Buying a Hot Tub: Why Purchasing Your Tub from a Home Show Isn’t the Best Idea

While attending a few recent home shows, we noticed a trend in individual’s comments about how their purchase of a hot tub from one of these shows was quite unsatisfactory. This piqued our interest as a topic we felt worth exploring.

At Imagine Backyard Living, we are dedicated to providing the best possible experiences for our clients and potential customers so we investigated this scenario to better communicate to you the pitfalls of purchasing a spa or hot tub at a home show.

Here’s what we found:

  • While home shows are great places to visit and get ideas, they are not a good place to make a purchase decision on a big ticket item. Take time to investigate the vendor and the product before signing any contracts. Certainly do not put any sort of major deposit as a down payment. If the exhibitor wants your business, the “deal” will be there after the show. Beware if they tell you anything different.
  • Many companies send professional sales teams to shows that are accustomed to pressuring visitors to buy. Oftentimes, these high-pressure tactics lead to impulse purchases and significant buyer’s remorse.
  • Most home shows post warnings to attendees to be careful and cautious of making purchases while there and that the home show does not stand behind any claims made by exhibitors.
  • Another area of concern is contracts versus verbal promises. It’s easy to get wrapped up in what you think is a “good deal” when surrounded by the excitement and environment of a well-put together show and sales pitch. One complaint we’ve heard repeatedly is that the price and value of a perceived promise turns out later to be much different and even problematic when it comes to underlying dealers and contractual obligations.
  • You can’t try before you buy. With our experiential showroom, we are huge believers that you should know everything there is about our products before investing in a hot tub. This includes being able to try said model. Taking a test soak is a critical step to ensuring a good decision. Home shows don’t offer this essential component of customer service. Would you buy a car without test-driving it?
  • The best brands in the business, like Jacuzzi® Hot Tubs and Sundance® Spas, are great places to shop outside of home shows in order to provide a platform for comparison. This gives you, the potential customer, the chance to shop the differences, warranties, and compare qualities of many different models instead of being drawn into event specials.

Although there are many excellent things about home shows, it’s important to be wary of deals that are too good to be true and high pressure sales tactics..  What’s most important is that you take your time and explore your options.

This is a long term investment that can quickly turn bad if you make an impulsive choice. Visit our experiential showroom anytime for questions and a thorough tour of all that Imagine Backyard Living has to offer!

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