I think quite a few items are regional. Coffee beans for sure.
I've seen several models at Ace that looked solid but they were more expensive. I know there's better quality and value pellet grills out there than this one at this price point.
That's about right, it was the first thing I noticed. Having the cheap sheet metal cabinet underneath speaks volumes to quality.
Luckily, my Traeger was manufactured in January 2013, just over a year before Trilantic Capital Partners bought the company Joe Traeger had originally sold in 2006. They still made a stout grill then, even though some of the manufacturing was done in China. Trilantic put dollars above quality which dug Traeger into a deep hole. In order to solve the bad PR they introduced an entire new line of grills a few years back. Negative feedback decreased a lot with the new product line, while the prices increased considerably. IMO, they're overpriced and getting their a$$es kicked, both in price and quality by several other brands, including Oklahoma Grills and Pit Boss, both owned by the company that employs both Joe Traeger and his son Brian.
