I have bought too many things that wound up just as you describe. Most of them were time consumers like exercise products and kitchen gadgets that did not work as advertised or they performed a service for which I found infrequent need. A coffee grinder was a recent waste of money by me.

I picture this product as being efficient for a single person or childless couple who have everything neat and in the right place. It seems unlikely that it would work well for untidy people or people who have children leaving toys laying about.

Another key thing is how often the thing’s dust and whatever’s contents must be dumped and how difficult that chore is. Replacing occasional vacuuming with a normal cleaner with a thing that requires daily attention is not a good trade off.

It reminds me of the time I almost bought a “Total Gym” at Costco. I stood in line with the thing under my arm for a few minutes and then marched it back to where I got it.

I realized that if I was serious about getting into shape, I could walk or run up our long driveway and do push ups and sit-ups. Sure it would be nice and shiny for awhile and fun to play with, but it just end up under the bed next to the dusty bar- bells.

Come to think of it, if I had a Roomba, it wouldn’t be so dusty under there.