Hotspring at Costco.com?

[Chris_H]

Hello:

See the attached link.  It appears Watkin's is no longer offering the Highlife anymore on Costco.com.  Can anyone confirm or deny this?

Thanks,

Chris

http://www.costco.com/Common/Category.aspx?cat=4640&eCat=BC|111|4639|4640&whse=BC&topnav=&hierPath=111*4639*4640*&lang=en-US

[Zep]

this guy claims he just purchased a Watkins spa at Costco in Dec '07

http://www.poolspaforum.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=10302

[Spiderman]

I haven't received any info about Watkins no longer offering it at Costco  :-?

[Vanguard]

Well, I looked too.  I didn't see it either.  I did a search for Highlife and for Hot Spring.  No spa.  Interesting.  I know the program was not at all lucrative.  Watkins did not sell very many spas through Costco.

[hottubdan]

I have emailed my contact at The Mother Ship, who is the Costco.com Watkins connection.

[hottubdan]

It is confirmed.

Not a big seller.

Too bad.  Even if a more than other spas on Costco.com it was the only one with an extensive nationwide network of service and support.  There were no returns.

So it goes.

[Chris_H]

Thanks.  It is interesting.  

[Chas]

I had one customer who was looking hard at the tub from Costco. She had owned the spa after which that particular model was fashioned, and wanted the exact shape and size.

We followed up for weeks, months, but to my knowledge she hasn't bought yet. '

I guess I'll have to get on the phone....

  8-)

[East_TX_Spa]

Since there are no Costcos around here, I knew it wouldn't affect us much one way or another.  I even referred a couple of people to costco.com because I wanted to see one, but it never happened.

I wish I could find the thread pertaining to the Costco-HotSpring alliance.  There was a lot of doom and gloom on it from competing dealers.

Term

[East_TX_Spa]

Oh!  I found it:

http://www.whatsthebest-hottub.com/cgi-bin/yabb/YaBB.pl?num=1145913124/0

[Zep]

"It is confirmed......Not a big seller"

why did the Watkins spas not sell well?

[Zep]

"I wish I could find the thread pertaining to the Costco-HotSpring alliance.  
There was a lot of doom and gloom on it from competing dealers"

Term although I am not a dealer do you think people
were over-estimating the power of the Watkins brand?

As someome stated they were "the only one with an extensive nationwide
network of service and support".

I quess the expectations were that a good product, with a good name,
along with good service and good support....would be a hit.

What happened?
 

[Pathfinder]

My guess is that the tub didnt retail at around the $3,000 range like the junk spas that they mainly carry. So most uninformed buyers thought that it was too expensive.

[East_TX_Spa]

Zep, my belief is that most consumers simply looked at the following:

1. Picture- the HotSpring Highlife is not the prettiest pig at the fair.  The other spas being sold on the website looked nicer on the screen.

2.  Jets- the other spas have a lot of them, albeit primarily generic bullet jets and air injectors.  HotSpring always has the lowest "jet count".

3.  Radios/TV's/Doodads- the other spas have them, the HotSpring did not.

4.  Price- the others were cheaper.

I think that's pretty much it in a turtle shell.

Term

[Zep]

Term/Pathfinder

I can relate.

In my industry, we are the highest priced.

We do not offer discounts or match lowballers.

Thats not our nitch......we like our nitch.

Rather than be Walmart, we prefer to be Neiman's.

Funny story, one time an attorney called and said
"well I can get the same thing for alot less" and I
gently told him, "yeah I can find an attorney in
the Thrifty Nickel newspaper that practices law too".

Price isn't everything!