Quoted from Spraynard:

My first time using an escalera was with a loaner to determine if I wanted to purchase, and it was an absolute disaster. The thing about these things is that when they are lifting the machine, the weight distribution changes drastically. It wants to roll the machine forward and you have to pull back on it to keep it balanced. I was about 5 stairs up, and I'm pulling back, and my feet start slipping (wood stairs). I'm basically just sliding forward on the step with no leverage at all. Eventually I had to just let go. The machine flipped forward, hit a stair or two, then skidded to a stop on the bottom landing.
I was surprised by how little damage actually resulted. A small chunk of wood out of my stairs, and a broken plunger housing and thats it. Could have been a lot worse. Glad I didn't have my girlfriend or friend under there...
Needless to say, I decided not to purchase. I successfully got the game up the stairs with it, but that thing just terrified me. Apart from the accident, my biggest fear was that the battery would die halfway up the stairs. God help you if that happens, because those things weight a ton. Maybe I'd feel better if there was a battery backup.
Nowadays, I just hire a helper using TaskRabbit. They are usually something like $30-$40/hr. I figure I'd have to move about 20 machines before the escalera was worth it. I move a game up my stairs maybe 3-4 times per year, so it wasn't really worth it to me.

Quoted from maestro:

This was my answer.