buy induction stove now or later?

[uniwelder]

My wife and I have been wanting an induction stove for a few years, but prices were alway quite high.  I just noticed this one is on sale at a more reasonable (though still high, considering it shouldn't actually cost much more to build an induction stove versus regular smooth top) price--- https://www.lowes.com/pd/Frigidaire-Gallery-30-in-4-Elements-Self-Cleaning-and-Steam-Cleaning-Air-Fry-Convection-Oven-Freestanding-Induction-Range-Smudge-Proof-Stainless-Steel/5001795029  $1,200 compared to the regular $2,100 price.  It has good ratings from Consumer Reports. 

The sale ends in a few days, though it might just continue to be on sale at various times in the future, and might also just be the new normal.  From what I understand, Frigidaire/Electrolux has been trying a strategy of increasing production of induction stoves and sell at lower prices to get more people to buy them, rather than keep them as a niche item.  This supposedly worked in Sweden, where induction was something like 5% of the market and is now 50%.

I'm curious how this all will play out when credits/rebates/etc become effective with the High-Efficiency Electric Home Rebate Program sometime in 2023.  From what I understand with the new bill, there will be rebates/credits of up to $840 depending on income level.  Once this becomes available, will prices suddenly go back up due to profiteering from companies and the increase in demand of appliances?  Does anyone have any insight or opinions?

[JLee]

Have you checked Craigslist/Facebook Marketplace yet?  I bought my induction stove for $500 on Facebook a year or two ago - absolutely love it.

[uniwelder]

Have you checked Craigslist/Facebook Marketplace yet?  I bought my induction stove for $500 on Facebook a year or two ago - absolutely love it.

I'm in a very rural area.  Not only are they not for sale used, if you stop in at Lowes or Home Depot, most of the appliance sales people have never even seen one before.

Edited to add— This is definitely not an essential purchase, but we do need to replace the stove in one of our rentals (it’s functional, but banged up and rusting out) so the stove currently in our house will transfer to there.

[jpdx]

I would wait until the rebates are available. Sure, rebates will put some upward pressure on prices, but you're still likely to come out ahead.

[Metalcat]

I wanted an induction stove until my step mother told me I could buy an induction element for $60.

90% of the time I only use one element, so it's perfect.

[Dee18]

I would buy it now.  I am living in a short term rental with an induction stove, by Miele, and I absolutely love it.  Once the rebates are in effect there will be greater demand for inductive stoves and may be long delays and/or higher prices that partially cancel out the rebates.  Since my current gas stove at my primary home is new (and in a rental), I am going to follow Malcat"s suggestion and get an induction element when I return home.  Thank you Malcat!

[NorCal]

At that price, I'd buy it now.  The discount seems to be roughly what you'd get in 2023 incentives.

And I believe the price of induction will continue to fall over time.  The biggest driver of price decreases is sales volume.  Prices will drop as people buy more.

However, what is "best" really depends on your time horizon.  Is it worth waiting a few more years for prices to come down 10-20%?  Or is it worth paying this price to get it sooner?  It's a question about your personal time-value of money.

And now I have to blame you for getting me thinking about an induction stove.  I want one, but it's been on my "maybe in 5 years" list.  But that's when I thought you could only get them for $3K+.  I had forced myself to not look at them too closely.

[Metalcat]

I would buy it now.  I am living in a short term rental with an induction stove, by Miele, and I absolutely love it.  Once the rebates are in effect there will be greater demand for inductive stoves and may be long delays and/or higher prices that partially cancel out the rebates.  Since my current gas stove at my primary home is new (and in a rental), I am going to follow Malcat"s suggestion and get an induction element when I return home.  Thank you Malcat!

It really is a great solution. I feel no need to replace my entire oven now, which works perfectly, when as I said, I only use one element most of the time. Plus it allows me to cook on any surface in the kitchen, not just at the stove.

If I do have two pots going, the second will often be a soup pot, and I don't necessarily want to be standing over a hot boiling pot. So I can leave one pot on the stove simmering and cook in a frying pan at the other end of the kitchen.

