Comments on: SodaStream Fountain Jet Starter Kit Review

By: Jason

Jason — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 02:15:09 +0000

Just to clarify, I’d be paying over $1.05/ltr after 240 ltrs, not $1.50. I pay half of that now for my favorite.

By: Jason

Jason — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 01:47:00 +0000

I’m curious why the cost analysis’ I’ve been reading don’t take into account the intitial investment of $80-$100 or more. It’s absolutely essential. I can buy 24 oz 6 packs of my favorite soda for around $4.00 on the high end, $2.50 on sale. My own realistic costs analysis shows me I’d still be paying just over $1.50/ltr after 240 ltrs of soda accounting for the soda flavors at $4.99 and CO2 refills at $15.00. It would take years to get to the point where this homemade soda cost even the same as my favorite national brand. It’s disappointing, I was looking forward to buying one.

By: Melissa

Melissa — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 17:26:55 +0000

For those of you getting self-righteous about the comment left by the representative – as someone already mentioned, the comment does not seem to be by an actual SodaStream/Soda Club employee but by a third-party company called Soda Club Refills. If you do a Google search, their website comes up but one gets an error. Try it yourself: http://www.sodaclubrefill.com/. You can also follow the link from the nearly three-year-old comment. It’s broken and it does not link to the SodaStream website.

And really…is one representative going to put you off from buying a product you like? I have had negative interactions with ONE customer service representative from many of the services I use (my phone provider, my university, etc.) That doesn’t mean that the service is overall bad or that the product is a bad one. It just means there’s one nasty representative who may not be keeping their job for very long.

By: MamaGee413

MamaGee413 — Wed, 07 Dec 2011 02:47:25 +0000

I am thinking about buying a soda machine for my husband and sister for Christmas…. Soda Club will NOT be the product I buy. I want to give my family a fun and useful gift and not hassles from the customer service reps. If anyone has other suggestions please let me know!

By: Marisa

Marisa — Mon, 21 Nov 2011 18:40:13 +0000

I would never order this product after reading the hostile response from a company spokesman. No matter the issue, I would never purchase from a company who responded in this tone. Very unprofessional.

By: Janet Cloninger

Janet Cloninger — Wed, 21 Sep 2011 17:28:22 +0000

It seems to me that some commenters are confusing the SodaStream product being reviewed here with a third-party company called SodaClubRefills. A commenter named Chris mentioned SodaClubRefills, and then others commented on their experiences with that company. I get an error when I try to go to SodaClubRefills now.

By: Paula

Paula — Wed, 21 Sep 2011 16:47:01 +0000

I feel the same way Terry! O wad going to Logos today to purchase this machine, but before I walked out the door, I thought I would read some reviews. After reading what a COMPANY spokesperson replied to a person who just wanted a refund, I will NOT be purchasin this product, or any other product from this company. The customer is always right. I too saw nothing offensive in this persons request for a refund. Sounds like the spokesperson @sodarefil.com has anger management issues.

By: Terry

Terry — Wed, 14 Sep 2011 14:03:14 +0000

@SodaClubRefil.com regardless of the customer’s demands or angry emails, you should learn how to do business. “The customer is always right” clearly means nothing to you. It sounds like you would rather berate a customer on some online blog than do business in a proper manner. I see nothing in her post here that would indicate that she is anything other than reasonable. I have no read other posts from her elsewhere or the emails that you reference, but as a consumer I can empathize with her. If you order something only to have the product description change later, who’s really at fault? This is the first review I have read of your product, but due to your reaction and general attitude, I will not order your product. I would rather pay more from a faceless corporation than risk shady practices and rudeness from another. Thank you for your reply here, it was eye opening and very informative.

By: Tony

Tony — Tue, 16 Aug 2011 00:33:03 +0000

To the person who asked “How come you don’t mix the syrup in the water before carbonating?”

I made that mistake, once. Poured some syrup in and forgot I hadn’t carbonated it yet. Though “Well, why not?” and fizzed it up. When I unscrewed it from the machine, soda everywhere. No harm done though.

By: Edlaina

Edlaina — Fri, 29 Jul 2011 04:05:56 +0000

Pay less for a machine, pay 4 cents/liter to make seltzer, includes a free mister. See the My Pop Old Fashioned oda Shoppe. Go to http://www.mypopsoda.com

By: Mark

Mark — Sun, 15 May 2011 12:33:40 +0000

Wow, Soda Stream, how 1970′s retro! My childhood memory of over-carbonating the drinks in the machine then the drink exploding over the place! Wondered what my parents did with the soda-stream machine after about two summers of use? Probably to the same consignment as other kitchen gimmicks..

