Bill,
I've been using a Tilia FoodSaver for about 20 years. I replaced the original with a NIB of the same model (550) off of eBay for $50 maybe 5 years ago as I wore the heating strip in the original one out (a couple of wrinkles in it so it wouldn't seal properly in those spots).
No matter the brand, you may be tempted to just hold the lid down after inserting the bag, then pressing the on button. Use the locks that are on each side of the unit instead. This puts the right amount of pressure on the bag so the vac can do its work. If there's too much pressure, it doesn't always pull out all of the air as it thinks it already did. I learned this after having a number of packages that did freezer burn from the air. Now, I don't lose anything and actually just had a steak that's been in the freezer for about 1.5 years!
Also, freeze soft foods, like cookies, or juicy foods, like steak, in the food saver bags, but don't seal them until the food is firm. This will help keep the soft foods in their original shape, and prevent the vac from pulling blood and such into the vac channel. You can freeze soup this way as well by making soup pucks! I do this with homemade hash as well. Freeze until firm on a cookie sheet then seal up. If I didn't freeze first I'd have a big glob of hash instead of 3-4 individual servings.
As a note, I haven't had an issue using the rolls of bags available on eBay that aren't branded. Much cheaper. And always cut the bags a couple of inches longer than you need so you can re-seal them if there are several servings in the bag, and/or so you can wash them out and re-use them!
Good luck,
Chuck
p.s.- it's also great for when you find a deal on something that you won't use quickly! I snagged a bone-in center-cut pork roast last month for example! We'll have it over the winter at some point.
