How to Buy a Spa/Hot Tub: Hint-You Won’t Find The Best Value Where Peanut Butter is Sold!
Buy Your Peanut Butter at Costco; Buy Your Hot Tub from Olympic!
Our guest blogger today, is Dan Pardee, Sales Associate in our Olympic Hot Tub Company Lacey store.Dan is a wonderful writer who makes hot tub shopping fun! The Lacey store is a Google Favorite Place thanks to the staff and all of the customers who love shopping there.
Probably most people would agree that Costco is one of the best places to go if you have a large family or own a business and need to get the ‘best deal’ on the household foods and supplies you use on a frequent basis. It’s a great way to buy in bulk, save money and hey, that ten pound tub of peanut butter will last you all year, right?
But should you consider buying your hot tub from Costco? Heck no! Here are some important reasons why you should only buy your hot tub from Olympic Hot Tub, they all have to do with “hidden charges”, warranty protection and water care:
1. The Delivery Issue-Or how you gonna get that big thing in your backyard? Olympic includes offers free, full service delivery all the way into the backyard for every hot tub we sell! (Costco only delivers curbside. Be prepared to pay around $400 to hire a spa moving company to move it from the curb to the back yard or worse yet risk injury to yourself or the hot tub by trying to move it yourself. How much is going to cost if you get hurt?)
2. Oh..an Electrical Subpanel? Tell me more.Olympic includes the 50 amp electrical sub-panel with every hot tub. (With Costco you have to purchase one yourself. Ah, those pesky hidden charges!)
3. How will I get that cover off when I want to take a hot tub? Basic cover-lifters come standard at Olympic. (Costco hot tubs do not come standard with a cover-lifter and if you read the reviews by actual customers on the Costco site about their hot tubs, you cannot install one due to the extra large radius corners on the Costco tub. But say you want to buy one anyway, be prepared to dip into your wallet again for another $225.00!)
4. Something’s gone wrong..who will do the warranty? Olympic provides its customers with world-class local dealer support, with local stores and a dedicated service center with our own in-house Hot Spring certified technicians. Just call us; we’ll be there for you. (Costco does not handle warranty issues directly on their hot tubs, you instead have to call the manufacturer’s 1-800 number and they have to diagnose your problem over the phone. They will then send you parts through the mail (you have to send back the old parts) then sub-contract out to a local spa repair company at their discretion. Yikes! What if you’re not handy? Having to remove the parts-how do you know which ones are bad will cost you a visit from the local spa-repair shop!)
5. What’s that again? When does the warranty start? Your full manufacturer’s warranty starts on the day of the hot tub delivery for Olympics Hot Tub Company. (Warranty starts on the date of original retail purchase according to the owner’s manual for the manufacturer of Costco hot tubs. So while the tub is being shipped the warranty is running. Ouch!)
6. Here today and gone tomorrow? What was it you purchased? Olympic and Hot Spring have a proven record of longevity and stability. Olympic has sold Hot Spring Spas since 1982. That’s longer than any other company locally has sold any brand and longer than Costco has been in business. Ask any customer of Olympic or owner of a Hot Spring spa. See Olympic’s many positive review on Google. (Unfortunately for Costco and Costco’s customers, many of the hot tub manufacturers they have partnered with in the past years have went out of business, leaving disgruntled customers with no way to obtain parts or service. Good deal? Not so much!)
7. You mean I have to be a chemist to take care of the water and it’s stinky? And the biggest reason of all! All of our hot tubs we sell at Olympic come with the revolutionary, natural, SilkBalance virtually chlorine free water care system. It’s easy and requires no testing or balancing of the water. Just shake and pour. (You have to purchase a Bromine chemical kit separately when you buy your tub from the big C. Bromine is a terrible way to take care of hot tub water and is really hard on your skin! Another cost! Be prepared to test and balance the water several times a week, if you can figure it out. And, don’t forget to take a shower after you get out of the hot tub, unless you think the aroma of chemical bromine is pleasant to take to bed!)
So the next time you happen to visit Costco to pick up some peanut butter, walk on past the big shiny hot tub on display and instead visit one of our of our experienced hot tub experts at one of the five Olympic Hot Tub Company showrooms. You’ll be glad you did!
Thanks to Dan. Great summary of the trials & travails of buying a hot tub at Costco or any other big box store or online.
RES EST SERVAS VOLUPTAS. Pleasure is serious business.
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