Hot Tub Forum
Original => Hot Tub Forum => Topic started by: workinhard7 on October 15, 2007, 12:54:13 pm
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i spoke to a thermospa salesman the other day and he scared me to death. I got him out of my house because he wanted me to buy a spa sight unseen. anyone else had any experience with thermospa?
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RUN - RUN AS FAST AS YOU CAN - HE CAN'T CATCH YOU HE'S THERMOSPA SALES MAN -- DON'T DO IT - YOU'LL BE SORRY ;D
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i spoke to a thermospa salesman the other day and he scared me to death. I got him out of my house because he wanted me to buy a spa sight unseen. anyone else had any experience with thermospa?
Yours is a VERY typical experience. Depending on how firm you were the salesperson may come calling back with stories of someone canceling an order leaving them with a spa that they built for this person that they'll now sacrifice for what they say is a great price but it's just a ruse.
In the end much of what you see from people who've dealt with them revolves around their less than straight forward selling approach, high prices and questionable quality.
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he kept dropping the price until he was offering one of their nicer spas for a lot less than we started with, but the sales technique was just too weird
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he kept dropping the price until he was offering one of their nicer spas for a lot less than we started with, but the sales technique was just too weird
They KNOW that unless they "bamboozle" you in on the VERY FIRST call that their odds of EVER selling to you are next to nil. Good job fending him off. There have been a few others in here who were not so fortunate and then they started digging for answers and had difficulty cancelling their "orders". The 3 day "cooling off" period is applicable to spas but they (ThermoSpas) has been known to delay people with misleading information in an attempt to prevent that 3 day window from collapsing on them (and thus loosing the sale). The Sales tactics are IMHO fradulent and shold be proscuted to the utmost degree but hey, I am just another lowly consumer like everyone else and don't have the time nor financial backing to pursue something that has no financial benefit to me or others on here and other places and therefore they continue to lurk in the shadows.
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Lets see:
Buy your very overpriced spa sight unseen.
No local service or other support.
No way to wet test, if that is your desire, or even see an actual model.
First look at spa is when it's dropped in your back yard, they have all the money by then.
What's RIGHT with any of this?
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I have a local one man spa opperation down the street from my store that has joined with Thermospa. This company has 1 store and makes a very basic spa for low cost. Stopped in to say hi and look, he had 5 thermospas in showroom. Hes a friend, and said hes having trouble selling the Thermospas. The spas he makes are 2-3 grand and Thermospas are 10 plus grand. Even looking at them in person, wasnt impressed.
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I have a local one man spa opperation down the street from my store that has joined with Thermospa. This company has 1 store and makes a very basic spa for low cost. Stopped in to say hi and look, he had 5 thermospas in showroom. Hes a friend, and said hes having trouble selling the Thermospas. The spas he makes are 2-3 grand and Thermospas are 10 plus grand. Even looking at them in person, wasnt impressed.
Tell your buddy to move his "mfg relationship" to a more credible company. By more credible I mean nearly ANY company other than Thermospa or Gulf Coast. And to be more specific, he needs to pick a vendor who's spa's he can place on his floor that would sell between the $6K and $8K prices (MAX). If he wants a SUPER expensive tub (i.e. over $10K), he could always try to rep for a major player like Dimension One.
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I always found this interesting:
you must be one of the hired guns they use to respond to bad posts on the internet. let me tell you that thermospas is the best sales job anyone can get. salesman make $150,000 plus per year. they are given a price sheet where the par price(the rock bottom price thermospas can sell a spa for with the salesman making only a flat $100 commission)is listed in between the model numbers on the price sheet, it's hidden in between the front and last number on the fake serial number. the salesman can sell a spa for any number they want above par and than they split that amount 50/50 with the company! they usually start with showing the highly inflated "retail" (they don't have any dealers that sell thier spas anywhere close to the high prices they charge with thier in home program)price sheet and than offer you a first night discount called the "factory direct" price.they usually give thier pitch than at the end they do the classic "drop" where they call in and ask the sales manager for a better price if the customer buys that night! its the old tin man routine and it makes alot of money. the head of the outfit is andy tournas and he does extensive training with the salesman and teaches them how to alway make the sale that night, if they dont sell that night than a manager will call the customer a few days later and offer a "special" deal and sell it fot par, its called the rehash program. i found all this out the hard way, i paid way too much for my spa. my friend got the exact same spa for thousands less than me. dont fall for thier trade in scam either, all they do is raise the price of thier spa and reduce it by the supposed amount they offer you for your trade. its a laugh, as i said they have salesman making thousands in a single night, not bad if they can sleep with the guilty conscience. good luck but i would never buy from them again
Here is their listing on the Better Business Bureau website:
http://www.connecticut.bbb.org/commonreport.html?bureau=walling&compid=25002672&language=&code=
Terminator
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Thanks ndabunka,
I hope he keeps Thermospas in his showroom. Hes my compitition!
cheers =)
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Tell your buddy to move his "mfg relationship" to a more credible company. By more credible I mean nearly ANY company other than Thermospa or Gulf Coast. And to be more specific, he needs to pick a vendor who's spa's he can place on his floor that would sell between the $6K and $8K prices (MAX). If he wants a SUPER expensive tub (i.e. over $10K), he could always try to rep for a major player like Dimension One.
