I've had a $9.99 Continental from $ General for about 5 years. It does not have auto shut-off, gets and stays hot and makes great steam. I bought it about 9pm one Sat. night after my old one died and I did not want to drive 15 miles to get a new iron. I thought I'd be replacing it when I could get somewhere to get a better one. It has worked great for me--and the price couldn't be beat!