I was given the machine by a customer who wanted to throw out with some old appliances. Glad I kept this for myself after looking at pricing. I broke a $30 dollar blender while remodeling his home and had to replacce, not a bad trade! Easy to use, find a recipe, pour it in, add ice and salt in layers, plug in and leave it alone for 30 minutes. Wow, how hard was that and the kids love it for anytime 'I'm bored, theres nothing to do' days. Yes, I'd rather that more people buy only American made products, but this is almost impossible. And you have to have people who want to work to make all these products.  The maker I have was made in the USA and I am proud to say that I would have paid $200 plus or minus for it because of its original company location.  I would recommend this product to anyone with doubts about the 'cheap stuff'. Those trying to save money, you wouldn't have made it to this review anyway simply because the price would have scared you away.  Happy shopping and ice cream freezing yo!