I'm not sure how you can know enough about his market to say he should be $6k to $8k MAX. I'd make it simpler and say to get with a company that is reputable and can help him grow his business. The top manufacturers will have spas that are $10k but they really should have a range of spas ($5k and up) so you don't need to just concentrate on spas $6k to $8k. Artesian, Caldera, Coleman, D1, Hot Springs, Jacuzzi, Marquis, Sundance, ... Those companies sell more than just the high end Epics, Optimas and Grandes. There are many out there and it obviously depends on what is in his market already. It sounds like the has the entry level covered so he needs something for the $5k and up range that he can show as being worth the extra $$ and Thermospa certainly isn't that product IMO.
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Back in the early spring when the Mrs and I decided that we were going to redo our backyard and buy a spa, we were thinking Thermospas based on the infomercials and free DVD and catalog. Then we found this forum. I believe my first posting asked for info on Thermospas. Based on all the negative responses we went shopping locally looking at Sundance, Hot Springs, Caldera, & Jacuzzi. Sure glad we did.
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I'm not sure how you can know enough about his market to say he should be $6k to $8k MAX. I'd make it simpler and say to get with a company that is reputable and can help him grow his business. The top manufacturers will have spas that are $10k but they really should have a range of spas ($5k and up) so you don't need to just concentrate on spas $6k to $8k. Artesian, Caldera, Coleman, D1, Hot Springs, Jacuzzi, Marquis, Sundance, ... Those companies sell more than just the high end Epics, Optimas and Grandes. There are many out there and it obviously depends on what is in his market already. It sounds like the has the entry level covered so he needs something for the $5k and up range that he can show as being worth the extra $$ and Thermospa certainly isn't that product IMO.
When I did my research on which spa's I would carry if I were to have a store (back when I was considering it), almost EVERY mfg said that about 75% (or more) of their spas ssold were in this range. Those mfg's were Beachcomber, Bullfrog, Jacuzzi and one other. Even one of the Masterspa OWNERS verified this during a conversation. That was 3 years back and prices may have increased slightly so the range may now be $6,500 to $8,500 but I would alomst bet you that MANY of the dealer's here on line would agree that they sell FAR more in that price range than they do in the "over $9K and under $6K ranges".
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Thanks ndabunka,
I hope he keeps Thermospas in his showroom. Hes my competition!
cheers =)
In that case you are battling an "un-armed" man! LOL!
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but I would alomst bet you that MANY of the dealer's here on line would agree that they sell FAR more in that price range than they do in the "over $9K and under $6K ranges".
Obviously the majority of sales are betwen $6k and $8k but a succesful dealer has product that moves at the top and bottom ends as well. There are plenty of spas sold at successful dealers between $4k and $6k and from $8k to $9k and even $10k, and I don't mean 10% on each end. Ask dealers of some of the big guys like Marquis, Sundance and Hot Spring if their high end spas (Epic, Optima and Grandee) are mostly filling floor space or if they sell well and you'll find that they are each one of their top sellers (in quantity, not just $$) yet they are $9k+ spas. Each of those sell quite a few also between $4k and $6k (like Capri and Jettsetter). Their strength is their ability to sell through from top to bottom.
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Must still be on Thermospas email list. Just received an email from them stating that if I call them before October 31st, I will get a free in-home consultation and $750 off the spa of my choice.
I unsubsribed to their mailing list.
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Obviously the majority of sales are betwen $6k and $8k but a succesful dealer has product that moves at the top and bottom ends as well. There are plenty of spas sold at successful dealers between $4k and $6k and from $8k to $9k and even $10k, and I don't mean 10% on each end. Ask dealers of some of the big guys like Marquis, Sundance and Hot Spring if their high end spas (Epic, Optima and Grandee) are mostly filling floor space or if they sell well and you'll find that they are each one of their top sellers (in quantity, not just $$) yet they are $9k+ spas. Each of those sell quite a few also between $4k and $6k (like Capri and Jettsetter). Their strength is their ability to sell through from top to bottom.
I don't dis-agree but he ALREADY has his own "below $6K spa" to promote so doesn't need (or want most likely) another. As far as the $10K plus spas... I am certain they do sell fine in "some" markets. It just didn't sound like he had many (if any) shoppers in that price range and if he did it was TS (OUCH@!). My rec was a way for him to increase the MAJORITY of buyers who were looking "beyond" his primary low-cost line without forcing those consumers into a "premium priced" unit and thus my recs for a solid $6-$8K mfg option. That's all
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As far as the $10K plus spas... I am certain they do sell fine in "some" markets... thus my recs for a solid $6-$8K mfg option. That's all
Its not just the very top end but also those between the $6-$8k you'd ementioned and the $10k+. Most everyone sells the high middle $6k to $8k end pretty well, the most successful dealers sell top to bottom well.
You're right that he may have the bottom end covered and maybe up to $6k but if you're not strong at $8k, $8.5k, $9k, $9.5k and $10k you loose out in many markets. Optimas, Cameos, Majestas, Envoys, Grandees, etc.
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He has the low end covered, just nothing between the 5k and 8k prices. IMO, believe he has the Thermospas in the showroom to show the price difference. TRYING to sell quality at an affordable price. As mentioned before, he makes his own spas and most ppl that buy are price shoppers. I only have a few models that are around 10k, mostly sell 5k to 8k in the market. Hes doing something rite, been in the same location for over 15 years.
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The Epic is Marquis' most expensive spa ($10,000-$13,000 in most markets), and also the #1 selling spa by far out of 16 models. You do need to have a wide spectrum of prices though...some people want to spend $4,000, some want to spend $12,000.