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Toasters

the simplest machine here, sold by its settings

A toaster is the least complicated machine in this catalog, and it is sold almost entirely on the length of its browning scale. The listings use three different phrasings for that scale. One listing states a wattage and nothing else does, so the one hard figure in the category has nothing to be compared against.

The machine underneath: An element in a slot

Two-slice 5

Every listing in this subgroup states the same slice count, so slice count cannot separate them. The setting phrase and the presence of a measurement can.

What differs inside Two-slice
ListingSettingsWattsModel code
Amazon Basics 2 Slice Toaster, Black and Silver6 browning settings900not stated
Cuisinart CPT-122BK Compact 2-Slice Toaster, Black7 shade settingsnot statedCPT-122BK
Elite Gourmet ECT1027B 2-Slice Cool-Touch Toaster, Black6 shade settingsnot statedECT1027B
BLACK+DECKER T2569B 2-Slice Toaster with Extra-Wide Slots6 shade settingsnot statedT2569B
bella Fits-Anywhere 2-Slice Slim Toaster, Long Slot, Oatmilknot statednot statednot stated

  • Only toaster stating watts

    Amazon Basics 2 Slice Toaster, Black and Silver, product image supplied with the listing

    Amazon Basics 2 Slice Toaster, Black and Silver

    The listing states two slices, extra wide slots, a browning scale, a removable crumb tray, defrost, cancel and bagel buttons, cord wrap and a wattage. It is the only toaster in this category whose listing states a wattage at all, which makes the figure impossible to compare against its neighbors.

    Settings
    6 browning settings
    Capacity
    2 slices
    Watts
    900
    Not stated
    5 of the counted fields

    What the listing gives you

    • The only listing in this category that states a wattage
    • The browning scale is counted rather than described as high or low
    • Named buttons are listed separately from the browning scale
    • Slice count and slot description are both given

    What it leaves out

    • The stated wattage has nothing to sit beside, because no other toaster here states one
    • The listing calls its scale browning settings while others call the same thing shades
    • Nothing in the listing says what one browning setting is

    Best for
    Watching a number arrive with no second example to compare it to.

    Badge basis
    This wattage figure appears once in this category, and no other listing filed here states a wattage of any size.

    Quoted from the listing
    listing states two slices, extra wide slots for bagels, 6 browning settings, a removable crumb tray, defrost, cancel and bagel buttons, cord wrap and 900W

    Check the listing

  • Shade scale on a compact body

    Cuisinart CPT-122BK Compact 2-Slice Toaster, Black, product image supplied with the listing

    Cuisinart CPT-122BK Compact 2-Slice Toaster, Black

    Two slices and a shade scale a step longer than most of this category, plus defrost, reheat and cancel. The listing calls its scale shade settings. Another listing here uses the same phrase and the same number on a machine that takes twice as many slices.

    Settings
    7 shade settings
    Capacity
    2 slices
    Model code
    CPT-122BK
    Not stated
    5 of the counted fields

    What the listing gives you

    • The shade scale is stated as a count rather than a range of words
    • Three named functions sit outside the shade scale, so the two are not mixed
    • The model code is printed in the listing title
    • Slice count is stated plainly

    What it leaves out

    • The listing does not say what separates one shade from the next
    • Nothing says whether its shade scale spans the same range as a shorter one
    • No wattage is stated

    Best for
    A shade scale stated as a count, on the smallest body in this category.

    Badge basis
    The listing states a shade count and calls the body compact, and it is the only two-slice listing here to state both.

    Quoted from the listing
    listing states two slices, 7 shade settings, defrost, reheat and cancel functions, a removable crumb tray and a compact body

    Check the listing

  • Slot width given in inches

    Elite Gourmet ECT1027B 2-Slice Cool-Touch Toaster, Black, product image supplied with the listing

    Elite Gourmet ECT1027B 2-Slice Cool-Touch Toaster, Black

    The only listing in this category that gives a slot width in inches instead of calling the slots extra-wide and leaving it there. It also states a shade count, a cool touch claim, cancel and a bagel setting. A measured slot is a rare thing on these boxes.

