Price inflation due to Covid? New Buyer Here

[CJ]

Hi! Do the prices for hot tubs seem to be really inflated?  Just wondering because we can wait to purchase if they are.  Not in any rush.  We are looking at a local spa dealer who sells Tropic Seas.  Looking at Fiji Elite for $9500 or Oahu Elite for $10,200.  Any suggestions?

[gwmac]

Yes because there seems to be 4 buyers for every available tub and a long waiting list. I was told if I ordered a new Hot Springs Jetsetter LX not to expect it until around February.  They have no incentive to offer any incentives, sales, or rebates. I am in the same boat as you and looking to buy a new tub. Some models are selling for several thousand more for the exact same tub as they sold only a few years ago. But once things calm down they might have the opposite problem where they have too much inventory because everyone who wanted one already bought which can result in a glut and prices might come down along with rebates and other incentives.

[castletonia]

Inflated, not really, at least for me and the area I am in.  While true that there is a surplus of buyers compared to available hot tubs, I don't see any scenario where they are selling for thousands more than years past.  Just because retailers don't offer sales, doesn't mean prices are inflated.

gwmac, what price are you being quoted for a Jetsetter LX? 

CJ, I have no idea on Artesian pricing so cannot help if those are good prices or not.

If your local dealers are jacking up the prices then I would question their credibility.  We are probably going to be in this type of situation where demand exceeds available inventory well into next year, maybe even into 2022.  Are content waiting that long to maybe save $500-$1,000?

Best advice I can give is figure out who your local retailers are and what they sell.  Research the dealers to see who is respectable and eliminate the ones who are shady or have poor reputations.  Then research the brands your reputable dealers offer.  Figure out your wants/needs and general budget and narrow if down from there.  If a hot tub sold for $7,500 6 months ago it will be in that general price range today, you just might be waiting 4-6 months to take delivery.

[gwmac]

I am being quoted $9450 on the Jetsetter LX. And from the research I have done it seems to have sold around 7 to 8K just a few years ago. Is that incorrect?

[Hottubguy]

I am being quoted $9450 on the Jetsetter LX. And from the research I have done it seems to have sold around 7 to 8K just a few years ago. Is that incorrect?

I think a couple years ago there was a couple different options for jettsetter. LX is fairly new I believe. Up where I’m at I’ve been told by customers they are asking 11k for them.
 

[castletonia]

$9,450 is a good price. 

Up until 2019 the regular Jetsetter was less expensive because it didn't have the wireless control panel, polymer frame or exterior lighting.  If someone was selling Jetsetter NXT's a few years ago at $7k-$8k I'm guess they are either not in business anymore or there is a backstory for why the price was so low.

[The Wizard of Spas]

Some dealers may simply not be giving out discounts anymore because they don't need to.  Others might actually have increased the price.  Hard to say as each dealer is independent of the brand.  You do have to realize that the production log for every manufacturer has them now building tubs in Q1 or Q2 of 2021 and material costs are all but certain to go up, and it only makes sense to factor that in.  That is the thing most do not look towards but it is basic in premise and aka "the cost of doing business."

Hope this helps.

[Red MC]

Hi! Do the prices for hot tubs seem to be really inflated?  Just wondering because we can wait to purchase if they are.  Not in any rush.  We are looking at a local spa dealer who sells Tropic Seas.  Looking at Fiji Elite for $9500 or Oahu Elite for $10,200.  Any suggestions?

The Elite version of the Oahu is very nearly the same as the 62-jet configuration of the non-Elite Grand Cayman.  If you search internet forums, you'll find a lot of recent price history on the Grand Cayman, but there are so many different options on that hot tub that it spans a big price range.  $10.2k is in the range.  There's no way to know what the dealer may have been asking before COVID-19, but if the price is inflated, my guess is that it's not by a lot.

My wife and I got quotes from at least 6 dealers a month ago, maybe as many as 8, I'm starting to forget already.  Only two of them were asking for (what I felt was) significantly more than they were a couple years ago when we last considered replacing our hot tub.  The worst of the two was trying to sell an older demo D1 Amore Bay for $16k that was kept in the parking lot and was in rough shape: a few scratches, dirty, torn cover, some rust stains around the drains.  Those may have only been cosmetic issues, but that's the price he was asking for a new order before COVID-19.

If you're in no rush, you can wait and see what the winter brings.  But everything is unpredictable due to the pandemic.  On one hand, maybe demand will ease up and wait times will shrink.  On the other hand, maybe we'll have more factory shutdowns and supply chain disruptions.

[d00nut]

I am being quoted $9450 on the Jetsetter LX. And from the research I have done it seems to have sold around 7 to 8K just a few years ago. Is that incorrect?

That's insanely low