My sister got her vitamix at costco and raves about it for green smoothies, etc. My mom got the same one at costco.com and had it delivered last fall. It came with the extra, smaller dry blade container, some cookbooks & a dvd.
I use a ninja master for smoothies which is very cheap and, yes, you do get what you pay for. I have to add a lot of liquid like water, soy milk, or fruit juice into my smoothies to get frozen fruit and powders to blend properly. And it leaves behind pomegranate and cherry seeds and sometimes chunks of frozen fruit which is annoying. The ninja master is excellent for making ice chips though.
I'm of course not comparing a ninja master to a vitamix in any way, shape or form. The vitamix is clearly a superior animal and more versatile, but it also costs about $450 more, which is outside of my budget.