Marquis Spirit Pricing

[jdd]

Hi, new member here. Looking at getting first hot tub. Pretty set on a Marquis Spirit with the upgraded pump and Microsilk options. The dealer includes decent steps, a cover lifter, electrical hook-up and a few months worth of chemicals. The quoted price for all that was $9,540. That was quite a bit more than I was expecting to pay for a spa of this size. Is that price a good deal? Room for negotiating? Does paying by check entice dealers to lower price any versus financing through them?

[wmccall]

Welcome to the forum.  I haven't priced hottubs since 2012, but that seems a little high for  a 3 person tub. Hopefully others may have more recent experience.

[castletonia]

If your dealer is including the 220V electrical service in that price, then I think it is very fair.  I haven't sold Marquis since last year, but from what I can remember, I was close to $10k for a Spirit with Microsilk.  You can always try to negotiate and yes, cash or check will always yield you the best price, but don't be surprised if they are firm on price.

[Hottubguy]

If anything that price is on the low side when you include Microsilk. That’s about a 2k option on its own. I sold one without Microsilk or electrical a couple days ago for almost that same price. Is the dealer doing all the electrical work or just the hookup?

[swilly1000]

The microsilk option is expensive and there is a lot of debate about it's worthiness.  If you're on a tight budget consider dropping that option to open up your choices a little more.

[MarKee]

That’s actually a really, really good price considering it has MicroSilk.  I have a Spirit in my back yard.  I’m a fan of the MicroSilk, but if budget is a concern, you could eliminate that option.

[swilly1000]

My personal experience is that the water in my tub is plenty soft and silky enough on its own. Maybe I'm gonna fluking that in my water balance but my skin feels plenty smooth enough as it is.

[castletonia]

To the OP, is there a reason you need Microsilk?  In my opinion unless there is a dermatological reason to get the Microsilk, it is not worth getting.  I’ve sat in Microsilk many times and while I did feel my skin to be softer when upon getting out, I didn’t need it.  And as swilly1000 said, as long as you are balancing your water properly, you shouldn’t be getting out with dry skin.

[jdd]

Hi everyone, sorry, been extremely busy and just forgot to check back in. Thank you for all the replies. To answer some of the questions:

They won't be running any wiring, I have a preinstalled GFCI circuit from the home being built, but they do include hooking the spa up to the circuit.

On the Microsilk, I've kind of debated about that one. There are some dermatological reasons but I also don't expect this to be a cure. Another reason is my wife isn't a real big fan of the jets so I thought it might be something different to give her an experience she might enjoy more than jets.

Having said all that I had some extra expenses I wasn't expecting (dryer went out and washer on last legs so bought a new set), so spa shopping on hold until tax refund time.

[bachman]

The micro silk feature sounds interesting and I've seen just a few reviews, hadn't really researched it. If I recall, some like it, some love it , some think it isn't worth the money and some think it does nothing.
I think you've captured the essence of why one might spring for it to try it out if your spouse isn't excited about the jets / pump action and just more about the soak. As you say, this gives her a feature that sets it apart from just the normal or basic tub.  Ideally the wet test on MS would be a confirmation before pony up money buying a tub just to see if you like it or its worth it but mainly, I hope it's something you are happy with in the long run if you end up going that route. Nobody else can tell you or your wife if you will like it, real ?  imagined ? or placebo impressions ? etc... and if you consider the extra cost involved to get it, you probably are not hurting or skimping on life basics so get what you want or 'deserve' ! If my wife tested it and thought she wanted it, a Dr opinion, facts or research on it being 'hype' would not sway me in the least. If Doc's showed proof it was bad or unhealthy, that would be an obvious exception. 
Enjoy what you get and best of luck and fun tubbing in your near future. Don't leave us hanging though, report back with some impressions or a short write up.

[Sam]

For anyone considering microsilk, a lot of salesman fail to explain a couple of minor details that are important.  You have to turn it on 10 to 15 minutes before using and you cannot run any of the jets while it's on.  I personally don't think it does a whole lot.  I definitely noticed a minor softness but not enough for me think it's worth buying.

Just my 2 cents.

[Hottubguy]

Hardest part of selling Microsilk is it’s not something someone can come in and try once and decide on it. It needs to be used regularly to get any of the benefits. My wife swears by it. Personally I could care less. Give me jet power. In a Marquis it takes about 6-7 minutes before you get the full effect of the micro bubbles. I’ve sold a bunch and have never gotten negative feedback on it.

[bachman]

I appreciate the details on how it works. I didn't know if it was on all the time and you are stuck with it like it or not but see that it has an on/off control.
I get the point about sales of that upsell feature when one demo might not be very telling. That's a downside in the case of marketing.
It would be a tough call in my case because I consider an added feature that might another 15% or more on the tub price as something I'd want to justify with solid benefit. If a wet test demo or two doesn't close me or my wife convincingly, I doubt we'd go that route.

On the other hand, I do see some reasoning for advertising and slick marketing or 'hype'. How else to reach the clients when indeed the feature is loved or appreciated by many - yet prospective clients can't necessarily get the feel of it one or two sits.

On the plus side, the comment about selling that feature and not having anyone complain or regret getting it is telling in a good way. 

[jdd]

Yes, MicroSilk completely independent of jets and can't be used at the same time as the jets, it's an either or thing. It added $1,200 to the quote so it wasn't quite the $2k some have paid. Purchase will probably be on hold at least until spring now but I definitely will report back if/when I finally get it.

Getting the wife to wet test is another issue, probably won't ever happen. She doesn't even test drive cars when we are getting her a new one.

[swilly1000]

Using Spa Marvel is what has made my water softer, I think.

At $54.99 every three months it's cheaper than Microsilk....until I get to year six I guess.