    Settings
    6 shade settings
    Capacity
    2 slices
    Model code
    ECT1027B
    Not stated
    5 of the counted fields

    What the listing gives you

    • Slot width is given as a measurement rather than an adjective
    • The shade scale is stated as a count
    • Cancel and bagel are named separately from the shade scale
    • The model code appears in the listing title

    What it leaves out

    • The cool touch phrase is a seller claim with no figure attached
    • The shade figure is shared with other listings that phrase it differently
    • No wattage is stated

    Best for
    The one slot in this category with an actual measurement on it.

    Badge basis
    This is the only listing in this category whose text puts a measurement on the slot rather than calling it extra-wide.

    Quoted from the listing
    listing states two slices, 1.25 inch extra-wide slots, 6 shade settings, cool touch, cancel and a bagel setting

    Check the listing

  • Shades and a tray, nothing else

    BLACK+DECKER T2569B 2-Slice Toaster with Extra-Wide Slots, product image supplied with the listing

    BLACK+DECKER T2569B 2-Slice Toaster with Extra-Wide Slots

    The shortest listing in this category. Two slices, extra-wide slots, a shade count and a crumb tray, and nothing else. No named buttons, no wattage, no slot measurement. The whole claim fits in a line.

    Settings
    6 shade settings
    Capacity
    2 slices
    Model code
    T2569B
    Not stated
    5 of the counted fields

    What the listing gives you

    • The claim is short enough to check in one reading
    • The shade scale is stated as a count
    • Slot width is described in the same words the rest of the category uses
    • The model code appears in the listing title

    What it leaves out

    • No named functions at all, so the shade count carries the whole listing
    • The shade figure is identical to several others under different names
    • No wattage and no measurement of any kind

    Best for
    The plainest listing here, and a good baseline for the rest.

    Badge basis
    It is the only listing in this category that names no button or function beside its shade count.

    Quoted from the listing
    listing states two slices, extra-wide slots, 6 shade settings and a removable crumb tray

    Check the listing

  • Settings not counted at all

    bella Fits-Anywhere 2-Slice Slim Toaster, Long Slot, Oatmilk, product image supplied with the listing

    bella Fits-Anywhere 2-Slice Slim Toaster, Long Slot, Oatmilk

    The only toaster here whose listing counts nothing but slices. A long slot, extra wide slots, a crumb tray and a slim body, all described in words. Where every neighbor prints a shade figure, this one prints an adjective.

    Capacity
    2 slices
    Not stated
    7 of the counted fields

    What the listing gives you

    • The listing makes no counted claim it cannot back with a name
    • Slot shape is described in two ways, long and extra wide
    • The body is described plainly as slim
    • Slice count is stated, so the one figure present is a real one

    What it leaves out

    • No setting count at all, so it cannot be lined up against the rest of the category
    • Long and extra wide are adjectives, not measurements
    • No wattage and no named buttons

    Best for
    The listing that opts out of the counting entirely.

    Badge basis
    It is the only listing in this category that states no setting count, and the absence is unique here.

    Quoted from the listing
    listing states two slices, a long slot, extra wide slots, a removable crumb tray and a slim body

    Check the listing

Four-slice 3

Doubling the slots did not lengthen the shade scale. One of these states the same shade figure as a two-slice machine in the subgroup above.

What differs inside Four-slice
ListingSettingsModel code
BLACK+DECKER TR1478BD 4-Slice Toaster, Stainless Steel7 shade settingsTR1478BD
Cuisinart CPT-180P1 4-Slice Toaster, Stainless Steel6-setting browning dialsCPT-180P1
Elite Gourmet ECT-3100 4-Slice Long Slot Toaster, Stainless Steel6 browning settingsECT-3100

  • Shades and a bagel mode

    BLACK+DECKER TR1478BD 4-Slice Toaster, Stainless Steel, product image supplied with the listing

    BLACK+DECKER TR1478BD 4-Slice Toaster, Stainless Steel

    Four slices, extra-wide slots, a bagel mode and a shade scale stated with the same phrase and the same figure as a two-slice machine elsewhere in this category. Doubling the slots did not change the count of shades, which is worth noticing before treating a shade figure as a size.

