I have been through thermometer hell myself :)
My son had a febrile seizure when he was 15 months, so even though they mean the body is fighting intruders... fevers scare me! I bought the Braun (for the ear) & it works quite well (tip from a nurse- pull down a bit on the child's earlobe) when inserting it! My husband still can't do it as well, so it does take some practice.
We were recently on vacation in New England & he had a fever- I forgot my Braun & when I went to CVS it was $60+- I regretfully took the cheap route & bought a namebrand one that did not work well at all (same 97-100 as you), so I returned it the next day. Then I bought the temporal one (not expensive, but not the cheapest)... again it gave a huge range between readings within minutes. His fever was gone so I relaxed... it came back & I bought the under the arm one & it was better than the last 2 but still not as good as the Braun.
You do NOT need to spend $60- look around at different pharmacies & maybe $49. It is WELL worth the $$