Roberta,
I have the Foodsaver. I too am not too happy with the prices on the rolls.
I have found it a little cheaper to go to Wally World and get the Black and Decker Rolls. They work just as well as the Foodsaver Brand of bags.
The two roll box of Black and Decker is about $2.00 a roll cheaper than the Foodsaver brand. Shhhhhhh don't tell anybody or B& D will raise their prices.
Also, I love the Foodsaver. I have a Professional II and probably paid too much for it. But it definitely keeps fish much better and for longer than zip lock bags. I have had fish keep for up to two years and they taste almost as fresh as the day they were caught.
I do have several problems with the Tilia Foodsaver as far as construction:
1. The hinges are plastic and have broken...still works, just a pita
2. The black foam looking liner is a pita to keep in the thing.
3. The handler for the slicer is plastic and broken.
4. I wish it had a shutoff button that would cause the thing to stop as soon as it is pushed.
I like it, but for the money, I would think that its construction would be a little better. I also wish that Tilia was not gouge pricing the bag rolls.
I wish I could find a commercial type of food vacuum that did not cost an arm and a leg.