Also, this way I didn't need to replace all of my pots that weren't induction friendly. I have some wonderful stainless steel pots, but they don't have smooth bottoms.

[JupiterGreen]

At that price, I'd buy it now.  The discount seems to be roughly what you'd get in 2023 incentives.

And I believe the price of induction will continue to fall over time.  The biggest driver of price decreases is sales volume.  Prices will drop as people buy more.

However, what is "best" really depends on your time horizon.  Is it worth waiting a few more years for prices to come down 10-20%?  Or is it worth paying this price to get it sooner?  It's a question about your personal time-value of money.

And now I have to blame you for getting me thinking about an induction stove.  I want one, but it's been on my "maybe in 5 years" list.  But that's when I thought you could only get them for $3K+.  I had forced myself to not look at them too closely.

If I may ask a related, but somewhat adjacent question. What do you like about an induction stove? What kinds of differences do you notice?  Our appliance are almost 20 years old. Our fridge finally died over the summer and we were forced to buy a new one (got a good deal) so the stove may not be too far behind. If we decide to get an induction stove, we might be able to wait for the rebates to kick in. But anyway, I'm finding this topic timely and appreciate you sharing your experiences.

[JLee]

At that price, I'd buy it now.  The discount seems to be roughly what you'd get in 2023 incentives.

And I believe the price of induction will continue to fall over time.  The biggest driver of price decreases is sales volume.  Prices will drop as people buy more.

However, what is "best" really depends on your time horizon.  Is it worth waiting a few more years for prices to come down 10-20%?  Or is it worth paying this price to get it sooner?  It's a question about your personal time-value of money.

And now I have to blame you for getting me thinking about an induction stove.  I want one, but it's been on my "maybe in 5 years" list.  But that's when I thought you could only get them for $3K+.  I had forced myself to not look at them too closely.

If I may ask a related, but somewhat adjacent question. What do you like about an induction stove? What kinds of differences do you notice?  Our appliance are almost 20 years old. Our fridge finally died over the summer and we were forced to buy a new one (got a good deal) so the stove may not be too far behind. If we decide to get an induction stove, we might be able to wait for the rebates to kick in. But anyway, I'm finding this topic timely and appreciate you sharing your experiences.

The most immediate thing I noticed is how fast it heats pots/pans - I've never seen water boil so fast.  It's also more energy efficient, as it just heats the pan instead of relying on thermal transfer from the stovetop to the cookware.  The cooking surface also never gets hot, (other than from the heat it absorbs from the pan).  They're also really easy to clean compared to traditional electric stoves or gas stoves.

[JupiterGreen]

At that price, I'd buy it now.  The discount seems to be roughly what you'd get in 2023 incentives.

And I believe the price of induction will continue to fall over time.  The biggest driver of price decreases is sales volume.  Prices will drop as people buy more.

However, what is "best" really depends on your time horizon.  Is it worth waiting a few more years for prices to come down 10-20%?  Or is it worth paying this price to get it sooner?  It's a question about your personal time-value of money.

And now I have to blame you for getting me thinking about an induction stove.  I want one, but it's been on my "maybe in 5 years" list.  But that's when I thought you could only get them for $3K+.  I had forced myself to not look at them too closely.

If I may ask a related, but somewhat adjacent question. What do you like about an induction stove? What kinds of differences do you notice?  Our appliance are almost 20 years old. Our fridge finally died over the summer and we were forced to buy a new one (got a good deal) so the stove may not be too far behind. If we decide to get an induction stove, we might be able to wait for the rebates to kick in. But anyway, I'm finding this topic timely and appreciate you sharing your experiences.

The most immediate thing I noticed is how fast it heats pots/pans - I've never seen water boil so fast.  It's also more energy efficient, as it just heats the pan instead of relying on thermal transfer from the stovetop to the cookware.  The cooking surface also never gets hot, (other than from the heat it absorbs from the pan).  They're also really easy to clean compared to traditional electric stoves or gas stoves.

