Lincoln Popcorn Machine - 8oz Popper with Stainless-Steel Kettle, Reject Kernel Tray, Warming Light and Accessories by Great Northern Popcorn (Black)

DEC. 21, 2024, UPDATE TO STATUSThere appears to have been a problem with their email responses reaching me. I did finally receive a reply today and it had the other previous responses linked to it.I have not had problems with ANY of my emails and did not realize that there was a problem in reaching Great Norther Popcorn to discuss possible fixes.Anyway, after the support person suggested that I could try to fix the problem (described below) to get the old maids drawer to insert. I was afraid that if I did that, I wouldn't be able to send it back if I couldn't fix it. But I did try to fix and got the old maids drawer to insert easily. It wasn't easy but it was easier than trying to send it back.Now I can make popcorn for xmas. Yea And I don't have to send it back which would be a pain.The one odd thing was that the company didn't have a phone number, which was rather odd in itself. But everything worked out at the end. Wish I could have avoided all the stress but happy with the product overall.REVIEW PRIOR TO DEC 21, 2024: I sent my first Great Northern popper back because the door would not meet the magnetic to stay closed AND Great Northern support request did not respond to repeated calls and their request forms submitted multiple times.Never the less, Amazon did give me full refund on the first popper. So I figured that it can't happen twice and ordered this Lincoln Popcorn Popper Machine while the first made it way back to Amazon.The new one arrived in slightly damaged box but looked fine.It set up easily and was looking really good. I cleaned everything as described. The LAST THING was inserting the old maid drawer. IT DIDN'T FIT. When it arrived, the drawer was not inserted in the slot, but in a different box with popper.Upon examination, the inside of the drawer bottom opening was slightly bowed upward and each side was slightly bowed towards the inside, preventing the drawer to be inserted.This is the second popper, different type - actually bigger than the first - and both had problems. The first popper had to be returned because the vendor would not respond to multiple requests for assistance on the first popper. I have already submitted a popper support request from a site that was linked from the Amazon support help page. I also had managed to find a SUPPORT email address to The Great Northern Popcorn company and fired a request via that email address. Never received a response from the Support email and that email address is 'GONE' from their website page where I found it. I am pretty sure that email was received since the email address is now gone and because it didn't return with the error message that no such address.The machine is really nice. This was a personal Xmas present to my husband and myself because we really like good popcorn and looking forward to having popcorn during the holiday season. Now if Great Northern does not respond with help on how to fix this problem, I will have to send it back to Amazon. This item is bulky and very difficult for us to unpack and return. I don't look forward to doing that at all. The first one wasn't as big as this one and it was a bear to return. I'll have to have Amazon pick it up from my home if possible. Amazon has been great, but I honestly don't understand what the problem is with Great Northern Popcorn machine company and why they don't respond. On their website is a statement about 'hassle free returns" if we are not happy with one of these. I don't want to return. I want one that goes together and functions and worked as intended. I don't need another paperweight no matter how nice it is.First popper that I ended up returning, I reviewed and gave it 4 stars because it did look really nice and should have worked, but was returned for lack of support.The second popper returned only gets 3 stars because it still look nice but this is the second time something has happened and not holding my breath that Great Northern will respond with support, which should be the valid response. I was originally angry but now just tired of dealing with the repeat issue.

This popcorn machine is awesome!! I ordered it last week on I believe Thursday morning and with Prime it arrived early Friday afternoon. I wanted the stand also, but that would have delayed delivery until after the weekend and I wanted it for a last minute 10 year old birthday party we planned for Saturday evening. I chose this particular machine because I could go back at a later date and order the stand, which seems to not be the case with the other models. If you don't get the stand at the initial order then you're out of luck. Also, I wanted a black, 8oz machine and this fit the bill. Anyhoo, my package was packed very well. There were no dents, scratches, cracks or dings in the metal or the glass. I would advise to tip the box slightly over and open it from the bottom and slide the box off the machine. That seemed to work nicely to remove it from the box due to the large Styrofoam pieces. Setup was quick and easy, the doors slid right into place as well as the tray that catches unpopped seeds. The light bulb was installed already and not broken. I think this is considered a large machine, but it isn't near as big as I thought it would be, which is good. It fits nicely on a table I have in my kitchen. It will not slide under upper cabinets. It came with a manual, a large scoop, two measuring spoons for oil, a kernel scoop as well as popcorn bags(50) and popcorn containers( I thought 4, but I can only find 3, maybe a party guest managed to take one?). The paint did not rub off or wash off the containers like some reviewers experienced (I hand washed them) and are a good size larger than the popcorn containers you can pick up at the dollar store (the one on the left). The bags are huge and hold a lot of popped corn. After popping an 8oz pre-measured popcorn/oil (not included, but pictured)pack, 8 ounces of corn could have easily filled only about 6 of those bags, so to stretch one batch for ten 10 year olds, the bags were filled about 2/3 and I immediately made a new batch because I knew they'd be back for more. It heats up pretty fast, so if you use the pre-measured packs(not included, but pictured) I would cut the kernels and the oil apart and have the oil open and ready to pour/squeeze in as soon as those smoke ribbons appear, which with my machine did not take 4 mins. It was maybe a little over a minute. I suggested you cut the package apart because the kettle opening when installed and ready to use is quite tight (and really hot) and trying to put in the oil mix with the kernels hanging off the side can get a bit awkward. The kids enjoyed watching the kettle overflow with popcorn like at the movies within 2-3 mins after the kernels were added. I did notice that leaving the warmer bulb on to keep the popcorn nice and hot did result in a few burnt spots on some of the popcorn at the bottom, not a huge deal and it didn't smell, but my 4 year old refused to eat the ones with tiny burn marks on them. I guess to remedy this, one would need to stir the popped corn from time to time. Cleanup wasn't too bad. I ended up making about 4-5 batches that day before cleaning it the first time and I just used a damp paper towel and wiped it out. I was concerned that it wouldn't be good enough due to the oil and butter flavoring, but the only thing that's still on the machine after that day are fingerprints on the outside of the glass that I've not worried about. Overall, this was a great buy and we plan on using it often, probably every weekend as my kiddos love popcorn and I refuse to purchase microwave popcorn.