I have had 3 vacuum sealers over the years, the one with the big name brand... They've all been good but they are quite expensive and if I'm paying that much for an appliance that I might only use 4 or 5 times a week, then I believe it should last for much longer. This is rated as one of the best and for the $$ it cost I think it is a much better deal. It's not as pretty as much former all white one, but sometimes function trumps form, right? I'm just trying to figure out how to not have it sit on my counter top since I don't use it every day....