New Line of Tubs?

[OHspaDealer]

Nice forum, get that out of the way.

We had been debating bringing on another line of spas, and have been approached by Vita Spas. Id like to get some opinions from other Vita dealers or customers on what they think of the spas.

R

[hottubber]

OH,

What brand do you currently handle?

Is there anything else available to you other than Vita?

I know they have been around for a while, not much of a Vita Spa lover though.

Are you replacing another line? Give some insight, I'm sure you'll get alot of feedback.

hottubber...

[OHspaDealer]

currently carry Master, Downeast, and Hydrospas. This is just an additional line, not replacing any.

[Chas]

Well, having done this for close to twenty years now, I have found that you need to have a good set of price points. You must start low and 'stair step' up to your highest-priced models in a way that makes sense to the shoppers. Personally, I find I can do this best with one manufacuturer. In my case, that is Watkins MFG. Different markets will yield different results, and some tub makers have more complete offerings than others, so YMMV.

I have added other brands along the way, but they haven't usually lasted over a couple of years at most. They have been - in no particular order - Coleman, Jacuzzi, Aqua Liesure, Softtub, Kohler, Free-Flow, and a couple of others.

Take a look at your overall offerings, and see if there are 'holes' that need to be filled with different tubs at different price points. Then ask yourself this: will I sell enough of them to make the added expense worth it?

Here's an example: we had considered adding another line so we can have a round tub. We have only one round model now, but it is tiny. I get people who come in and ask for a round tub from time to time, and they have a big party spa in mind. It bugs me that I really don't have one to offer them, and I think about other lines which I know have such tubs.

But when I look at it realistically, I come to the conclusion that I would be making a major, expensive change to my business to saitsfy the whim of three of four people per year. And it usually turns out that those same folks end up getting a tub because of price, warranty, jet configuration, power, 110 or 220, siding appearance - anything and everything BUT the fact the tub is or isn't round.

So I would be diluting my story, taking sales away from my main line vendor, adding a complete layer of support from Point of Sale items to repair/replacement parts and training, literature, signage, yellow page advertising considerations, all to make a couple of sales a year.

Other than that....

[wmccall]

currently carry Master, Downeast, and Hydrospas. This is just an additional line, not replacing any.

Columbus?  I can think of one dealer who carries Master and Hydro near me.   2 years ago there was a Vita Dealer in town, but no more.  I've never seen a down East.  Is Down East an off shoot of Master?  I went to the Down east site to see if there was a Columbus dealer and the link to the dealer locateer pointed to a dead link on the masterspas site.

PS, I know of one satisfied Vita owner from Marion who bought her Vita from a Place called Litehouse up in Akron.

PS2 - Welcome, dealers such as yourself help make this the great place it is.

[poolboy34]

Downeast is to Master Spas as Tiger river is to Hot Spring Spas/ Marquis Everyday is to Marquis/ @Home Hot Tubs is to Dimension One Spas.  They are basically the "Good" line or less feature oriented line for the manufacturer.  Some call them the "Budget" line if you will.  They look nice though I have to say.

[PoolToSpa]

ohspadealer,

Have you considered Bullfrog spas? They are a lttle spendy at whole sale price, but are different from the other spas you carry.