# Online retailers



## damsidebrew (Dec 23, 2016)

Hi Folks,

Any recommendations for online suppliers of coffee machines/grinders etc??

Thanks


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## damsidebrew (Dec 23, 2016)

Having done some more research on here I've found a few to havea look at. Any recommendations from personal experience would be great!


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## Jacko112 (Oct 29, 2015)

Bella Barista - I wouldn't waste my time looking elsewhere if you value customer service, reliability etc


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## damsidebrew (Dec 23, 2016)

Great, I'll have a look thanks.


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## cold war kid (Mar 12, 2010)

What's your budget?

Bella Barista have a good rep but it's mostly expensive kit.

Amazon, John Lewis ect are ok for cheaper stuff. Personally I'd avoid grey import companies like Coffee Italia but they've been around for donkeys years in internet terms so must be doing something right.

If going down the ebay, second hand route, always ask what it's been fed on, especially if it's coming from a hard water area like London or Norwich. Nothing will kill a coffee machine quicker than limescale and not all bottled waters and filters are the same. Some have high levels of TDS just like tap water. Cleaning routine is another boring subject that doesn't get mentioned much but is very impotant when buying second hand. It ranges from people with borderline OCD when it comes to cleaning their coffee machines to people who've literally never taken the shower screen off to clean it.


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## 4085 (Nov 23, 2012)

Check what warranty is issued. A lot of online retailers do not offer warranty so you find yourself dealing with an importer or manufacturer. With BB, you get 2 years that comes from them


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## damsidebrew (Dec 23, 2016)

Out of interest, is the Gaggia Classic still king of the entry level espresso makers (new)?? My wife want's to get me a new espresso machine + grinder as a gift with about a £500 budget, I can find lots of good reviews on here for the pre-2015 model but nothing really about the post-2015 model?

I've been browsing the above retailers, coffee italia has a pretty bad write up on here.........


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## GCGlasgow (Jul 27, 2014)

@damsidebrew The pre 2015 is probably seen as better, new one is more difficult to adjust opv. Ive got one I was gonna sell and also have a grinder if interested.


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## johnealey (May 19, 2014)

Mostly for the reasons dfk mentions above am afraid to say.

Established retailers will be generally a little more expensive than a box shifter / internet only seller but you have to take onto account premises / showrooms and crucially, someone to visit / phone should anything go wrong.

Bella Barista in this respect are very good to deal with in person and by phone, nothing is ever a big issue (poor Jordan even kept the place open for me on bonfire night so I could pick up a mythos short hopper and Claudette didn't even quibble when had an unexpected crack in the roasting chamber on a small gene, was with me next day with no charge)

There are of course other retailers depending on where you are in the country just do your homework first if going new or get you post count up and trawl the for sale section on here if looking for pre owned as forum members tend to look after their kit a lot better than most on flea bay.

John


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## jamesy73 (Dec 15, 2016)

As someone also on the look out for seller experiences thanks for the advice recommending Bella barrista.


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