$400 is about the equivalent of what you'd pay for a newer version of a dyson over here these days - but from my experience they're probably not worth the outlay (we've got one - can't remember which model). Was brilliant for a few months, but it just couldn't cope with cat hair, cat litter and thread. There just seems to be too much that can go wrong (with the uprights at least).
We now have a vax (don't know if they're available in the states). It's fabulous - picks up the cat hairs and litter, the thread, my hair (which is quite long usually), the mud etc. from the re-enactment stuff, and al the dust. It even manages to suck the chalk dust out of my worn out flattened old sewing room carpet. All that and it washes too (not that I've actually ever used the washy bit). _______________________________________________ h-costume mailing list h-costume@mail.indra.com http://mail.indra.com/mailman/listinfo/h-costume
