Has anyone bought a Hot Tub thru DirectBuy?

[devil-dawg]

Hi all,
New member here with my first post.

We're going to buy a Hot Springs Limelight Flair from our local dealer or join DirectBuy and buy thru them.

Wanted to find out if anyone purchased any hot tub thru DirectBuy and how your purchase and delivery went.

Thanks in advance!

[Hottubguy]

No and I've never heard of them. A quick google search shows some complaints about them but they are about 10 years old. Sounds like they are part of a buying group possibly?  You will also want to find out who warranties it and if they even have a service department. When you say apples to apples quote was the price from the dealer just the tub or did it include Chemicals, cover lift or steps?

[d00nut]

Its a weird scenario from Hot Spring and DirectBuy.  You may have just violated the agreement without you knowing. 

How it works, is Hot Spring is the sole manufacturer represented through DirectBuy.  That market is primarily for people that are contractors and just want a reliable hot tubs at a barebones price.  The rules for being a direct buy member means that you CANNOT cross shop your local stores for pricing.  In other words, you cannot go "waste" the time of your local dealer for whatever products you are looking to buy that may be the same.  This is how it is with hot tubs as well.

What will happen, is if you choose to do business through direct buy, the manufacturer (Watkins) will get notified from Direct Buy.  At that point, the closest dealer (the one you may have shopped) will get your name and contact information to perform the delivery and service, however, they are suppose to notify the manufacture if your address and or name is in their database.  If it is, you are out of luck and the deal is off.

It's a sticky situation, the other thing is that Watkins could report that back to Direct Buy and your membership could be in jeopardy.  (Your uncles membership)

The dealers get paid very little to deliver/service hot tubs through Direct Buy.  Most dealers hate the system because it causes more disgruntled customers than anything else.

BTW, Watkins (Hot Spring) limits your selections to just the Limelight line to try and make the dealers happy more than anything else, it works... kind of.

Good luck!

[JacuzziJack]

A lot of dealers also include the GFI panel and an allowance for electrical install, your dealer quote excluded those, right?

[wmccall]

I didn't know direct buy did hot tubs.  I heard of them years ago and with theirs fees they are only worthwhile if you were buying a new house and buying everything inside new.  Their subscription model didn't fit well with people just wanting one or two things. (This may be old news by now)

[BullFrogSpasMN]

95% of them break contract by coming into the local store, I tell them that, they laugh...I point and say their are all the hot tubs go browse if you want but I'm not answering any questions, they get mad and leave...rinse and repeat.  We did deliver a few and the story only got worse, It's fine if you want to buy appliances through a buying group but a hot tub requires setup/chemicals/time/knowledge/etc. well DirectBuy CANNOT provide those things even though the customer expected it because they paid $5,000 to be in some sort of "club" so the dealer of course wants to be compensated for those "extras" and people never wanted to pay it...for a consumer who is remodeling homes/owns multiple properties/etc. and is looking for legit discounts I'm sure it's wonderful, for the local dealer it's a big turd sand-which on a bun

[hottubdan]

We deliver 1 or 2 a year.  Sometimes they are in our data base.  Usually not.  Watkins compensates us fairly. Direct Buy customer becomes our customer. Dealer creates their own reality.

[Hottubguy]

95% of them break contract by coming into the local store, I tell them that, they laugh...I point and say their are all the hot tubs go browse if you want but I'm not answering any questions, they get mad and leave...rinse and repeat.  We did deliver a few and the story only got worse, It's fine if you want to buy appliances through a buying group but a hot tub requires setup/chemicals/time/knowledge/etc. well DirectBuy CANNOT provide those things even though the customer expected it because they paid $5,000 to be in some sort of "club" so the dealer of course wants to be compensated for those "extras" and people never wanted to pay it...for a consumer who is remodeling homes/owns multiple properties/etc. and is looking for legit discounts I'm sure it's wonderful, for the local dealer it's a big turd sand-which on a bun

Why would you treat them like that?  Wouldn't it be in your or your companies best interest to try and earn a customer. Even if they don't buy the spa their is plenty of aftermarket stuff, chemicals and service that they will need down the road.  By treating them like scum that pretty much guarantees you will never see them again

[devil-dawg]

I appreciate everyone's replies so far. We're right in the middle of joining and purchasing. I will follow-up soon. Thanks!