Interesting, I've only bought 1 stove in my life. I've inherited all other stoves, so I've just never really looked into this topic. I appreciate your feedback, everything you've mentioned sounds great and I like that it is more environmental.  Do you notice a difference in the taste of the food? You mentioned it cooks faster which a time saver. Specifically, do you know how it bakes bread? That's something I bake every week.

[geekette]

We've had an induction range for a couple years.  Quick heat, very responsive (both up and down), doesn't heat the kitchen as much because it's heating the pot, not the cooktop, and easy to clean because nothing burns on.  You can even put a paper towel or parchment paper under the pot and on the cooktop to keep spatters off the surface and controls (mind blown).

It's not that it cooks faster like a microwave, it just heats up quickly, so in that way it's faster.  Boiling water is no longer a long term project...

The oven is a standard oven (although mine does have some fancy options befitting the dang price).

[bacchi]

I wanted an induction stove until my step mother told me I could buy an induction element for $60.

90% of the time I only use one element, so it's perfect.

I'd never considered this. So just pull out the current heating element and replace?

[seattlecyclone]

I wanted an induction stove until my step mother told me I could buy an induction element for $60.

90% of the time I only use one element, so it's perfect.

I'd never considered this. So just pull out the current heating element and replace?

Sounds like what she did was buy a one-burner induction hot plate in addition to the existing stove.

[Morning Glory]

Are you planning to have little children in your house again at some point, or selling it to someone who does? If so, I wouldn't buy a stove with the buttons/knobs in the front,  induction or not.

[Metalcat]

I wanted an induction stove until my step mother told me I could buy an induction element for $60.

90% of the time I only use one element, so it's perfect.

I'd never considered this. So just pull out the current heating element and replace?

Nono, it's a portable element, like an old school hot plate, but induction.

I can plug it in anywhere.

I have a 7' stainless steel kitchen work table where I like to prep and cook, so having the portable element is very convenient.

[Cranky]

My (adult) kids spent a month in Europe this summer and came back hating induction stoves with a passion.

I always loved cooking on a gas stove, but we've got a flat top electric stove here, and it's really just as good. Water boils very quickly.

[JLee]

My (adult) kids spent a month in Europe this summer and came back hating induction stoves with a passion.

I always loved cooking on a gas stove, but we've got a flat top electric stove here, and it's really just as good. Water boils very quickly.

Why?

I also always had a strong preference for gas over electric, but induction has won me over.

[scottish]

My flat top electric stove requires careful monitoring not to burn things.   It's because the stove top appears to have a huge heat capacity, so once it gets hot it takes a while to cool off.

I believe that induction stoves don't have this problem, because they just heat up the pot.

I've also heard they are less reliable than the traditional stove top, but I don't see why.   The only moving part seems to be a fan for each element to keep the electronics cool.   Maybe it's the fan?   If it fails, the magic smoke escapes and the electronics stop working.

So... why did your kids hate induction stoves?

[uniwelder]

OP here to address some questions and comments. 

1) We currently have an electric stove with the controls at the front.  Its my wife's demand that any stove be set up like that--- no reaching across pots/pans to turn the dial or buttons.  Also no kids to worry about and we plan to stay in this house indefinitely. 

2) We do actually have an induction stand alone burner, like Malcat.  We found it at the thrift store for $10 and is worth about that much.  It has controls to set temp (50 degree increments) or wattage (200 watt increments), but I have tried making pancakes, and with either setting its either too hot or too cold.  I'm sure there are better units with finer adjustments.

3) I talked with a sales guy at Home Depot today.  The sale is until October 14th or when they run out of units.  He looked up how many are in stock, and there are 364 in the sales region, which is a ridiculously high number in his opinion.  He doesn't know of anyone that has bought an induction stove from the store and didn't know much about them himself.  He thinks its a supply chain issue that there are so many available and the reason for the sale.  They must have been backordered and everything came in at once.

4) We've been discussing whether to buy or not, and can't make up our minds.  Its nice to know there are so many of them available.  I might just check back in at the store and keep track as inventory goes down.

[bacchi]

I wanted an induction stove until my step mother told me I could buy an induction element for $60.

