Even though coffee take-out beverages command top dollar, and most consumers drink those prices down without blinking, it is still a challenge for retailers to convince those same shoppers to buy a high-end coffee or espresso maker for their homes.

Someone who is willing to pay a daily $5 for a ridiculously named coffee drink may not realize that for the annual cost of that habit, they could have a top-end machine, said Art Nading, president of The Extra Ingredient, in Greenboro, North Carolina.

Nading says when he learns of a customer’s serious take-out coffee habit it helps him make the sale. “I point out how much they are spending at coffee shops over the year,” he says.

Coffee is also playing a larger part in how Americans entertain. According to Mary Rodgers, Director of Marketing Communications for Cuisinart, consumers want coffee and espresso makers to be stylish and convenient, and to make enough coffee for a crowd. "Our market research reveals that consumers are looking for a multifaceted coffee maker with increased capacity," says Rodgers.

Maryann Samsa, housewares buyer for Portland, Oregon’s Kitchen Kaboodle says that the more convenient super automatic coffee and espresso machines often win over customers who have been frustrated by basic pump espresso machines. “The super automated ones take the guesswork out of making espresso which consumers find less frustrating,” she says.

However the trick to selling the high-end machines is constant training of store staff, Samsa says, noting that that is prep work not just for a sale: most customers call the retailer for support once they get the machines home as well, and like many retailers of these high-end machines, her staff will make house calls. That’s the sort of service manufacturers as well as customers, appreciate. ”Some of these retailers go above and beyond in terms of service and when they do that they really shine in term of sales,” said David Shull, national sales manager for Capresso, which stocks many models of high-end machines.

Art Nading, The Extra Ingredient, Greensboro, North Carolina; one store; store size: 3,500 square feet

Gourmet 365: You do a brisk business in the highest-end coffee and espresso machines. In fact you prefer those machines to cheaper models. Why?
AN: I would have to sell a bunch of coffee makers to meet the profit margin of one higher-end espresso machine. In the end it comes down to a numbers game.

Gourmet 365: What prices are we talking about here?
AN: They start at $1,000 and top off at $3,200. I love selling products that require knowledge and salesmanship because I know the big-box stores can’t touch them.

Gourmet 365: At this kind of price level what sort of support are you looking for from vendors?
AN: I need to have people at the manufacturer’s home base that I can call to help me out: that really makes a difference. I need that kind of help to give the high-end service I need to stand out in my marketplace. I also need a good manufacturer’s rep; I need people to answer my calls; I need the whole thing. They know I'm hustling to sell the machines and that we do sell a lot of them.

Gourmet 365: How do you merchandise the higher-end machines?:
AN: I keep at least four or five plugged in and ready to go at all times. I’m drinking espresso as I speak to you. And I use these machines at home. From my viewpoint, you’ve got to be a part of the lifestyle to sell the machine: it makes it more convincing for the buyer.

Gourmet 365: So how far does your service go?
AN: I sold a high-end machine to a retired doctor. A year later he had a small problem and called me, rather than the 800-number. I went to his house and intervened with the help line and helped him get the problem fixed. Now he’s happy. The upshot of that was the word spread around this area that I’m not going to send you to an 800-number, and say “Too bad.”