    Settings
    7 shade settings
    Capacity
    4 slices
    Model code
    TR1478BD
    Not stated
    5 of the counted fields

    What the listing gives you

    • Shade scale and slice count are stated as separate figures
    • The bagel mode is named rather than absorbed into the shade scale
    • The model code appears in the listing title
    • Slot width is described in the listing text

    What it leaves out

    • Its shade figure is identical to a machine of half the slice count
    • The listing gives no definition of a shade step
    • No wattage is stated, so nothing scales with the extra slots

    Best for
    The clearest proof that a shade count is not a capacity.

    Badge basis
    The listing states a shade count and names a bagel mode, and it is the only four-slice listing here that states both.

    Quoted from the listing
    listing states four slices, extra-wide slots, 7 shade settings, a bagel mode and a removable crumb tray

    Check the listing

  • Shades counted as dials

    Cuisinart CPT-180P1 4-Slice Toaster, Stainless Steel, product image supplied with the listing

    Cuisinart CPT-180P1 4-Slice Toaster, Stainless Steel

    Four slices and a browning scale stated as dials rather than settings or shades. The figure is the same one three other listings in this category use, under three different names. This is the only listing here that attaches the count to a physical control.

    Settings
    6-setting browning dials
    Capacity
    4 slices
    Model code
    CPT-180P1
    Not stated
    5 of the counted fields

    What the listing gives you

    • The count is attached to a named control rather than left abstract
    • Defrost and reheat are listed separately from the browning scale
    • The crumb tray is described as slide-out, not just removable
    • The model code appears in the listing title

    What it leaves out

    • Its phrasing matches no other listing here, so string comparison fails on it
    • A dial position and a shade setting are not stated to be the same thing
    • No wattage is stated

    Best for
    Seeing one figure arrive under a fourth name in the same category.

    Badge basis
    This phrasing of the setting count appears once in the whole catalog, and no other listing attaches the count to a dial.

    Quoted from the listing
    listing states four slices, extra-wide slots, defrost and reheat functions, 6-setting browning dials and a slide-out crumb tray

    Check the listing

  • Long slots, browning counted

    Elite Gourmet ECT-3100 4-Slice Long Slot Toaster, Stainless Steel, product image supplied with the listing

    Elite Gourmet ECT-3100 4-Slice Long Slot Toaster, Stainless Steel

    Four slices in long slots, with a browning scale stated as a count and three named functions. The phrase it uses for its scale matches one two-slice listing here exactly, which is the sort of coincidence that makes a count look like a spec.

    Settings
    6 browning settings
    Capacity
    4 slices
    Model code
    ECT-3100
    Not stated
    5 of the counted fields

    What the listing gives you

    • The browning scale is stated as a count
    • Reheat, defrost and cancel are named individually
    • Long slots are described in the listing rather than implied by the slice figure
    • The model code appears in the listing title

    What it leaves out

    • Its scale phrasing is shared with a machine of a different slice count
    • Nothing states how long a long slot is
    • No wattage is stated

    Best for
    A long-slot four whose numbers all belong to the controls, not the slots.

    Badge basis
    The listing describes long slots and states a browning count, and it is the only listing here to describe the slots as long.

    Quoted from the listing
    listing states four slices, long extra-wide slots, 6 browning settings, reheat, defrost and cancel

    Check the listing

Questions with plain answers

Is a longer shade scale a better toaster?

This site has no way to know and does not claim to. A shade count says how many positions a control has. It does not say what any position does, and no listing here defines a step.

Why do the listings use different words for the same control?

Shade settings, browning settings and browning dials all appear in this category, attached to figures that are sometimes identical. Nothing in the listings says whether the words mean different things.

Only one toaster states a wattage. Does that make it more powerful?

There is nothing to compare it with. Seven listings here state no wattage at all, so the figure sits alone. This site does not convert wattage into anything.

Which of these listings makes the fewest counted claims?

One listing states no setting count at all and describes its slots with adjectives instead. It is marked on the card below with the basis for the badge.