90% of the time I only use one element, so it's perfect.

I'd never considered this. So just pull out the current heating element and replace?

Nono, it's a portable element, like an old school hot plate, but induction.

I can plug it in anywhere.

I have a 7' stainless steel kitchen work table where I like to prep and cook, so having the portable element is very convenient.

Ah, got it. I might look into doing that, too.

[Dee18]

An induction stove is much safer for children than a regular electric or gas stove.  With an induction stove, when you turn the burner on with nothing on it there is no heat at all.  When you put a metal pan on it that has magnetic qualities (i.e. not aluminum or copper) "an electric current passes through a coiled copper wire underneath the cooking surface, creating a magnetic current throughout the cookware. And the best part is, the entire cooktop remains cool-to-the-touch so burns become less of a worry."  When you remove the pan the "burner" is only warm from the transfer of heat from the heated pot to the glass.  This morning I checked this out by boiling water in the kettle for pour over coffee.  I boiled the water, poured it over my coffee, and then checked the cooktop to see how hot it was.  It was warm, but not hot enough to hurt at all.   

[Fru-Gal]

PTF. Really thinking about this. My stove is from the 1940s or 50s.

[rockeTree]

You can even put a paper towel or parchment paper under the pot and on the cooktop to keep spatters off the surface and controls (mind blown).

I was getting one anyhow (safety, environmental concerns, indoor air quality gains if I stop burning gas in the kitchen all the time) but this is amazing. I want to wall mount a roll of butcher paper and never clean again lol!

[Fru-Gal]

I looked this model up, bummed it’s not available in white. Any white stoves like this?

[Fru-Gal]

Yikes, just read the bad reviews on Home Depot for this stove

[jeninco]

I wanted an induction stove until my step mother told me I could buy an induction element for $60.

90% of the time I only use one element, so it's perfect.

I'd never considered this. So just pull out the current heating element and replace?

Nono, it's a portable element, like an old school hot plate, but induction.

I can plug it in anywhere.

I have a 7' stainless steel kitchen work table where I like to prep and cook, so having the portable element is very convenient.

I've been thinking about this, and I think I'm going to go for it and see how much I do (or don't) like it.

Question: I frequently cook in a large (16 - 18 inch) skillet -- presumably using a single burner induction unit I'm limited to pots that are about the size of the burner? Yes?

[uniwelder]

Yikes, just read the bad reviews on Home Depot for this stove

I’m never sure what to make of online reviews, which is why I referenced Consumer Reports. It gave the stove a score of 82, which doesn’t sound great, but the highest rated stove only got an 87, so based on that, it did very well in their tests. I also read the bad reviews online and wish I could use it in person before purchasing.

[geekette]

Question: I frequently cook in a large (16 - 18 inch) skillet -- presumably using a single burner induction unit I'm limited to pots that are about the size of the burner? Yes?

Check the size of the flat bottom.  Using a smaller burner will probably work (you'll just have heat the width of the burner, just like a conventional electric eye).

The only problem we have is that one burner is quite large, and even our 12" pan only has a 7" or so bottom, so the burner complains (won't work at all on "boost", but will work in the lower heat range).

My only complaint is the fan/element noise.  I still prefer that to the old smooth top which was slow and hard to clean.

[Dee18]

What is the fan/element noise?  Do you mean in the convection oven? 

[iris lily]

I am just a troglodyte but I purchased  two new, expensive stoves within the past  year and did not care about convection or induction. I cared about color!

So, I got a periwinkle colored stove for my condo and a cherry red Big cHill stove for my house. The red stove has chrome and it is pretty!

Both are gas ranges.I do not think I would have  had a choice anyway in my condo since that 100 year old building doesn't have 220 power. Isnt that required for a stove like the ones  ya’ll are discussing?

[geekette]

What is the fan/element noise?  Do you mean in the convection oven?

No, there's a cooling fan running when any stovetop element is on (and after, to cool it off, if needed).  There's also a bit of a buzz, depending on the power setting.

It may be different for other ranges, but our LG does it, and our friend's single induction burner does the same.

