQ, sauces for the freezer, even a damaged jar of spoiled ham stock we bought and are mailing back to the company. We then tried non food items like parts for all those kits that you put together and then have leftover parts. Worked great - took all the air out and sealed each time perfectly. No waste and all the parts are now labled and in our storage area. We sealed up a lot of meat from the store (we buy in bulk and have a deep freeze)as well. Not one bag was sealed improperly (unlike the older models). Not to appear non appreciative for those older models but we had a lot of problems and annoyances with them such as having to press the top down till the motor kicked in (Try doing that with a bag of sauce in one hand). We had NO problems with sauce with this model. There's even a gentle mode and wet mode so it doesn't pull the air out too fast and get sauce in the tray. Which keeps it cleaner longer! That tray never did get anything in it. I always had to clean that tray in the older models. It also has a fast marinade where it cycles through pulling out air and pumping in air (and marinade), and if you just want to marinade overnight you can just use your container (or bag for that matter) and seal normally. Then you take your bag with marinated meat right out to the grill! Please give this model a try, if it doesn't work for you, then 1st reread the manual and then call the company, they will walk you through things and give you tips for getting those bags in the insert area the 1st time. We had NO trouble with this because if the bag is curled we simply opened the unit and zipped off that spot- not much in the way of waste- no more than 1/8" and that was only one time. If the bag curves, put it in curve down. It's designed to go into the drip channel. The reason the slot is activated by the bag (and the on and off switch) is that kids may try to insert other things so it's sort of a safety device. Also, this model turns itself off after about 10 minutes of not being used. We can't say enough about this product. Give it a chance and return it if it doesn't work, it has a 1 yr guarantee. It's always possible to get something that's defective in stores and on line so if it doesn't work, return it - then write up a review on the one that works. Lets face it, it doubles most freezing times and no freezer burn and that alone is worth it. Try that with a Ziploc bag. We are thrilled with this product