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'Pre-buyers Remorse'

CITYSWINE
CITYSWINE Posts: 48
edited November -1 in EggHead Forum
Been doing research and reading this forum for last few months.
Was convinced I needed an egg and worked out a decent deal (Large Big Green Egg, a nest, ashtool, placesetter and the pizza stone all in there cartons for $855.00 plus tax) with a dealer.

Was going to go pick up the egg this weekend but going through some 'pre-buyer’s remorse' ....do I really need an egg, can i justify the cost when I already have a nice Weber gas grill, if this just a passing fad for me, etc.

Would think some of you went through similar thought process. so reaching out to those of you to help me get over the hump.
Know I'm asking a bunch of addicted eggers so not really expecting an unbiased answer or anything even remotely approaching a don't it.

Also am I getting a good deal on this (located in Queens, NYC)?
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Comments

  • AzScott
    AzScott Posts: 309
    I sat on the idea of the Egg for years and always wondered. Finally, my boss bought one and raved about it. Needless to say, I ordered one a few weeks later and the gas grill has been on the side of the house letting nature take it's course this past year.
  • TXTriker
    TXTriker Posts: 1,177
    Hi Cityswine. I guess it depends on how much cooking you do already. Now with me, I have cooked for years on lots of stuff from cheap to not so cheap to expensive. I've never considered myself a serious outdoor cooker. I still can't use that title compared to an awful lot of the guys and gals on here because my wife just prefers somethings in the oven.

    I will say, I have done many, many more things since I got my eggs and because of this forum than I have ever done before and I do cook several times a month. Just not every night like some but I would more if my wife wasn't doing Weight Watchers. That, you know, cuts way down on the brisket and pulled pork. So, I do have to honestly say, I cook so much more than I ever have before and it will only increase. I just enjoy having food come off the egg that is so much better than it ever was off a gasser or a kettle grill. I started with my large and now have a small to keep it company and to do sides on if I need a different temperature. Good luck with your decision.
  • Bobby-Q
    Bobby-Q Posts: 1,994
    Well if it makes you feel any better I went through the exact same thing 21 years ago. I was 18 and $99 was a lot of money for me back then (funny how things come full circle huh?). I decided to pull the trigger one sunny Saturday and bought a clay puke green Big Green Egg. I cooked a whole chicken on it that night for my family and they thought it was too smokey. It was but they didn't want anymore food off of it. I had buyer's remorse for about 24 hours and then I cooked some sausage on it for myself and that was the end of the remorse.

    I now own 2 Larges, a small, have 2 XLs that we compete with and I work for Big Green Egg. So it worked out pretty good for me as I'm sure it will for you.

    Pull the trigger, you won't be disappointed.
  • RRP
    RRP Posts: 25,880
    never for a second! I bought my first egg and never looked back! Now have 4 of them. Cook on your BGE and you'll find out why we are a bunch of fanatics.
    Re-gasketing America one yard at a time.
  • Spring Hen
    Spring Hen Posts: 1,578
    There is never remorse if you buy an egg. Life just gets better.....remorse is someone that buys an expensive $3,000 stainless steel unit only to taste the food off of an Egg....that's just plain sad. Just do it - you won't regret it. Next thing to do is to attend an eggfest - you will be hooked forever.
    Judy
    Judy
    Covington, Louisiana USA
  • Sundown
    Sundown Posts: 2,980
    Went out 11 years ago to buy a Weber. Came home with a large Egg and have never regretted one moment.

    You will never get the kind of food we enjoy off of your Weber. Never. Weber is fine product but, there's no comparison.

    By now I would have had to replace at least two Webers.

    I've never had anyone that I've steered towards an Egg come back looking for me except to ask "How do I cook . . . ?" "How do you cook . . . ?"

    Go buy it, support your dealer and come to the Eggfest in Waldorf MD in May and see for yourself what all of this is about. Good luck and you'll make the decision for you.
  • This question really boils down to "Do you care about the taste of your food and are you willing to pay for exceptional flavor?" I had a three year old Weber Silver B when I got my first egg. I kept it around for another year without using it and eventually donated it to our high school concession stand to replace an old piece of junk that they had been using for years. I absolutely do not miss it one iota. Mark
  • Gunnar
    Gunnar Posts: 2,307
    I've done the majority of the cooking (no baking) for over the last ten years. I use the BGE 3 to 4 times a week. If it can go in the oven, I take it outside. If you enjoy cooking it's well worth the investment. You've been reading the forum, the cooks here are way past the traditonal outside grilling and smoking. I spent 1k on the last gasser which is now in the junkyard. Needed to many replacement parts. The egg comes with a lifetime warranty if you buy from dealer, NOT the internet.
    LBGE      Katy (Houston) TX
  • WokOnMedium
    WokOnMedium Posts: 1,376
    I got my Large BGE almost 3 weeks ago. I have a gas grill ($300) and a Bradley Smoker ($300). My problem with my gas grill was, I was trying rotisserie, wood chips in foil, wood chunks, and in the end, it was hard to get a low temp to do anything low and slow, it was hard to get a great sear on a steak and the food came out just OK.
    So to get that smokey long cook flavor I bought a Bradley smoker, and it couldn't be to cold or too windy and if you got a good day the mess that you had to clean up was extraordinary. Food was good though.
    I was at a home show about 8 years ago and someone was there displaying and promoting the BGE. They cooked a pork tenderloin, cut it up and carried it around so that everyone in the convention center could smell and taste the wares. GLORIOUS! But, I couldn't afford it, my rusted yellow truck had year round air conditioning.
    Things have improved for me so I went out and made the purchase I've always wanted. The first cook I did was some babyback ribs, now I have pulled pork, brisket and steaks under my belt and everyone around me is please with my purchase. Including me. The food is everything i expected.
    Two other things: first, the gasket situation is a little frustrating, there was a really long thread about it earlier this morning, and as long as you know ahead of time, I think you could avoid some of the frustration.
    Second? It is a hobby as well as a grill, I am planning to build a table, and rearrange my patio so that I can have my own grilling kitchen out there. I love it! :laugh:
  • There are a lot of us that have had the same experience.