[BullFrogSpasMN]

95% of them break contract by coming into the local store, I tell them that, they laugh...I point and say their are all the hot tubs go browse if you want but I'm not answering any questions, they get mad and leave...rinse and repeat.  We did deliver a few and the story only got worse, It's fine if you want to buy appliances through a buying group but a hot tub requires setup/chemicals/time/knowledge/etc. well DirectBuy CANNOT provide those things even though the customer expected it because they paid $5,000 to be in some sort of "club" so the dealer of course wants to be compensated for those "extras" and people never wanted to pay it...for a consumer who is remodeling homes/owns multiple properties/etc. and is looking for legit discounts I'm sure it's wonderful, for the local dealer it's a big turd sand-which on a bun

Why would you treat them like that?  Wouldn't it be in your or your companies best interest to try and earn a customer. Even if they don't buy the spa their is plenty of aftermarket stuff, chemicals and service that they will need down the road.  By treating them like scum that pretty much guarantees you will never see them again

First off I don't treat anyone like "scum" buying customers or not, secondly it was an ownership approved decision...we didn't play tour guide to people bypassing us and buying direct then expecting the same level of service buying customers get.  We weren't in the business of delivering hot tubs for a $200 profit...these customers spend big money to join this club, you think they are gonna come back and stock up on accessories at retail? Not to mention the contract they signed is in place for that exact reason, so people DO NOT go into local stores and waste a salesman's time.  You see it differently and that's fine...Cheers!

[Hottubguy]

95% of them break contract by coming into the local store, I tell them that, they laugh...I point and say their are all the hot tubs go browse if you want but I'm not answering any questions, they get mad and leave...rinse and repeat.  We did deliver a few and the story only got worse, It's fine if you want to buy appliances through a buying group but a hot tub requires setup/chemicals/time/knowledge/etc. well DirectBuy CANNOT provide those things even though the customer expected it because they paid $5,000 to be in some sort of "club" so the dealer of course wants to be compensated for those "extras" and people never wanted to pay it...for a consumer who is remodeling homes/owns multiple properties/etc. and is looking for legit discounts I'm sure it's wonderful, for the local dealer it's a big turd sand-which on a bun

Why would you treat them like that?  Wouldn't it be in your or your companies best interest to try and earn a customer. Even if they don't buy the spa their is plenty of aftermarket stuff, chemicals and service that they will need down the road.  By treating them like scum that pretty much guarantees you will never see them again

First off I don't treat anyone like "scum" buying customers or not, secondly it was an ownership approved decision...we didn't play tour guide to people bypassing us and buying direct then expecting the same level of service buying customers get.  We weren't in the business of delivering hot tubs for a $200 profit...these customers spend big money to join this club, you think they are gonna come back and stock up on accessories at retail? Not to mention the contract they signed is in place for that exact reason, so people DO NOT go into local stores and waste a salesman's time.  You see it differently and that's fine...Cheers!

Did hot springs make you deliver those tubs?  Guess I'm confused with how it works.  I would try to explain the benefits of buying from me versus buying from them. Mr and mrs. so and so for the extra x amount of dollars this is why it's worth buying from me versus buying through the club. By the way you say you acted towards them, maybe it's not scum but it's definitely close to it. Who does warranty work on these tubs?  Do they force the dealer?  Why the hell does hot springs even bother with it

[Hottubguy]

I appreciate everyone's replies so far. We're right in the middle of joining and purchasing. I will follow-up soon. Thanks!

So you are going to spend $4000-$5000 on a membership to save $1600-$1700 on a hot tub?  What am I missing here?  Doesn't make much sense to me

[MarKee]

Sounds like a bad deal for the HS dealer.

[Chris_H]

Sounds like a bad deal for the HS dealer.

I'm not so sure.  It makes your manufacturer stronger, which is extremely important for the dealer.  Very rarely do you hear of a Hot Spring dealer switching brands and a lot of that has to do with the support the dealers receive from Hot Spring. 

I think there are a few dealers on here where they switched from Jacuzzi to Bull Frog.  Makes me wonder what is going on at Jacuzzi.  I am still trying to figure out why that occurred.  Don't hear that on the Hot Spring side. 

[Skysurfer2010]

If I were in a store as a customer shopping around and I heard a salesmen tell someone else to feel free to browse but don't ask any questions I most likely wouldn't buy anything from them unless I had to. I can 100% understand why a business owner would feel slated over a business like direct buy, but I still feel like there is a proper and polite way to handle things. I don't want to come off as judging, and I don't want to tell anyone how to run their business, however if I overheard that interaction it would definitely turn me off as a customer. I looked up google reviews on every shop I went to before heading there. I take them with a grain of salt, but I wouldn't say that I give them no weight. Their reviews, how I'm treated, and how other customers are treated weighs heavily on who I give my business to. I'd rather pay a little more at another shop if I like the owner or associates more.

Again, I'm not trying to judge anyone. Just give some food for thought. As much as I understand and can see how a business like direct buy can hurt the small business owner it doesn't take much effort to treat everyone with respect. Even if that one person doesn't buy from you they might tell friends how friendly or knowledgable you were. If you're also a pool retailer that can go a long way.