ebay hot tub

[jwjw]

Looking for advise on buying a hot tub on e-bay. I know nothing about hot tubs, but hubby and I both need one for back issues. I am looking at the oceanside extreme and can get for 5000-6000. It is fully loaded. I am thinking that I should deal with a local company though. Need suggestions. jwjw

[Spiderman]

Welcome to the forum!  I think most here will tell you to find a good, reputable local dealer and buy your tub from them.  Any "mail order" tub will be dumped off at the curb, leaving you and 6 friends to get it in the backyard, etc. and set up.  When something goes wrong and you need service, you will have to find someone who is willing to come take a look at it.  We "try to" stay away from tubs that we don't sell due to liability issues.  

We started our hot tub search on-line and almost made a huge mistake by buying one from Walmart.com   After finding this wonderful forum, we ended up doing a lot more research and finally bought a Hot Spring Jetsetter.  We loved the tub so much that we eventually opened our own Hot Spring store a little over a year later.  Just think, if we had bought that Walmart tub, we'd have a Keys Backyard store  

Spend some time here and you will end up buying a great tub with great support from the members.  Good luck!

[MostlyLurkingGal]

I bought my hottub off ebay, but I couldn't afford a new tub so I was looking for a used tub. I got a great deal on a one year old Jetsetter. If money wasn't a problem, I most definately would have gone to a dealer. Remember that those hotttub dealers on ebay may look like they have good feedback, but by the time something goes wrong, it's probably too late to leave negative feedback.

[jwjw]

Spiderman,

Thank you for your reply. I will look into the hot springs line. Do you know of dealers in the st. louis or st. charles missouri area you would recommend. jwjw

[Cyn]

St. Louis:  I know of 4 hot tub dealers and there are more I am sure.  Jucuzzi in the Valley in Chesterfield where I bought my tub and where Chad, another forum member bought his. Jucuzzi has a Clayton store as well...same dealer.  Baker Pools in the Valley sells Hot Springs, I think, but I maybe wrong.  Then Watson's in St. Charles sells several brands and there is a new place in the Valley called Beach Boys or something that sells tubs.  Good luck!!

[jwjw]

Wonderful!!!

Well I just checked out the HS website and I am getting more informed. Of course I now want one of these. I really like the Envoy. Can anyone give me a ballpark range?  

Also, do you think that there are some decent specials on last years models.

[Chad]

Do you know of dealers in the st. louis or st. charles missouri area you would recommend. jwjw

I'll add to what Cyn posted. When I was shopping a year and a half ago, I found dealers for Jacuzzi, Sundance, Hot Spring, Artesian, Vita, Caldera, Cal, Viking, Dimension One, and Catallina. I think there's now even and Artic dealer in Arnold. The selection is huge in our area. The one place I would absolutly stay away from is Watson's. They sell Caldera, Cal, Viking and are some of the biggest slime balls I've ever dealt with in any type of sales. It's too bad b/c Caldera and some Cal spas are really nice. Do a google search for hot tub and spa dealers in the STL for directions. They were all within 25 miles of me and I'm located in St. Charles like you.

I ended up with a J-345 after visiting 7 different dealers and wet testing about 10 tubs. Simply b/c I found it to be the most bang for the buck and it was backed by a very reputable dealer.

Best advice I can give is to visit as many of these dealers as possible and wet test the tubs of interest. If they don't let you wet test, leave. Once you get down to a few tubs you like, schedule another wet test for them visiting one right after the other. I wet tested my J-345 3 times. Good luck and keep us posted.

[Cyn]

I am with Chad about staying away from Watson's...just didn't know if I should say it so soon!!

[Chad]

I am with Chad about staying away from Watson's...just didn't know if I should say it so soon!!

I had to take 3 showers when I got home from there to get all the slime off.

[jwjw]

Unfortunately for me, I live maybe 3 minutes from Watsons but have found them to be outrageous in all of their pricing. We will stay clear. I think our first stop will be Bakers in the Valley. I would like to narrow it down to 2-3 brands, since it is so overwhelming. Hot Springs and what other 2 do you recommend.
  
                                                       Thanks for all of your help, jwjw

[Chad]

Unfortunately for me, I live maybe 3 minutes from Watsons but have found them to be outrageous in all of their pricing. We will stay clear. I think our first stop will be Bakers in the Valley. I would like to narrow it down to 2-3 brands, since it is so overwhelming. Hot Springs and what other 2 do you recommend.
  
                                                       Thanks for all of your help, jwjw

Jacuzzi for sure. The Sundance and Artesian dealers seemed good too.

Here are the websites for their stores
Sundance http://www.miragespa.com/Location.html
Artesian http://artesianspas.com/main/dealer_detail.asp?id=799
Jacuzzi http://www.premiumspashowroom.com

[Cyn]

As I commented before, I have a Jacuzzi...the place in the Valley is convenient and they have been super about everything so far.  We love our tub.