    I got my first egg about 2 years ago now. 3 more since, yes I use all 4 and sometime in the future I may pick up a 5th. If I had the money I would get each of my 5 kids a large, well one has already bough one, but that is besides the point.

    I am an old fart now but when I was younger I bough gas grills, smokers, portable cookers, more gassers, more smokers. I ended up buying a $1200 costco stainless steel gasser. Stainless steel gas smokers and on an on.

    With all that I still wasn't happy and was looking at a horizontal barrel smoker with a offset fire box.

    Someone from Atlanta way told my daughter to tell me that there was a cooker that was green and looked like an egg.

    About 1/2 day of googling green & egg I came across this forum. 2 days of reading posts as far back as I could.

    The next day I got to the BGE site and found the only 2 BGE Dealers listed for my zip code. About 2 hours the large bge was in my back yard. For the basic package I paid just over $1,100 for the large and a bag of lump.

    Everyone says oooh that is expensive. It was very cheap compared to all the other smokers and gassers I ended up buying before learning what an egg was.

    I didn't get any kind of a deal on the other three eggs I got and although after the fact it would have been nice to same some money by doing some shopping or getting to an eggfest I still don't begrudge spending what I spend to have the eggs I have.

    The food is so much better cooked on an egg than it ever was on a gasser. I got some good smoking results on my smokers but again, for me the egg has been easier and better.

    I cook year around, 118° in the few hottest days of summer and -22° snow up to my thighs in the coldest days in the winter.

    After getting my eggs I had to get rid of 4 smokers and 3 gassers.

    I never did have buyers remorse and would do it all over again if the circumstances required.

    GG
  • I just bought my egg a month ago. I have been cooking on it 3 or 4 times a week. I paid almost $150 more, without the platesetter or pizza stone. I have been reading this foum last couple of weeks, it has been real helpful.
  • You won't regret it. Two larges and a mini here. B)
  • emt_24
    emt_24 Posts: 94
    I was in the same shoes as you about this time last year. I had been seeing post by RTD and others on another forum and seen people raging about their eggs. I started researching them and ran across this forum. Within a couple weeks of reading this forum I had shopped around at several dealers in the area for the best deal and located a bargain. I called them twice asking questions, went to the store twice and looked at it. OMW to the dealer for the 3rd visit I kept telling myself I was gonna buy it. My stomach was churning and I was sweating forking over $800 for another cooker that I thought at the time would just be used every once in a while. I almost didnt do it. I already had a UDS a Weber, and couple other smokers. My friend, I'm here to tell you one year later that I made the right decision. I cook on my Large Egg at least 3-4 times a week. All my other equipment sits idle having not been used in several months. With the lifetime warranty, the friendly service at dealers and the mothership along with everyone here at this forum, you CANNOT go wrong. My only regret is that I didn't have the EGG first, then I wouldnt have wasted money on all the other equipment I have that never gets used.
  • I can't add much more other then to say... thats a good price. If you like to cook outside and can afford it right now go for it. And get a cast iron grill for it... better then a pizza stone in my book.
  • I had no idea what a BGE was when my husband unloaded it off the truck. Well, that was another 2 larges, a small, and a mini....ago. We actually won a large in Atlanta...then we won another large in OKC last year. Do the fests...and keep up with your tickets...you could be another winner and acquire your "next" one.

    Kim
  • It all depends on you. Here on the Mississippi Gulf Coast, we have a Big Green Egg club that meets once a month at our local dealers restaurant. Last night we were sitting around talking about people we know who have purchased BGE's and are just not using them. Perhaps their first or second cook didn't come out as well as they had hoped. Perhaps they put too much wood in and it came out too smokey. Perhaps they just don't have time to learn how to cook on this marvel. For whatever reason some people buy one and just don't get their money's worth. Those people probably have buyers remorse.
    On the other hand, there's people like me, and BobbyB and Tinman and so many others that use the BGE just about every day of the week. It's a real learning curve if you're coming from a Weber. Expect to make mistakes. Expect to get a flash back or two. Most importantly, expect great food once you master a few techniques.
    I've got three eggs. Never regretted buying any of them.
  • I'm familiar with 'pre-buyers remorse'. I had a case too. I also had a case of 'post-buyers remorse' which occured after the money was out the door and the egg was at my house and I had to sit and watch the it for a week because I could not cook on it for various reasons. The fact that the stupid thing was the color of the money that was out the door was only further deepening my feeling of 'what have I done?'.

