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Questions We Are Commonly Asked
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Why buy from us?
- How are some brands you see all over the internet and at department stores?
- How are Sole and Smooth treadmills?
- Whats the difference between Department Store brands vs. other brands?
- Their are so many reviews and how do I know who to believe and if the company is paying for the review?
- What is considered "junk"?
- Should I buy on-line?
Q: Why buy from Us?
A: First and foremost, it is what we do! More than likely, you want to buy from someone you can TRUST!
Buying a piece of equipment can be a daunting task. Anyone can have a website now-a-days, BUT are they reputable?
They should:
*Have a secure SSL certificate to ensure your online safety!
*Have a reputable and longstanding operation!
*Have a customer service department who answers the phone!
*Sell all brands!
*Be open and honest about the products, return policy, and delivery charges!
*Not try to upsell you!
*Have a SHOWROOM!
They shouldn't:
*Operate just on the web with no warehouse and drop ship everything that takes way too much time.
*Expect you to email you with questions or concerns and not answer their phones
*Try to push you towards one particulary product and "proclaim" it is the best.
*Sell you a product that can not be shipped to a certain area or
your warranty will be voided. (You will find this happens often and all
too late when you have an issue)
*Try to sell you any extra warranties and service. It SHOULD all be inherent in the machines and the rest are scams.
We are NEW ENGLAND'S Largest Showroom with 25 years of experience and hundreds of thousands of happy customers!
Would you go to the grocery store to purchase tires for your car? How about for your new flat screen HD T.V?
Fitness equipment is a specialized product. When it comes to
treadmills, ellipticals, home gyms, etc the more chances are you need
proper advice. Why not visit someone that knows this in their sleep?
By all means prepare yourself, bring web pages into the store and ask questions!
Sporting goods stores carry the low end stuff. They are of poor
quality, rather pricey for what you are getting and you have a very
limited selection of machines.
If you go on-line you will find so many websites that make claims
about certain brands that they happen to sell and claim how good they
are. But those sites are basically that, only websites,
without a sales floor or office. Also they are selling products that
offer a % of the sale if you sell it. So obviously, you will talk it up
and claim how great it is....see... Moolah Program"> Its called the moolah program! I will make a review site saying how great it is if I can make money by doing nothing.
Many even make a sale and email the manufacturer to drop ship to your
house. You buy this way? More than likely you will be sorry!
As we see more Internet ripoffs we are aware that this leaves a
black mark in the fitness market. We don't want customers to have a bad
experience trying to choose a fitness machine. Only a SPECIALTY FITNESS
dealer can help you choose the proper machine and more importantly,
explain why! None of our staff work on commission!
Isn't it more expensive?
Contrary
to popular belief it is not more expensive to visit your local fitness
dealer. You not only will find that they have what you are looking for,
the price point, but you will also get the proper recommendation. This
way you will not be paying $800.00 for a hunk of junk. Be smart about
your buying decision, buy properly. Specialty stores have the same
levels of pricing you will find from those supposed expert
websites which are nothing more than a guy at home with a slick site
that works on commission. It will not be more money and it will
certainly be less headaches.
In most cases we pay the same or even less than BIG BOX Sports and
only a Specialty Fitness dealer has the BEST inexpensive lines, from the
quality manufacturers that make the best products.
We always recommend that if you are serious about buying the right
equipment at the best value, then to buy at a Specialty Fitness dealer.
(Even if it is not us!) SPECIALTY does not mean expensive! We are here
to advise and help you make the proper decision.
The truth about fitness machines
They break down.
Yes this is the truth that no one wants to admit. There will be a
service call in your warranty period. You call us and we take care of
the problem. You do not have to deal with the manufacturer or an e-mail
address to rectify a problem. Sure many if not most are minor tweaks
but if you do not know anything about mechanics and electronics you will
not be able to repair them and cause more costly problems. We will know
what and how to repair the problem. Talk about peace of mind!
Q: How are some brands you see all over the internet and at department stores?
A: A major conglomerant has
bought out many companies names in the lower end of Fitness
Equipment. The products are all the same and made in the same factory,
just tagged with a different name. So, when you buy one such brand, you
buy the parent brand. We think you get the idea. The list goes on.
They market these products to department stores and create their own
retail price. For Example: A customer recently came in and said he was
going to buy a treadmill from a local department store. He was excited
because the price showed it was a $2500 machine marked down to $1200.
We can not emphasize enough that you or he in this case was being had!
With absolute certainty, one should not have spent more then $500 on
that machine, but some companies make it seem appealing. In marketing,
if you set the retail price, the customer will never know what it should
cost. It really is deceptive and outright wrong for this practice to
happen.... We admit, it is tempting to sell their product and make a
huge profit, but what is right is right and we sell products on the
basis that you will use the machines and that is why we have been
tremendously successful in the last 20 years. So to answer a commonly
asked question, just take a look at what the Better Business Bureau has
to say about the company you may buy from before you waste your
$$$$$$.....
Q: How are Sole and Smooth treadmills?
A: One of the popular lines of treadmills and ellipticals right now is by Sole Fitness out of Utah.
Their units are all produced by a Taiwanese manufacturer by the name of
Dyaco, who is best known for owning Spirit Fitness and having produced
equipment for a number of other companies, including Free Spirit,
SportsArt, Red Zone and a few others.......
