Buying far away.....

[Phil]

What motivates people to buy their spa, car or any major ticket item from far away?  I mean, you have a local dealership, but you choose to travel 2 or 3 hours to get it "cheaper"?  In reality, it is not cheaper.  The price is probably the same, you have invested time and gas in traveling, but still some people think products are always cheaper from the "big city"!

I am interested in "Spahappys" response inparticular.  Do you ever hear of people who "got it in Fargo"??

I know my market, my competition etc. I know what the "big city" dealers are selling their product for.  Heck, I talk to other owners weekly.  

I just think it kills some people to spend their money locally in fear of "padding the pockets" of a person that might live down the road.

I know of one guy, who I went to school with 15 years ago, that bought a spa from 2 hours away and never ever even shopped me.  We say hi when we see each other,

Maybe I should check out a psychology forum

[Mike134]

For one reason checkout my post yesterday about dealers...Also far away can be worth it when your talking 1500.00 or so... I do agree with you when prices are competive.then it's back to dealer attitude etc..when choosing who to buy from.  

[spahappy]

It happens up here thats for sure. But we're well represented within 100 miles by two Sundance dealers a coast dealer, a hotsprings dealer, a Phoenix dealer,a Calspa dealer, and now our two stores have Coleman and Jacuzzi.

Everyone complains the people from my town go to Bismarck to shop, the people Bismarck go to Fargo, the people in fargo go to the cities to shop.

I have a friend that built a new house and they went 300 miles away to Billings beacause Mt. has no sales tax, and bought their gas  fireplace. I've sold fireplaces for 10 years and we install and service them right here. Anyway they couldn't put it where they thought due to code violations, couldn't figure the venting out, couldn't find a right size surrounds, and couldn't get the Billings store to call them back. They sold it for a fraction of what they paid for it at a garage sale.

We're still friends because I help my tounge the whole time this was going on. Even tried to help but it was an off brand and I had no way of getting the proper parts.

They're building anouther house this spring and she assures me I'll get the fireplace and spa in this house

What bothers me beyond words is the Phoenix dealer from Minot came to town the weekend after Thanksgiving and rented a space at our local mall. He advertized like a mad man and was able to sell 9 spas in our littles corner of the world. Thats a lot of buyers taken out of the market.

He used high pressure, very shady, used car salesman like tactics. Well after the dust settled and the service issues started they realized he offered little or no support for his cheap tubs. Our local Sundance dealer, about throws these people out her door when they turn to her. Sooo guess who they turn too, me!

Like the fireplace story, I've help my tongue, and tried to be helpful. I get to here all the shady, lowlife things this dealer does and when we solve some of their issue's we gain the respect and trust of the people who bought from the out of town fly by night dealer.

What this amounts to over time is, we're the place they tell their friends and family to shop.

Interesting statistic if a person is unhappy with a produst or company they will tell an average of 14 people. Is they are happy with a produst or company they'll tell 4 people. I strive to be the latter catagory.


Spahappy

[Phil]

I wonder why Craig and Jason would have to travel so far to sell 9 spas?  Their market is probably saturated!

In my part of the world everyone travels south to buy.  It is usually 1-2 hours south of where a person lives.   All types of dealerships always advertise north!

My main competitor, the RV dealers, all run shows north.  They come from 1-2 hours south of me, and hold weekend events!

Anyways, I am just frustrated to hear that a local would buy from hours away and not check with us first, again I know the price was the same, if not better from us.  For sure the service is faster and better from us......

[luvmytub]

I have no choice but to buy two hours away....

[spahappy]

I wonder why Craig and Jason would have to travel so far to sell 9 spas?  Their market is probably saturated!

In my part of the world everyone travels south to buy.  It is usually 1-2 hours south of where a person lives.   All types of dealerships always advertise north!

My main competitor, the RV dealers, all run shows north.  They come from 1-2 hours south of me, and hold weekend events!

Anyways, I am just frustrated to hear that a local would buy from hours away and not check with us first, again I know the price was the same, if not better from us.  For sure the service is faster and better from us......

Phil, Are you in Minot?

How do you know Jason?

I have no respect for the way he sells spa's.

He's played in my backyard twice now, two years apart,  both times, I'm left to mop up his mess.

Two years ago he was in our Home Builders Show. He walked right into our booth when I was talking to a customer, and waived a contract in front of them and tried to close them in my booth right in front of me. No class...He gives dealers and this industry poor representation

I've heard rumors of legal action for fraud after this last sale here after Thanksgiving.

You wonder why he's having to leave Minot to sell spa's  Well I think it's because the word is out in Minot and he's feeling the reprucutions of his business practices.

You can fool some of the people all of the time,
You can fool all of the people some of time,
But you can't fool all of the people all of the time.

There will come a time when his pond will dry up and he'll have to move to a more populated area to sell to an unsuspecting public.

Untill then the best advice I can give the customer's he's left high and dry...Go see him at the State Fair and when he's pitching someone go right into his booth and demand service. Take your list of things he didn't or wouldn't service and start very loudly at the top of the list!


Spahappy

[obi wan]

i dont know how much different tubs are from cars, but sometimes the savings are substantial (cars). i bought a new conversion van last october from a dealer in indiana. (i live in virginia beach)
i was VERY leery about any on line purchase, especially a vehicle. i did lots of reference checks and the end result was i bought a $48k top of the line van for $35,800. even after i had the quote on paper, i took it to several chevy dealers in the area, and said if you match it i'll buy from you. the closest any one could come was $41k. i paid $540 to have it shipped here, and i still get local service from the chevy dealer, so i guess i got the best of both worlds.....
that being said, i do value local dealer support for my tub. i have been searching since early dec for a replacement tub (12 year old model finally died)was looking at on line dealer to save money, but after much investigation and lots of reading here, i opted for a caldera niagra, from a local dealer that has been here for 21 years. obviously paid more than on line, but i think it will be worth it in the long run......
its replacing a 12 year oasis spa, that was a little less loaded. 1 pump(that leaks), 1 blower(that didn't work anymore), 9 jets, and a yellowy light (plastic lens was yellowing due to age).
by the way....... i paid $8100 at my local dealer. i went to the caldera site and found another dealer 90 miles away, who wanted 8900 for the same thing. if it had been othere way around, $800 is $800...... would have probably bought from the other dealer......