    But I've never even come close to 'post-cook remorse'. All it took was the first meal and all was cured.

    It's only natural to feel some anxiety when spending serious cash, but this is one investment that you can be assured you will not regret.
  • Cityswine,
    Look at all the things you can cook on the Egg.
    DSCN1378.jpg
    Pork Butt
    DSCN1436.jpg
    Brisket
    DSCN1438.jpg
    Asparagus
    DSCN1445.jpg
    Chicken
    DSCN1463.jpg
    Fatty"s
    DSCN1501.jpg
    Ribeyes
    DSCN1584.jpg
    Pizza
    DSCN1615.jpg
    Clams
    DSCN1609.jpg
    Tri-tip
    DSCN1787.jpg
    Baby Back Ribs
    DSCN1927.jpg
    Green Chili Stew
    DSCN2459.jpg
    Ranch Beans
    And much more I have had my Lg Egg for almost 3 years and love it.
    Ross
  • CITYSWINE,

    I don't know if this has been said yet but, deduct most of your restaurant expenditures from your budget for starters. Then think about how you can $2.99 per pound meat taste like it comes from a Chicago Steakhouse and all the best pizzas and bread you've ever had, the economics begin to make sense.

    Steve

    Steve 

    Caledon, ON

     

  • I have three and those picts. make me want another B)
  • Cpt'n Cook
    Cpt'n Cook Posts: 1,917
    I have had no remorse. When I saw an add, I think it was an ad, in a this old house magazine at my dentist's office, for the Egg I knew that was what I had been looking for. I found the website and a dealer near me and grabbed my credit card. Have not regretted it. I loved my Weber and my Kingsford but. . .
  • Zippylip
    Zippylip Posts: 4,768
    and see you, it is summer, 2009, you have a frosty beverage in one hand, a chip with salsa in the other, you are sitting in a lawnchair, there is a LBGE smoking away in very close proximity to you, & I cannot tell from the smile on your face whether you are laughing to yourself about the doubt you once had, or excited in anticipation over the food you will soon be eating, or both :)
    happy in the hut
    West Chester Pennsylvania
  • Mainegg
    Mainegg Posts: 7,787
    LOL we were so sorry we bought 4 more just to double check :) LOL As far as the price it is hard, the best thing is you are happy with the deal you have made. It all has to do with YOUR area. a better deal in CA is not going to do you much good :pinch: and do you like the dealer. they can be a huge help and a good friend if you have no eggers local :)after you use it a bit and settle in you will be VERY happy I am sure. just try to buy a used one LOL they are like hens teeth!!
  • egger66
    egger66 Posts: 385
    In my opinion, there is no comparison between a Weber gas grill and the BGE. The taste of the food is much better with an egg. And you have so many ways to cook with the BGE. If you enjoy outdoor cooking, you can't go wrong with an egg.
    Hope this helps
  • The absolute worst thing you can do is, let it set for 3 days before cooking on it like I did. :ohmy: :blush:

    Mike
  • Celtic Wolf
    Celtic Wolf Posts: 9,773
    I cooked on mine the very day I got it.. Course I was at an Eggfest :woohoo:
  • Celtic Wolf
    Celtic Wolf Posts: 9,773
    A picture is worth a thousand words.. Well here is 4000 words.

    two more in a trailer out back
    da_babies.jpg

    Try this on your gas grill
    turkey-1.jpg

    or this
    turkey-2.jpg

    Nuff' said
    the_real_turkeys.jpg
  • PhilsGrill
    PhilsGrill Posts: 2,256
    Yes I did. After my first cook, I sat down and cried and said to myself, "Why didn't I buy a second egg while I was there. Now I have to make a second trip".
  • Broc
    Broc Posts: 1,398
    What makes the Egg different is simply this --

    1. This is ceramic cooking
    2. This is ceramic cooking
    3. This is ceramic cooking

    Think of it as an olde-thymey Italian pizza oven, saving many thousands in the process.

    Nothing made of metal will be the same for a backyard cook.

    I bake bread in mine. Pineapple upside-down cake... yada-yada

    My church group always wants me to cook for them... not those other guys with gassers.

    Have I mentioned, this is ceramic cooking?

    ~ B
  • Rascal
    Rascal Posts: 3,923
    I think it really amounts to what you expect in return for your investment. As you well know, wonderful meals can be cooked on gas or kettle (charcoal) grills. The BGE takes it to a new level where you can do a sustained, low-temp cook of 20+ hours, to one that emulates a professional, pizza oven (500*plus). It's no bread-making machine as every cook requires tweaking!!

    Happy cookin'!, Rascal