Sole itself has been
around since around 2002-2003 and have been known as being some of the
best internet marketers around outside of Smooth Fitness. We have some
concerns us about Sole. First if that if you think a Sporting Good Store
is going to service the equipment and know whether it is the right
value for what your getting then we have a box of dirt to sell you. Also
we mentioned earlier this Moolah Program Yikes! Read this taken directly from most websites and soles return policy:
To
help alleviate any concern and give you 100% confidence that we do in
fact make the best treadmills and ellipticals available, we offer an
unprecedented 30 day trial period on all of our equipment. If you are
not completely satisfied with your product we will refund your purchase
amount and freight charges both ways, no questions asked. All the
customer is responsible to pay is an 8% restocking fee within the 30 day
trial period.
*
SOLE requires that you keep the packaging to facilitate a return if
necessary. All returns will need a Return Merchandise Authorization
(RMA) number. Any returns that arrive back to SOLE without an RMA will
be refused. All RMA numbers must be requested within the 30 day window,
from time of delivery.
So
lets get this straight, a 100% return policy means you pay 8%, have to
have it in its original packaging (good luck with that) and do it w/in
30 days when it usually takes weeks for you to get the machine and thats
when the clock starts ticking... Awful and misleading!
For
the price point, We choose to sell Spirit, which is made specifically
for specialty stores by the same company, but with better, new
components, better warranties, better service and at a similar price...
A no-brainer for us and for the consumer....
Smooth
only sells on-line. It begs the question, why no retail
representation? We don't like any company that does not allow you to
feel, see, touch, or use a product before you buy it. Also, what if
something goes wrong? You have to e-mail a website? We are not big
fans.
Q: Whats the difference between Department Store brands vs. other brands?
A: Department Store brands
are mainly very "cheap" products. They can make a large profit and not
concern themselves with selling anything of quality. These stores also
do not deliver, or service their products. They are contracted out. A
recent study by a major marketing firm confirmed most department stores
sell their fitness products on the premise that 70% of the people won't
use it. If the remaining % return their machines, they will sill make
good money. What a terrible way to do business!
Q: Their are so many reviews and how do I know who to believe and if the company is paying for the review?
A: Oh my goodness how this
has gotten out of control. Most review sites are simply webpages and
sites that support what the dealer or manufacturer sells.
So how do you recognize if this treadmill review site or elliptical review site is a being bought? One way is, if there is a CLICK here
to buy anything that they rate equipment wise on the website...... it
is most likely a fake one. It means that it is not an unbiased website
and one that was created to 'bait and switch you' to believe that it
was. BE AWARE!
Have you ever noticed?
Most of those supposed Internet sites are touting the features and
quality of the same lines. Have you noticed this? So have we. Why is
this so? Why aren't the quality manufacturers mentioned?
Well, because they are suppliers to the affiliate sites. They also
happen to be the machines that are on the lower end of the food chain in
quality.
You too can start a website and sell their goods and get a commission. A sign of the times.
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Then who can I trust?
With all of the review sites out there we all agree that it
really has become more confusing then it should be. We don't know these
sites and remember you don't know them
either even if they may offer some good insight. Take this information
and go to your specialty fitness dealer and try the machines. Each
machine is different, some are built better, some feel different...one
will suit your needs. Or give us a call to thoroughly understand what is going on.
We sell machines at all different price points and if certain
machines were worth it, we would sell them too! I can GUARANTEE they
are making a nice profit off those machines.
Like most things, reviews can and are being bought. At some point,
you are going to have to trust someone. Ask anyone who has shopped at
our store over the last 20 years and ask them about their experience.
Even consumer reports does not test many of the machines out there and
they are not the ones who have to service the machines year after
year. Let our frustration be your salvation!
Q: What is considered junk?
A: That is a great question.
There is junk out there and there are inexpensive machines. It depends
what you need the machine to do for you. On a treadmill for instance,
look for a heavy frame (it supports your weight after all), warranty,
and of course features and price. You need to be comfortable with the
machine. The more comfortable you are the more likely you are to use it.
Can you buy a good treadmill for $699.00? No!
There is a minimum price where quality parts come into effect. Good
motors, lower boards, frames, welding etc.. cost money (obviously) so we
draw the minimum at $899.00 for a good walking treadmill. The grass isn't always greener!
Realizing that quality comes at a cost is the first step. The more you
pay, the better the machine gets, as it is in the auto industry.
Q: Should I buy on-line?
A: The problem
In the last few years there has been a proliferation of Internet
sellers. Most implore shady selling practices and some look as if they
were legitimate evaluation sites. A good rule of thumb: If an
evaluation site has any links to sell products etc, more than likely it
is a paid for review site! We realize it seems tempting to potentially
save a little money, but do some research and BUY WITH CAUTION from a
legitimate retailer with "real" stores and customer service.
One of the most common get-rich quick scams is to open up an on-line
store with no retail representation. If you buy from one of these
stores, you will be making someone rich and will have to realize you
have no recourse if something goes wrong, which it will at some point in
the life of your machine. Many websites are unauthorized dealers
on-line selling different products then what you ordered, damaged
products, and furthermore, you may never even see your product. Guess
what happens when their is a problem. YOU pay to ship it back. YOU
fight an unregistered website store with no option to talk with a person
who may be out of business a week later. Most on-line dealers can not
warranty or service your equipment. I don't care what they promise,
they simply can't and won't. The goverment does not even know how to
handle Internet disputes. Be very cautious of this b/c we get calls
daily of someone who bought on-line and need our help....... Also,
remember this, we have read almost every return policy out there
and they are down right manipulative.
Use your better judgment. Buying on the Internet is an amazing thing
of the 21st century. But, there are too many issues when it comes to
fitness machines. Buy from a trusted store.
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