In December of 2018 I purchased the 6.5 qt Ninja Foodi that was christened Darth Vador. I had kinda hoped he would last another 3 months, still the ROI is long past because of the savings in electrical use.

Now about that lesson learned: Most countertop appliances recommend unplugging a device not in use.
And, that is something I usually do since we are prone to brief electrical outages and of course the resulting surge when the power returns. A few weeks ago, while dinner was pressure cooking, we experienced a series of surges and Darth immediately began displaying the signs commonly noted when a Ninja Foodi PC/AF “is gonna die”

Hoping to nurse it along till the end of the year (I do not know why 3 years was important) but no, once it started flashing – in rapid succession “Pot” and the dreaded “err8” it was only a matter of time till the plug unplug replug would not extend its life –

Over the past 33 months, my only regret was not waiting for the 8 qt to be available and so I have been watching this past year for a “good sale”

Today, we will be unboxing a brand new Ninja Foodi 8-Qt. 10-in-1 XL Pressure Cooker Air Fryer Multicooker

Why from BJ’s? Several reasons

1. I have made no secret that Ninja Foodi’s unwillingness to provide reasonable product information in timely manner is still annoying. Admittedly it now only takes weeks for simple answers but once burned twice learned.

2. Price – BJ’s price was not only significantly less than anywhere else. EVEN with the purchase of a 3yr extended warranty beats pretty much every other retail outlet by a significant amount of $$. (merchandize plus warranty savings of $50 to $90 US)

Before you ask, The new, single lid model is intriguing, but after several years of “watching” NinjaKitchen roll-outs and reading user experiences over time – more often than not, it is best not to be in the initial wave of Ninja Kitchen purchasers. Darth Vador was from “the second or third batch” and almost everyone I know who purchased at the same time has had longer life.

More importantly The price and the limited warranty combined with NinjaKitchens return/replacement shipping policies are unacceptable to me. If I am going to spend $350 on a countertop appliance, and it goes bad in less than a year – charging me for shipping is unacceptable. Charging me for shipping when something goes bad in less than 60 days with a restocking fee is worse (in my never humble opinion)

We are looking forward to another 3 years of good food, saving $$ on electricity and the slightly larger capabilities offered by that extra 1.5 inches … of cooking space.

Looking forward to sharing more lessons learned here and at: Food Craft – Methods and Making on Gab
either your experiences or ours.