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Is owning a HotSpring dealership as safe as owning McDonald's franchise restaurant? I'm not saying that HotSpring spas are the best, but it seems like a very safe profitable spa dealership to own. Most of the HS dealerships in my area have been around for awhile and appear to be financially successful. Is it possible to own a HotSpring dealership in a decent area and not be able to make a reasonable living? This is assuming you are running your store in an ethical manner with a good staff. I haven't heard of too many HS dealerships closing their doors or switching brands like some other dealerships. No offense intended to the dealers out there selling other brands. Just curious.
The Coleman dealer also has a BIG advantage over the competition with their sales force. If you were spa shopping in North Dakota, it would take a better man than most to not fall for spahappy's sales pitch:Termy
Gombo,I don't own my own business but I'm thinking in terms combining of what hottbpete & hottub.pool_boy said.In these economic times, things are tough. Today the stock market lost about 2% due to sub prime mortages. People will be losing their houses due to this, people need to eat, not soak. Hopefully most people who read this bought their tubs with either high quality credit or cash.What does this have to do to tubs ... well IMO a lot of people don't have a clue about handling money. They overextend themselves and buy on impulse with hopes they will be able to pay for it. I knew a person who got a home equity loan a few years back and it was at 15%. Tubs are luxury items that people who don't make a lot of money (whatever that is) will not be able to afford if these lenders call in their loan or have to refi (if they can) at a higher loan rate. The anyalsts are forecasting that anoher 500,000 houses will be on the market soon due to this problem. They also forecast that lenders will be tightening up their standards ... less people to qualify. I do realize that once people buy a house they can start spending a little more freely but unless a tub store is in an upscale area I don't think it'll survive.I also thought of starting a hot tub business but this was and still is my concern. I believe you can make a small business successful but as I said maybe the business should be something that people really need in order to survive.Just my $0.02.
Whew, I'm back... OK, So I agreee with every single thing Vinny has said here, except for the "luxury" aspect of hot tubs. Evewryon can afford one and every one should own one. beyond that, I think Vinny was DEAD NUTS!
If a tub was $2,000 then yes everyone MIGHT be able to aford it. With tubs at $6,000 it eliminates some people; at $8,000 it is out of reach for most people. Considering everything else that needs to be done to prepare for a tub .... I still consider it a luxury item. My project approched $30,000 for everything I did .... Thankfully I wasn't paying 15% interest.
...I know it's different strokes for different folks, but it still amazes me how these other businesses seem to do pretty well with products that have limited usable time per year. Hot tubs, IMO are like any of those other products and you make payments to pay for them.