sholling said:Good luck. An ebayer bought up every machine in my little town (he went to all 5 stores and bought about 12-15 machines). I got lucky and picked up a spare when I drove to the closest real city today on business.

It's probably that charmer RapaciousEbayer. He's about 25 posts back bragging about it, why not thank him yourself?

abang said:Anybody know of a Starbucks in the Portland, Oregon area that still has the Baristas? I've had no luck finding one, whaddya expect from a latte, machiato, mocha sipping state like Oregon.

I searched the Oregon City area yesterday. Plenty of the Magnifica's but no Barista's. This morning-based on another members comment that Las Vegas still had plenty-I called a few stores in Las Vegas that had them. Oddly, I found one store that had two, and put them on hold. I had my mom pick them up for me. When she got there the guy appologized because they didn't have any. On the way home, my mom stopped at another new store, and surprisingly had two of them.

I am currently only having one of them shipped to me (from Vegas to Portland) and it works out to $99 +10 tax + $28 shipping = $137. Still, it's a good deal. No complaints here.

Early in this thread someone mentioned that it is every FW for themselves. A couple posts that mentioned calling stores (a big 'no no' in the traditional FW sense) got rated red. Seriously though, this deal is fight or flight. Do some calling around, use different locations where you have relatives. Basically use any means at your disposal.

My recommendation is to sell a arm or leg on Craigslist and get the Magnifica. Actually with the $449 price it may just work out to a hand or a foot!

Thanks OP... I wanted to get this whenever it was at $199 (and neglected to) and then whenever I read that it was down to $99 I had to jump on it.

Being the FWer I am, I refused to call any of the three local Starbucks. Finally struck gold on the third try. Went ahead and bought it because the display was stainless only to find whenever I got it out of the box at home that it's graphite. I really want the stainless... However, I'm not sure shy of opening the box to tell if it's stainless and not graphite??

Anyone have any clues? I cannot find color info on my box.

Also, what are the chances they'll take an exchange?

TIA.

rjj130 said:...display was stainless only to find whenever I got it out of the box at home that it's graphite. I really want the stainless... However, I'm not sure shy of opening the box to tell if it's stainless and not graphite??
Anyone have any clues? I cannot find color info on my box.
TIA.
The SKU for the graphite is 142224.
The SKU for the stainless steel is 131714 and it states in same label: STARBUCKS BARISTA S/STEEL

MISURICK said:rjj130 said:Thanks OP... I wanted to get this whenever it was at $199 (and neglected to) and then whenever I read that it was down to $99 I had to jump on it.

Being the FWer I am, I refused to call any of the three local Starbucks. Finally struck gold on the third try. Went ahead and bought it because the display was stainless only to find whenever I got it out of the box at home that it's graphite. I really want the stainless... However, I'm not sure shy of opening the box to tell if it's stainless and not graphite??

Anyone have any clues? I cannot find color info on my box.

Also, what are the chances they'll take an exchange?

TIA.

Top of the box - it has a label "BLACK GRAPHITE" or "S/STEEL" - right under bar code.

If you have really clean kitchen go with SS, I found colored ones are easier to clean, SS is a little finicky when it comes to cleaning (shows more). Good luck!

Negative... The only label I can find on the box is the one about the VHS tape (who has a VCR??) and on the bottom a SKU showing original price of $399.99... Nothing about a color.

I may keep the graphite just as you said as SS can be harder to maintain then a colored one.

Do the sprouts on the portafilter line up diagonally or horizontally when it is on the machine? I was just testing the machine and i wasn't sure where to place both shotglasses.

My Wife took the last one in the Metro Area - SW Taylor

msimon21 said:why don't people just use the expresso pods sold at starbucks? seems to save alot of hassle and $$$ on a new grinder.

Why don't people just use Folger's instant sold at any market? Seems to save alot of hassle and $$$ on all of this.

/sorry, couldn't resist!

comprx said:HokieOkie said:microsoftissuck said:for those that are getting 4 second shots, my guess is you don't have the pressure insert in the filter. When you take the basket out of the portifilter, you should see a black round disc with a rubber gasket, In the middle, there is a small hole. That keeps the pressure high and forces the coffee out slowly.

Umm..no..thats for pods. The filter should be bare before filling with grind.He's not talking about the rubber insert. He said under the basket, where there is indeed a pressure "plate" (for lack of a better word) installed in the portafilter.
Got a display unit today. I paid and an employee helped me carry it to my car. When he was placing it in the back seat, he picked up something from the floor that looks like a red rubber o-ring (about 2 inches in diameter). Is THIS part of the machine? My guess is that it is the rubber gasket mentioned here. How to install?
When I look inside the portafilter, there is a grey/black plastic disk attached at the bottom. The disk is not quite fitted against the edge or bottom of the portafilter, so I'm thinking that I have to push this o-ring to fit between the plastic disk edge and the portafilter.
Any ideas?

DylanG said:The Starbucks Barista for $199 is a good deal. It's about as cheap as you can get for a pump driven machine that is capable of making real espresso.

Um...not sure about that. I definately wouldn't spend $199 on a Starbucks machine. You could get a Gaggia for that money.