Hot Tub Forum
Original => Hot Tub Forum => Topic started by: Chris_H on December 17, 2007, 05:38:25 pm
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Hello:
See the attached link. It appears Watkin's is no longer offering the Highlife anymore on Costco.com. Can anyone confirm or deny this?
Thanks,
Chris
http://www.costco.com/Common/Category.aspx?cat=4640&eCat=BC|111|4639|4640&whse=BC&topnav=&hierPath=111*4639*4640*&lang=en-US
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this guy claims he just purchased a Watkins spa at Costco in Dec '07
http://www.poolspaforum.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=10302
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I haven't received any info about Watkins no longer offering it at Costco :-?
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Well, I looked too. I didn't see it either. I did a search for Highlife and for Hot Spring. No spa. Interesting. I know the program was not at all lucrative. Watkins did not sell very many spas through Costco.
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I have emailed my contact at The Mother Ship, who is the Costco.com Watkins connection. :D
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It is confirmed.
Not a big seller.
Too bad. Even if a more than other spas on Costco.com it was the only one with an extensive nationwide network of service and support. There were no returns.
So it goes.
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Thanks. It is interesting.
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I had one customer who was looking hard at the tub from Costco. She had owned the spa after which that particular model was fashioned, and wanted the exact shape and size.
We followed up for weeks, months, but to my knowledge she hasn't bought yet. '
I guess I'll have to get on the phone....
8-)
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Since there are no Costcos around here, I knew it wouldn't affect us much one way or another. I even referred a couple of people to costco.com because I wanted to see one, but it never happened.
I wish I could find the thread pertaining to the Costco-HotSpring alliance. There was a lot of doom and gloom on it from competing dealers.
Term
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Oh! I found it:
http://www.whatsthebest-hottub.com/cgi-bin/yabb/YaBB.pl?num=1145913124/0
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"It is confirmed......Not a big seller"
why did the Watkins spas not sell well?
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"I wish I could find the thread pertaining to the Costco-HotSpring alliance.
There was a lot of doom and gloom on it from competing dealers"
Term although I am not a dealer do you think people
were over-estimating the power of the Watkins brand?
As someome stated they were "the only one with an extensive nationwide
network of service and support".
I quess the expectations were that a good product, with a good name,
along with good service and good support....would be a hit.
What happened?
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My guess is that the tub didnt retail at around the $3,000 range like the junk spas that they mainly carry. So most uninformed buyers thought that it was too expensive.
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Zep, my belief is that most consumers simply looked at the following:
1. Picture- the HotSpring Highlife is not the prettiest pig at the fair. The other spas being sold on the website looked nicer on the screen.
2. Jets- the other spas have a lot of them, albeit primarily generic bullet jets and air injectors. HotSpring always has the lowest "jet count".
3. Radios/TV's/Doodads- the other spas have them, the HotSpring did not.
4. Price- the others were cheaper.
I think that's pretty much it in a turtle shell.
Term
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Term/Pathfinder
I can relate.
In my industry, we are the highest priced.
We do not offer discounts or match lowballers.
Thats not our nitch......we like our nitch.
Rather than be Walmart, we prefer to be Neiman's.
Funny story, one time an attorney called and said
"well I can get the same thing for alot less" and I
gently told him, "yeah I can find an attorney in
the Thrifty Nickel newspaper that practices law too".
Price isn't everything!
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It is confirmed.
Not a big seller.
Too bad. Even if a more than other spas on Costco.com it was the only one with an extensive nationwide network of service and support. There were no returns.
So it goes.
Don't you think this just points to many customers buy on looks, jet counts, waterfalls, stereos, etc....That until they have a problem or see an electric bill they think they are really getting "a deal".....I am still amazed that so many people think you can get like products for $100.00's or $1000.00's less than proven brands. I think there are deals on certain things but it is very tough to produce manufactured products that are equal for thousands of less dollars.
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"I am still amazed that so many people think you can get like products for $100.00's or $1000.00's less than proven brands. I think there are deals on certain things but it is very tough to produce manufactured products that are equal for thousands of less dollars."
Mendo on a different note on saving hundreds if not thousands of dollars, one of the few areas (and not really focused on spas, just products in general) where this may be true is e-Bay, but that is a whole different story. With over 300 e-Bay transactions (and I might add 100% positive feedback!).... I am still to this day amazed at the power of e-Bay.