By: James

James — Tue, 25 Jan 2011 14:34:06 +0000

Your math is correct IF you consider only purchasing the flavors that cost $4.99.
when in fact if you are ordering online as of today Jan 25 2011. the majority of flavors cost more than $5. only 15 flavors cost that much. while 23 flavors cost $7 and 8 flavors currently or will do or will cost $10. that brings the average cost to $6.87 per 12 liters, not $4.99
Also $4 is about what a person would pay if they buy name brand 12 pack soda at regular retail prices. but I would equate soda stream’s do it yourself soda more to that of generic brand sodas like Kroger or Publix or Walmart. which cost about $2 to $2.75 a 12 pack. lets average and round that up to $2.38 a pack
making the sodas $.20 a piece, not $.33.
even if you use name brand sodas I pretty much always see them on sale for 2 12 packs for 6 or 7 bucks. not $4 a piece.
With MY lol analysis done, I conclude that you are still correct. you would still save money with soda stream even buying generic brands in a can (but not much). but if a family usually buys 2 liters at a little over a dollar (or around $.70 generic) you would save more money by continuing to purchase 2 liters rather than making your own using soda stream.
lastly unless a family is very large or drinking extremely large amounts of soda (the amounts that any doctor would call unhealthy) I would call this a money saver, but not a big one
pros
-cheaper than normally buying 1 liters from convenience stores or cans
-do not have to carry cases or large bottles home.
-no need for a lot of storage for bottles or cans

now the other cons
-$100 or so out the box to order the system
-the inconvience of only having one liter of soda at a time ready, unless you purchase more bottles at 5 bucks a pop.

I would rate this product a D+ for the average soda consumer and a B- for those who consume a lot of soda.

By: Brett

Brett — Wed, 01 Dec 2010 21:51:25 +0000

I don’t think anyone mentioned that you can make your flavors and make them as sweet, or not as you like.
When I used to make and bottle my own soda pop I always shorted the sugar. It made it more refreshing and I liked it better.
Another advantage is that you could use stevia as the sweetner and its glycemix index is 0.

By: Julie

Julie — Wed, 01 Dec 2010 02:03:27 +0000

@travis Well to be honest, it ended up in my closet. It’s not that I don’t like the taste of the sodas. I do. But it is easier to buy several 12 packs of Diet Coke when they are on sale and put a bunch in the fridge.

By: travis

travis — Wed, 01 Dec 2010 01:56:45 +0000

Thanks for the review. Are you thinking about doing a follow-up?
I am looking at getting one and would love to hear your long-term impressions.
Thanks

By: waterdrinker

waterdrinker — Sat, 10 Jul 2010 13:51:37 +0000

Soda isnt good for you anyway. Youre getting ripped off on the co2 injector, the co2 itself and the syrups. Im in NJ. If you want soda,, i can get twevle pack on sale for $2.50 sometimes. The no name brands are this price regularly and sometimes cheaper.You know what my kids and i drink? Water. I have nice Britta water filter. Nothing to recycle.

By: debbie

debbie — Thu, 29 Apr 2010 15:31:14 +0000

thanks i actually sat back and watched a video showing how to do this and i was doing it all wrong. i actually got it to work. i am not fond of the flavors. but i am hoping that juice will be great with this.
thanks for responding

By: Julie

Julie — Thu, 29 Apr 2010 12:02:25 +0000

@debbie You don’t have to hold the button down a long time, but you might not be pressing it enough times. Keep pressing and letting up until you hear the initial buzz. Then press it 2 more times and it should be good to go.

By: debbie

debbie — Thu, 29 Apr 2010 08:16:30 +0000

i just got mine and i am having trouble getting it to work right. i dont like the taste of the drinks that came with it. could be i am just doing it wrong. i never hear a Buzz. do you have to hold it down for a long time to hear this buzz? i am ready to send it back a this point as i am not getting what i thought was a soda. any ideas would be helpful.

By: Happenstance

Happenstance — Sun, 28 Feb 2010 00:04:40 +0000

Before ordering Soda Stream’s Fountain Jet, if I wanted a low-carb soda sweetened with Splenda instead of Aspartame, I had to travel past my nearby Walgreen’s and Safeway over to Lucky and pray they had Pepsi One or Diet Zero in stock. Cola. That’s all. Everything else has Aspartame.

