Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

Beware - I just got off the phone with Kitchen Aid. This is a special unit designed BY COSTCO.. they let COSTCO design the unit. It uses a DC motor so they can say 1 HP on the BOX, it uses 350 watt of power.. and she claimed it had the same performance as a 575 watt AC Motor. But this is the kicker, the Kitchenaid rep said this was the least popular Because.. You can't buy any other 6QT bowls etc because COST CO wanted an exlusive.. IE you buy it at Costco.. don't plan on buying a splash guard.. don't plan on that glass bowl.. Etc. (I am reading some people have found Ice Cream attachments for this and even some other bowls) It is clear Costco and Kitchenaid have created unneeded confusion. All the power port attachments work.. but don't assume the attachments and bowls for the 600 will work on this. If it has what you need it is a good deal, based on talking to my wife too.. UPDATE: Indy I comments below confirm that 5Qt bowls should work so Costco had special tall bowl so it could be labeled 6qt in made and the motor is higher torque so for fewer watts will push through dough well. As long as people are aware of the differences.. its seems like a very good deal on the pre-Christmas Refurb. Note to Kitchen AID: You are INSANE to do this. You are the gold standard... to let Costco talk you into creating a device people can't expand with your valued accessory base is bad management it not only costs you customer trust. but right now I trust Costco a lot less than I did. Because they did this on purpose. At the Refurb price of $180.. this is probably a good solution to people needing more power on a budget and as my wife expands her baking We will get the better unit.. But in the end this is a "knock-off" kitchen aid, made by kitchenaid. It is using different motors and bowl sizes selected by a big box store, not Kitchen Aid engineers. The outfall of this as that instead of my wife getting to open this under the tree.. which would be a big moment I had to talk to her to make sure this meets her needs. She is happy but she says she would have cried if it had been a tree surprise. What I know now is the bowl is non standard.. and the motor is unique to Costco.. It is a 1 HP Motor but they are not sending the full power to it. Which is not a bad thing.. it means the motor should never be maxing out. At the refurb..price I got it for.. it is still a good deal. But I will tell you the Kitchen Aid Phone support person as clear that 600 is the better unit. (should be for 3 times the price) Follow-up: after it was opened. Comes in a White Box that says Refurbished on large letters, not retail looking at all. Know that if getting as a Gift. It comes with three attachments and the bowl and a generic KitchenAid manual. There are no frills. It has a 1 HP motor..it is as Kitchenaid said not putting out 1HP in power it is a 1 HP motor putting out about .4 HP.. This is not a bad thing.. its better to run a motor well under max capacity. It is very quiet, out kitchen is next to the living room and I hadn't noticed my wife has using it to make a new dough. The DC motor does power through the dough really well.. so while the electrical Watts is close to her Artisan.. it is clear this one is not straining like the Artisan with dough work. Even though she knew it was coming.. she was very moved when she opened it and saw its larger size as her baking has become an important part of her life after 2 years of medical treatments.. So I hate the confusion these "special models create" but it does do the job.