Time isn't on my side in some ways. A few months have passed since I mentioned I was going to save myself some money by buying a coffee maker. Frankly, I just haven't had the the desire to go out and look for one, haggle over the price and be done with it. Since my wife will be joining me in about a week, after more than a year-long separation, I think I'll just wait and let her do the haggling. In the meantime, I'm going to do some virtual shopping to see what the prices should be as opposed to what the vendors want to charge me.

I'm going to start with the Cuisinart models because it's one of the brands I'm most familiar with. Now, when it comes to virtual shopping, time IS on my side since I don't actually have to go anywhere.

The Cuisinart DCC-1150 Coffee Maker

I don't know about other people, but the first thing I look at is the price. Is it within my target price range? If it is, I'll continue to read. If it isn't, I'll move on to something else. My target price range is between $50 and $100 — anything lower is probably too cheaply made and anything higher is probably not worth the extra expense. I found this particular model, the DCC-1150, at Cuisinart's site for $79.95, so it's within my price range. Knowing that prices can vary greatly, I looked around and found the same model selling at other places for as low as $58.99 (a little more than $20 less than the manufacturer's suggested price). If you add the 12 percent VAT tax I have to pay locally, the lower price is still lower than the suggested price.

This particular model has a 10-cup stainless steel thermal carafe, a plus against the humidity and salt air of the Philippines. It comes in either black or white (I prefer black) and has all the features you'd expect from a coffee maker in this price range. One of the coffee maker accessories I can probably do without when it comes to this particular model is the charcoal water filter. I have bottled water brought in weekly, so any decent filter will probably do the trick. I can probably get the rest of the accessories at the same place I buy the coffee maker.

Regardless of which Cuisinart model I choose, if I choose a Cuisinart model, I know I can find exactly what I'm looking for in terms of price and usability. I've been told by some of the local merchants that I can find that brand, among others, at any of the SM Malls. I hope I don't have to go that far, but with my wife around once again, it's a given that I'll be traveling more often and further from home than I have the desire to do.

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