Now? Variety! Splenda-sweetened diet variants of Coke, Dr. Pepper, Fresca, Sprite, Crush, A&W Root Beer, lemonade, and so much more. No wasted time, no lugging 2-liters, far less plastic waste, I control the amount of carbonation and flavor. Easy to set up and use, quick delivery.

If I find any drawbacks, it’s the “loud buzz” that signals adequate carbonation; it’s not so much a “buzz” as the sound of flatulence. (Hope the neighbors don’t hear!)

And I hope they come up with a diet version of their cherry cola soon!

By: Julie

Julie — Sun, 13 Dec 2009 14:41:47 +0000

@Concerned Citizen I guess it’s a matter of taste-buds. To me they taste good. They don’t taste exactly like a name brand soda, but pretty close. My favorite is probably the diet rootbeer. Were you drinking the diet drinks or the regular drinks?

By: Concerned Citizen

Concerned Citizen — Sun, 13 Dec 2009 09:27:12 +0000

Hey everyone. I dont know who writes these reviews, but the sodas dont taste half as good as real soda.

By: Lon Adams

Lon Adams — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 00:32:33 +0000

My wife and I recently purchased the Sodastream fountain jet and we love it! We purchased the fountain jet at Kohls for $99.00 and they also sell a few flavors of the syrups for $4.89 each. As for the CO2 cylinders, the 60L size are available at our local Williams-Sonoma store. We bought one extra cylinder and when one runs out, we just run over and exchange the empty one for a full one. Part of the fun for us has been mixing various syrups and juices. The sodas are fresh and you control the amount of flavoring and carbonation you use. When we figured out our costs, we figured it was cheaper than 2 liter bottles unless, they were available for less than .80 cents a bottle.

At any rate, we recommend them wholeheartedly.

By: SodaclubRefill.Com

SodaclubRefill.Com — Wed, 29 Jul 2009 15:33:34 +0000

What “lucrece” neglected to mention was the demanding and extortive tone to her emails. We do NOT succomb to extortion or vile demands, all due to Ms Lucrece Borrego’s inability to comprehend detailed product information.

In spite of her unnecessary threats and toxic demands, we gave her the benefit of the doubt by offering her a refund. Instead of accepting this offer and writing the incident off as a simple consumer misunderstanding, she proceeded to libel our good name in this and many other forums for the sole malicious purpose of harming a good business. It is lamentable that Ms. Borrego’s acts are one of the root causes for most consumer prices to skyrocket and make it impossible for small business people to conduct an honorable business.

Our satisfied customers on our website and user forum are indicative of the quality and care we take in producing a product.

It is unfortunate that Ms. Borrego’s extortive techniques will only fail and serve no other purpose other than to illustrate her immaturity which is commensurate with her young age. Please take the time to stop by our website at sodaclubrefill.com and see for yourself that we have a great product that can save you alot of money on CO2 Refills.

Ms. Borrego should focus on honing her social skills instead of advertising her vile disregard for common courtesy and human interaction.

By: lucrece

lucrece — Tue, 28 Jul 2009 05:56:41 +0000

Hello,
I recently purchased an adapter from sodaclubrefill.com and want to share the terrible experience that I had there.
I ordered their valve on May 20 and it was reported as back-ordered several weeks later. I recently received a valve that I thought would allow me to refill my existing Soda Club tanks with a standard co2 station. However, I found that this was not possible and I would need another $50 adapter from sodaclubrefill.com. I checked the website and found that the text describing the product I had ordered had been updated to clarify this since then, but that text was not their when I ordered. Furthermore, the product was incorrectly linked to a different product that is actually $60 more and would allow refill through standard tanks.
I politely pointed this out to the website contact and asked for a refund. He was extremely rude and insulting but said that he would still issue a refund when he received the returned item. Thus, I returned the item. Now, the merchant has suddenly changed his mind and, in a slew of insults, told me that he will not issue the refund because I am an “illiterate idiot” and a “punk” for telling people about my problems with the valve on review sites. Please keep in mind that my tone was always professional and I never insulted anyone. His insults came as a complete surprise.
I would suggest that if anyone considers doing business with this website, please pm me for details and I can send you copies of the incredibly rude emails sent to me.