@iris lily - the outlet is 220, but we don't have special service.  It and the dryer each use 2 slots in our standard breaker box.  100 year old service, though, I don't know.

[Dee18]

Oh, the Miele induction stovetop at our rental is silent...that's one of the things I do like about it.

[Metalcat]

I wanted an induction stove until my step mother told me I could buy an induction element for $60.

90% of the time I only use one element, so it's perfect.

I'd never considered this. So just pull out the current heating element and replace?

Nono, it's a portable element, like an old school hot plate, but induction.

I can plug it in anywhere.

I have a 7' stainless steel kitchen work table where I like to prep and cook, so having the portable element is very convenient.

I've been thinking about this, and I think I'm going to go for it and see how much I do (or don't) like it.

Question: I frequently cook in a large (16 - 18 inch) skillet -- presumably using a single burner induction unit I'm limited to pots that are about the size of the burner? Yes?

My portable burner is the same size as a normal large burner, it works for any size pot that I've ever used.

[AccidentialMustache]

So we have the "rear control panel" version of that stove, for about a year. We previously had a $3k+ GE induction stove, rear control panel type, for months over 10 years.

You get what you pay for. The metal is clearly flimsier with the new one. The controls are not as good (the GE controls were full-width, so you could reach beside the stove and control power, rather than reaching over potentially hot pans). The GE had more power output.

When we replace this one (the GE *pop* *boom* died and the first part to try and see if it fixes it was $750 by itself, not including labor or the possibility it was a different part)... well I hope to do it in a custom designed home so I can separate induction cooktop and wall mount oven, but I'll buy the $3k+ variety, not the $1200 version. We cook a fair bit, so it'll be worth it to us.

I do find that some pans don't do great heating evenly over a burner. Others do. Depends on the pot more than the stove? All our pots are (according to the manufacturer) good on induction.

[AccidentialMustache]

Oh and the timer beep is really LOUD AND ANNOYING. The GE beeper was less shrill. The GE also had cute stuff where when the beeper goes off, interacting with any power controls turned it off. So beeper goes off and you turn up or down a burner? Beeper auto-off.

[uniwelder]

So we have the "rear control panel" version of that stove, for about a year. We previously had a $3k+ GE induction stove, rear control panel type, for months over 10 years.

Do you do much baking with it? It has no bottom heating element and I’ve been skeptical of ovens like that. We had a Samsung that was set up the same way and it was horrible. Cakes burned on one side and were uncooked on the other. Do you find it to heat evenly?

[geekette]

I don’t have that one, but a different “no bottom element” oven. I have had no problems with uneven baking. For a while there I was baking four half sheet pans of crackers at a time, with excellent results (3 racks and one on the bottom).

There’s one oddity - at 375 and above, the flash broiler comes on for a second right at the end of each heating cycle. Nothing in the manual about it, but the tech said it was normal. Maybe that helps keep the heat even all around (but I don’t bake my chocolate chip cookies near the top!)

[AccidentialMustache]

Do you do much baking with it? It has no bottom heating element and I’ve been skeptical of ovens like that. We had a Samsung that was set up the same way and it was horrible. Cakes burned on one side and were uncooked on the other. Do you find it to heat evenly?

For the baking I do, I haven't had issues? I make a crepe-like pancake in the oven (~25 min bake time at 400). It sometimes gets crispy on one side if it doesn't do a nice even puffing up (more to do with the pour and grace of transfer into the oven, I think?) but I don't think I can blame the oven for that.

My other common bake is banana bread, which is ... forgiving. I make mine heavy on the banana and the new one is faster than the old GE. GE used to be "45-1h" recipe = 1h30m regularly. A 2 hr bake wasn't unheard of if I had "a bit much" on the banana end of things. This one is sometimes done in the "on time" window, sometimes a bit after and I don't think I've particularly changed my "eh use the 3 massivly oversized bananas they're all over ripe and need to go but its too little to double the batch it'll be fine" habits.

I'm not a bread or cake baker though. We'll occasionally roast a turkey, bake pizza (and it is pretty good at frozen naan turned into pizza!) or bake a casserole and I don't have any particular complaints.

