Jumped on the deal myself, thanks for the post. After ordering it, I searched for reviews...should have done this before ordering, and the reviews on this specific machine are horrible. I figured, for $27, oh well, maybe mine will work properly.
Just a few minutes ago, UPS hands me my Food Saver. I quickly open it and try it. Figuring out how it worked, but took me a few minutes to figure out how to turn it on. But in a nutshell, you need to twist the locking gray lever down by pushing it down until it locks.
First attempt, tried a hamburger bun, after running for a longer than what you would expect, the results were 100% disappointing. Not only did it barely vacuum any of the air, the seal did not work. 2nd try, got only slightly better vacuum and a good seal. Still not happy, attempt 3, I pushed down on the lid of the food saver while it was running and got an excellent vacuum, but soon I lost the vacuum because of the poor seal. 4th attempt, different burger bun, repeated the steps in attempt 3, then, unlocked the lever and slightly lifted the lid, locked it again, and then pressed "seal" again. Finally, got a great vacuum and a good double safety seal.
Final Verdict: $27 was a good deal if you are willing to push on the food saver while running and make the effort to seal it 2x. I will be keeping my $27 Food Saver.