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I don't know.... I used to sell cover lifters on ebay, and consistently got more for them there that we sold them for on our web site ;D
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Dr Spa.......we have basically bought everything for our office
on e-bay and saved thousands of dollars....a few examples:
Pitney Bowes Postage Machine
$8000 new
$900 on e-Bay
Pitney Bowes Sorting Machine
$1200 new
$200 on e-bay
Nortel Telephones
$265 new
$45 on e-Bay
Panasonic Fax Machines:
$100 new
$15 on e-Bay
Sony Flat Screen Monitors
$800 new
$150 on e-Bay
Kodak Easy Share Cameras
$175 new
$40 on e-Bay
Cell Phone AC Charger
$20 new
$1 on e-Bay
Motorola Two Way Radios
$275 new
$45 on e-Bay
Kenwood Two Way Radio Base Stations
$325 new
$75 on e-Bay
Shure Microphone
$250 new
$17 on e-Bay
I just bought my niece a year's gift subscription to People Magazine for $34.
People Magazine is one of the higher magazines and a year subscription
usually goes for around $70-$100.
the vast majority of e-Bay sales are way below retail prices
e-Bay will continue to kick "brick & mortar's" A$$!
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"I am still amazed that so many people think you can get like products for $100.00's or $1000.00's less than proven brands. I think there are deals on certain things but it is very tough to produce manufactured products that are equal for thousands of less dollars."
Mendo on a different note on saving hundreds if not thousands of dollars, one of the few areas (and not really focused on spas, just products in general) where this may be true is e-Bay, but that is a whole different story. With over 300 e-Bay transactions (and I might add 100% positive feedback!).... I am still to this day amazed at the power of e-Bay.
Yes but the spas on E bay are not Sundance or HS or any indusrty leadrer they are cheaper made spas but not like spas...
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true Mendo.......
on certain items e-bay is not really practical because of shipping
although we have sold several large liftgate trucks on e-bay.
but agreed e-bay is probably not the best place to buy a
hot tub unless you find a local tub that you can go pickup
of course CraigsList.com (partly owned by e-Bay) is great
for stuff like used hot tubs at bargain prices because Craigslist
is not only free, it is mostly local to your particular city.
CraigsList is also very powerful
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Can we try to stay on topic?
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Here is a Hot Spring tub on e-Bay!
http://cgi.ebay.com/Hot-Spring-Hot-Tub_W0QQitemZ110206332653QQihZ001QQcategoryZ42240QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem
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lol...yes but I thought we were talking about new products the exact same product that you would walk into a store and buy brand new. There are always deals to be found if you look under enough rocks....I am not saying E- Bay is a rock....but that list you gave of all you bought sounds like a great deals but there is no way you could go and get those things there on a regular bases for those prices some them are far less than what they cost to produce. If its going to be like products than you may save a few dollars on E-Bay but maybe not. Here is something for you my wife just sold a guitar hero ? X box game on E Bay last week for $147.00 she paid 80 bucks at Target for it but it was the wrong format for my sons game machine. I guess they are a hot item this time of year.
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Can we try to stay on topic?
I think we were until E Bay...I was saying that people see what in a nut shell is more bling on other Costco spas and buy those, thinking thats the real deal....which until they get a electric bill or need service appears to be so.
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"but there is no way you could go and get those things there on a regular
bases for those prices some them are far less than what they cost to produce"
Ok we'll just agree to disagree.....
but again I am talking about mostly used stuff on e-bay
e-Bay opens up a huge, huge, market that basically did not exist
e-Bay brings millions of buyers and sellers of goods together
that had no practical way to meet before e-Bay
before, the consumer had far fewer choices....either find
something used in the local newspaper or pretty much
you had to buy a new product.....the consumer was more
likely to buy new because there was not a huge, huge
nationwide/worldwide used goods market that was practical to use...
e-Bay has helped solve that dilema.
we shop e-Bay constantly and save tons of dollars all the time
those deals I listed are not rare, they are the norm for us
I assure you e-Bay is not a billion dollar company
because the vast majority of items are higher than retail
e-bay is not the best at everything on earth (yet)
and sure there is always the oddity but for the vast majority
of e-Bay sales "higher than retail" would not be close to
accurate.
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Zep,
I agree that e bay is a great source for many things. We also use it. But current new name brand products are much less likely to be found there at a great savings.
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mendo I agree not from retailers that sell on e-bay
but there are tons of people...individuals that have
products new with tags that for some reason or another
can't use the product and they are much cheaper than
retail and the product is brand new
I buy at least half of all my new shoes on e-bay now
save about 50%
I have a "favorites search"
As soon as somebody puts up a "Bostonian 10.5"
e-Bay sends me an e-mail
If they are "new in box"....I usually pay half what Macys wants.
i just bought a friend a college football team jacket
new on-line it's $149
i searched e-bay "Ohio State jacket"
and poof.....up came a bunch of OSU jackets
no sales tax....new with tags
bought one for $34 plus $12 shipping