[uniwelder]

Do you do much baking with it? It has no bottom heating element and I’ve been skeptical of ovens like that. We had a Samsung that was set up the same way and it was horrible. Cakes burned on one side and were uncooked on the other. Do you find it to heat evenly?

For the baking I do, I haven't had issues? I make a crepe-like pancake in the oven (~25 min bake time at 400). It sometimes gets crispy on one side if it doesn't do a nice even puffing up (more to do with the pour and grace of transfer into the oven, I think?) but I don't think I can blame the oven for that.

My other common bake is banana bread, which is ... forgiving. I make mine heavy on the banana and the new one is faster than the old GE. GE used to be "45-1h" recipe = 1h30m regularly. A 2 hr bake wasn't unheard of if I had "a bit much" on the banana end of things. This one is sometimes done in the "on time" window, sometimes a bit after and I don't think I've particularly changed my "eh use the 3 massivly oversized bananas they're all over ripe and need to go but its too little to double the batch it'll be fine" habits.

I'm not a bread or cake baker though. We'll occasionally roast a turkey, bake pizza (and it is pretty good at frozen naan turned into pizza!) or bake a casserole and I don't have any particular complaints.

Good to hear. Consumer Reports gave it a good rating for baking, but I read some online reviews that said it was horrible. It’s nice to get confirmation from someone.

[Cranky]

My (adult) kids spent a month in Europe this summer and came back hating induction stoves with a passion.

I always loved cooking on a gas stove, but we've got a flat top electric stove here, and it's really just as good. Water boils very quickly.

Why?

I also always had a strong preference for gas over electric, but induction has won me over.

They said they were "inconsistent". They stayed in  series of AirBnb's, so maybe they weren't great stoves, or maybe they just didn't have time to get used to it..

[AccidentialMustache]

My assumption on "inconsistent" would be a set of beater pots with the nice owner stuff packed away. A good general rule is if a magnet doesn't stick firmly to the pot, it is going to be no fun to cook with on induction -- if you can cook with it at all.

[Sanitary Stache]

We have the stand alone version. So controls in the back. We have had it for two weeks or so. The plan was to get this low priced stove to replace expensive and unhealthy propane right away. Then to save up over 6 months or a year or as long as we could stand it to buy the much more expensive Bertazzoni.  Then we would swap the 30” stove into our in-law apartment to replace an electric stove.

My mother is in the in-law apartment and, when she saw the stove we were going to put in her place, she immediately offered us the cash to buy the expensive stove so she could switch to the larger oven and glass top. We took the money and ordered the expensive stove.

The Frigidaire has been fine. Only minor complaints that don’t outweigh the bit burning propane benefit. The cost of propane was high, over $140 a month, so the savings feels significant.

Less than ideal aspects of the Frigidaire are that the buttons aren’t super responsive and give one the sense that they aren’t going to work at any moment. We didn’t realize there is no bottom element, but that make sense because we quickly learned not to our cookies anywhere near the top and it takes a longish time for the pizza stone and Emile Henry bread pan crock thing to heat up. And the pizza crust is less crispy. No bottom element seems like a trick to me. Bake is bottom broil is top, I thought.

The induction part though is good and replacing some old pots and pans is still worth not burning the propane. I suppose I am now expect the more expensive range to have a better oven. I still don’t know enough about the actual induction elements to suspect if the stove top will behave any differently with the new stove.

I pick it up next week, so if you are waiting I’ll report back in two weeks with impressions on the expensive model. 

[uniwelder]

I pick it up next week, so if you are waiting I’ll report back in two weeks with impressions on the expensive model.

Thanks for sharing the info on your current Frigidaire induction. I’m curious to know what you think of the new stove, as well as your mother’s thoughts on this one.

[RWD]

I wanted an induction stove until my step mother told me I could buy an induction element for $60.

90% of the time I only use one element, so it's perfect.

I knew about this but your comment made me finally pull the trigger and buy one.

