Did This Site Use to Be A Hot Springs Only Site?

[Swell-Tub]

Now take a blood pressure pill before you read this post. I don't want to excite anyone. It seems that we have a majority of Hot Spring dealers on this website. I notice when someone buys a HS product there are lots of congrats and everyone celebrates. If someone buys something else then the other brands seem to come together and send congrats. So it is a little like a small group of Japanese motorcycle owners sharing a site with a large group of Harley owners.

So I was thinking was this a Hot Springs site that people with other brands crashed or was it a site intended for all hot tub users?  :-?

[Summitman]

Now take a blood pressure pill before you read this post. I don't want to excite anyone. It seems that we have a majority of Hot Spring dealers on this website. I notice when someone buys a HS product there are lots of congrats and everyone celebrates. If someone buys something else then the other brands seem to come together and send congrats. So it is a little like a small group of Japanese motorcycle owners sharing a site with a large group of Harley owners.

So I was thinking was this a Hot Springs site that people with other brands crashed or was it a site intended for all hot tub users?  :-?

[golferm]

First, let me say that I'm not a hot springs dealer.  I did spent a very short amount of time in 2007, working for a HS dealer.

So....I understand your sentiment.  There is a lot of HS talk on this forum.  However, when you consider they are one of the top selling spas of all time, it would make sense.

You would have people looking for their first new tub asking about them, people who have had them for a long time looking for technical support, and chatter about their new models.  

Also, if you at someone like Chas' posts, who is a HS dealer in California, he sends his congrats out when someone buys a hot tub, not just HS.  

Just my two cents....

Mark

[Spatech_tuo]

Now take a blood pressure pill before you read this post. I don't want to excite anyone. It seems that we have a majority of Hot Spring dealers on this website. I notice when someone buys a HS product there are lots of congrats and everyone celebrates. If someone buys something else then the other brands seem to come together and send congrats. So it is a little like a small group of Japanese motorcycle owners sharing a site with a large group of Harley owners.

So I was thinking was this a Hot Springs site that people with other brands crashed or was it a site intended for all hot tub users?  :-?

What I notice is when someone buys Hot Spring there are congrats from Chas, Spiderman, Term… and some additional congrats from others as well. When someone buys Jacuzzi then we can expect JJ, yourself and some of the Jacuzzi guys welcoming him as well as congrats from others. When it’s Arctic we'll see a warm welcome from GoArctic, Waterboy, Tom, etc. along with congrats from some non-Arctic people. When its Marquis ...

Maybe part of it is the number of people who bought/sell/rep Hot Spring versus some of the others although brands like Jacuzzi, Arctic and Marquis seem very well represented on this site.

Here are the most recent posts I saw where someone bought/received a new spa. There seems to be a fair distribution of congrats. Certainly more Hot Spring people respond to new Hot Spring owners just as more Jacuzzi people will respond to a new Jacuzzi post. In general I think most respect the other top brands out there. A few may have an ax to grind (or hammer  ) but I think at times we fan the flames and then complain about the heat from the fire.

http://www.whatsthebest-hottub.com/cgi-bin/yabb/YaBB.pl?num=1210287335
http://www.whatsthebest-hottub.com/cgi-bin/yabb/YaBB.pl?num=1208405639
http://www.whatsthebest-hottub.com/cgi-bin/yabb/YaBB.pl?num=1210385504
http://www.whatsthebest-hottub.com/cgi-bin/yabb/YaBB.pl?num=1209575516
http://www.whatsthebest-hottub.com/cgi-bin/yabb/YaBB.pl?num=1209253086

[East_TX_Spa]

No.

[wmccall]

No, to the poster and no to the Quoter.  Not in at least the 5 years I have been involved.   Now are the HS guys the most vocal, yes, perhaps, but I would blame the rest of you more than them for that.

[hottubdan]

Congrats to all who have bought or sold hot tubs.

[Swell-Tub]

When someone buys Jacuzzi then we can expect JJ, yourself and some of the Jacuzzi guys welcoming him as well as congrats from others.

http://www.whatsthebest-hottub.com/cgi-bin/yabb/YaBB.pl?num=1210287335
http://www.whatsthebest-hottub.com/cgi-bin/yabb/YaBB.pl?num=1208405639
http://www.whatsthebest-hottub.com/cgi-bin/yabb/YaBB.pl?num=1210385504
http://www.whatsthebest-hottub.com/cgi-bin/yabb/YaBB.pl?num=1209575516
http://www.whatsthebest-hottub.com/cgi-bin/yabb/YaBB.pl?num=1209253086

For the record I'm on all but one of your referenced posts. I think it is great when anyone buys a new hot tub.

Scott  

[Chas]

Thanks for giving me the links so I could cover the ones I missed!!

