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Cheap Hot Tubs - How You Can Find One

Mon 21 May 2007 - 09:49

Cheap Hot Tubs - How You Can Find One
By Rodney Wallin

Not everyone can afford to pay $5,000 (or more) for a hot tub. Add expenses for chemicals, accessories, installation, and a good quality hot tub cover and you are spending some serious cash. Are there less expensive ways to get a good soak? Absolutely! Leaving aside the possibility that you could build your own, there are several other ways of finding a cheap hot tub.

After shopping at your local spa dealer you might be discouraged with how high the prices are. Even the discount factory warehouse chains sometimes seem to lure you in with a low price in a newspaper ad, then try and talk you out of buying the advertised one and spending instead on a top of the line hot tub. They will use arguments like, "this discount tub is a closeout and the technology has come a long way since this has been manufactured". Or come up with things like "the insulation in this other tub is much more efficient", "the motor is more powerful", or have some other reason to steer you toward a more expensive tub. Some of the things salespeople are saying might be absolutely true, but they are trying to play on your fears and emotions to get you to spend more than you might have initially budgeted.

Step back for a minute and really evaluate your needs and budget. Recently our local factory warehouse ran a newspaper ad and featured a hot tub on sale for $750. "A cheap hot tub, a piece of junk" the salesman said, when I asked about it. "Let me show you a real hot tub". What he didn't say of course was that the "real hot tub" sold for $6,000. But if you are willing to put up with cheaper construction, a less powerful motor, and higher lifetime heating costs, the difference in purchase price between the two hot tubs might make buying the less expensive one a perfectly reasonable decision. You can normally add lights and some other accessories after you have used the tub for awhile. You can probably decide later to add an accessory if you are missing something you really want.

If you research spas you'll find lots of information about acrylic shells, fancy heating units, insulation, and dozens of other factors you to consider when buying a hot tub. If the one factor that is most important to you is price, then there is at least one manufacturer who makes a cheap hot tub -- a new and complete unit for less than $1,000. It's also very light so it is inexpensive to ship. Of course there are lots of things that you won't get with a lower end model, like fancy lights, seating for 8, or a powerful heater, but any hot tub is better than no hot tub, right?

eBay, the king of online auctions, typically has dozens of hot tub auctions running at any one time. Most of these tubs are new and you do need to be careful about the shipping costs which can run $500 or more. Frequently the delivery company will only put the spa on the curb and it will be up to you (and probably take a lot of your neighbors) to find a way to lug it to the location where you want it.

Buying a used spa is another way of acquiring a hot tub without paying full price. Local classified newspaper advertising or your area's ad rags will frequently carry offers from people who have a unit to sell. You do have to be cautious about the quality of used hot tubs. If someone has one sitting empty in their backyard be very careful and check it out completely. There are dangers to buying used spas, and if the hot tub is not set up and running so you can test the pump, heater, and other features, then you might be very disappointed when you get it home and set up.

It might take a little more time and energy to find them, but there are some cheap hot tubs out there. Be patient and persistent, and you'll be soaking in a steaming hot tub before you know it!

Rodney Wallin writes about hot tubs and helps to sort out the facts from the hype. Head over to his website at www.spa-hot-tub-covers.com for direct links to sources of cheap hot tubs.

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