[Metalcat]

I wanted an induction stove until my step mother told me I could buy an induction element for $60.

90% of the time I only use one element, so it's perfect.

I knew about this but your comment made me finally pull the trigger and buy one.

Awesome! Enjoy the new flexibility to cook wherever you want.

[uniwelder]

OP here to address some questions and comments…

…3) I talked with a sales guy at Home Depot today.  The sale is until October 14th or when they run out of units.  He looked up how many are in stock, and there are 364 in the sales region, which is a ridiculously high number in his opinion.  He doesn't know of anyone that has bought an induction stove from the store and didn't know much about them himself.  He thinks its a supply chain issue that there are so many available and the reason for the sale.  They must have been backordered and everything came in at once.

4) We've been discussing whether to buy or not, and can't make up our minds.  Its nice to know there are so many of them available.  I might just check back in at the store and keep track as inventory goes down.

The sale at Lowe’s continues to be extended, week by week. I talked to a sales person there as well, and there are currently 110 units available across 8-9 stores in the region. He hasn’t known anyone who has purchased one yet, so it makes me think the stock might stick around until something is known about the rebate/incentive program.

[Scandium]

As our oven is acting weird I've started looking at these. If I'm buying new I'd only get induction and convection, anything else seems pointless. (if it's "too nice" and we move soon I suppose I'd take it with me, buy a cheaper one for this house if I need to). Personally I only look at Asian brands, no US junk (frigidair, GE, kenmore etc). I'm skeptical of the quality of the 1200 frigidair one..? Though to be fair almost all of the ones I've played with at the store feel flimsy; paper thin metal, wobbly plastic knobs, inconsistent tolerances. Just junk all around

Indeed there are constant sales. A nice looking LG one $2500
https://www.lowes.com/pd/LG-ProBake-Smart-Wi-Fi-Enabled-5-Elements-Self-Cleaning-Single-Fan-Slide-In-Induction-Range-Stainless-Steel-Common-30-in-Actual-30-in/1000494527
edit; screw lowes! Same one on LG or BB for $2100!!
https://www.lg.com/us/cooking-appliances/lg-LSE4616ST-electric-range
decent Samsung, $1700
https://www.lowes.com/pd/Samsung/5013352987

I'm having a hard time seeing what the different between them are, to justify the cost difference. Apart from "wifi", "apps" and other nonsense?

[Sanitary Stache]

I now have limited experience with the $1,200 Frigidaire and a $6,000 Bertazzoni.

I didn't notice any difference in the actual functioning of the induction elements.  I don't recall if the Frigidaire had a bridge element, but we haven't found a function for the bridge yet on the Bertazzoni.  This may have been due to the 30" (Frigidaire) versus the 36" (Bertazzoni).  They both had power boil features, but the Bertazzoni also has an "accelerate" feature, which provides a power function (full watts) for a period of time relative to the number setting selected.  Though what that period of time is must have to be learned through use since the fancy user's manual doesn't say.
The only note worthy difference on the stove top between these two are the controls.  The Frigidaire had some questionable touch buttons with no haptics that made me feel like my 3 year old learning how to use a touch screen.  Touch, touch, touch, with no effect.  The Bertazzoni has slick knobs that turn and push and just function.  I am reminded here of @Malcat 's recent commentary on how luxury items cost 6 times as much and are only twice as nice. 
I'll also note that the user's manual for the Bertazzoni was so nice I actually read it, while I can't recall if the Frigedaire even came with a manual.

The main difference is in the oven.  The Bertazzoni has 6 heating elements I think. 4 at least and located all around the oven box.  The Frigidaire has one and located on the top, which strikes me as a trick - the exact opposite of intuitive.

The Bertazzoni looks a lot nicer.  The only complaint so far is that the oven doesn't fit a full size sheet pan (or two half size pans next to each other).

   

[affordablehousing]

I am a die hard gas fan, and will be lighting up dino fossils til they shut the pipelines off. If you aren't that big a fan of natural gas cooking where you see the fire, get an induction one. I think the stress over a sale or a particular price is clouding the issue. My neighbor who has one loves it.