 8-)

[mike in arkansas]

Hi -- Mike in arkansas here (just recovering from Chemo Therapy for Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma--and for the record I am clear of the disease after about 6 months of treatment and $250,000!! ). I purchased a Viking Spa (i realize it is not the best but it was all we could afford) and I never felt put down by anyone on THIS site. (However I HAVE been banned from other sites!).

It is fairly easy to recognize the dealers -- they make no attempt to disguise themselves. I have gleaned lots of good information from some objective observations from many people here about chemicals and general spa care, etc. (not to mention the PODs).

I confess I do not know the origins of this site but I don't feel any undo pressure to purchase Hot Springs (or Jacuzzi's or Artic or any other brand). I have not seen any bad mouthing of a competitors spa (unless it is a name that will be unmenitoned and that really has nothing to do with the spa itself but more the individual that promotes them and bashes anyone else).

For what it is worth,

Mike

[wewannahottub]

Mike, Glad you are doing well post chemo and hope you stay in remission!!

DOn't bash your Viking.  That is my first spa experience==my mother had a Viking 1 or 2 --the big old round tub==nothing like soaking in it after an evening shift and having a cigar and a wine cooler.  Very basic, but I loved it!!  

It has been my personal experience that I still get requests to try the HS line, and the tubs just don't do much for me or my appeal.  I did look at Caldera, and we were very interested in it at first very early in our spa search, and the dealer was very knowledgeable.  But as we continued to look, we wanted different things and more jets and different placements, which was limited on the Caldera line when we looked.  If there was a HS dealer along the route we traveled our first Spa seeking day, we would have looked.  So, I know where Scott is coming from.

To each his own, and after many wet tests, I want an Arctic Tundra (I have been in the Kodiak LE and Klondiker LE).   Waiting for the hubby to decide.    :-/

 ;)Chrisi

[Chas]

I want an Arctic Tundra. Waiting for the hubby to decide.    :-/ ;)Chrisi

A line from "My Big Fat Greek Wedding" applies here - "The man is the head of the house. But the woman is the neck, and the neck turns the head."  

You'll love your spa - they make a great addition to your life. I have had more memorable conversations with my kids (now grown) and my wife in our spa than around the table.

 8-)

[Dr. Spa™ Ret.]

The history of this site as I know it (I've only been around here for some 10 years    )

This site is owned by What's the Best, Inc.. There used to be MANY sites under the "umbrella"... whatsthebest lawn mower, jet ski, vacuum, matress, etc (I've used a few of the sites in the past and listed ALL of them following this post). The intent of the site(s) was/is simply to make money from banner advertising (notice the banners at the top of every page, or the "Ads by Google" on the left? EVERY time on of these is clicked, the owner of the site gets a commission).

Ok, so sometime ago two things happened. First, the owner of the site managed to get Hot Spring Spas to directly advertise on this site (see the link at the bottom of every page that says "Click Here for the Best Spas Around). Now in my opinion this in no way makes Hot Springs a controller of this site. HS has a very good rep, and there's rarely any complaints online about them. There's nothing for them to "control" here, they probably get a pretty good ROI on their ad, and I'd guess the owner of this site is making some nice $ from it.

Number two. It was common knowledge here a while ago that the owner was trying to sell this conglomerate to abbysguide.com. Originally whatsthebest.net listed ALL the sites under the umbrella. For a while, there was a note on that home page saying that soon all sites would be moving to abbysguide. Currently, if you go to whatsthebest.net you're referred to abbysguide (it's been this way since about Jan 28, 2005).

MY assumption is that the owner sold ALL but this site to abbysguide. This site may have been quite profitable and he held it back feeling that abbysguide wasn't offering enough for it.

================

the original Whats-the-Best websites:

Air Purifiers
Audio Receivers
Bikes
CD Players
Camcorder
Christian Colleges
Coffee Machines
Cordless Phones
Credit Cards
DVD Players
Digital Cameras
Digital Copiers
Dishwashers
Dryers
Fax Machines
Fishing Boats
Gas Grills
Hair Loss Remedies
Home Control Systems
Home Fitness Equipment
Home Theaters
Hot Tub
Jet Skis
Lawn Mowers
MP3 Players
Mattress
Microwave Ovens
Minisystems
Motorcycles
PDAs
Plasma Displays
Point and Shoot Cameras
Ranges
Refrigerators
SLR Cameras
Sewing Machines
Snow Mobiles
Snow Throwers
TVs
VCRs
Vacuum Cleaner
Video Projectors
Washers
Water Filters
Wireless (Cell) Phones
camcorders

[Steve]

Congrats to all who have bought or sold hot tubs.

Now THAT was funny! My type of humor!  

[Spatech_tuo]

Or Administrator (or whatever fancy title Bill has) has a Dynasty and our Moderator has a Marquis spa. If anyone wonders if a certain spa manufacturer controls this site I guess they would know. Somehow I doubt anyone has given them instructions on skewing the content to favor any certain brand because I'd imagine they'd quit those high paying positions if that were to occur.