Hot Tub Forum
Original => Hot Tub Forum => Topic started by: East_TX_Spa on April 20, 2005, 10:02:59 am
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I've noticed in reading this board for the last 6 months that there seems to be some extremely long lead times between ordering a spa and getting it delivered. Why is that?
Some folks are having to wait a month or two to get their spa delivered. Do the dealers not keep any inventory or is it more on the side of the customer not having a place to put the spa?
Some folks have come into my store and bought spas because it was going to take the other guys a month to get their spa when we could sometimes do it the next day. Just wondering what is going on out there.
Terminator
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Seems like the majority of the posters here mentioning long delays are ordering their spas and finding those delays long. I actually purchased my tub in late Feb, had to put in the concrete pad, which we had to wait for good weather, the tub stayed on my dealer's floor for about 6 weeks.
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Terminator,
In my area, the majority of dealers will wait till they have a truckload of spas to order the purchasers spa. Basically the dealers save themselves about $100 per spa. They usually hold no inventory and don’t have to pay Textron.
I am not saying that is a good or bad thing, but I would say 90% of customers are not ready for the spa to be delivered on the day of purchase. If they would be, I think dealers would always have the most popular colors and models available for immediate delivery like a Pearl and Gray Vanguard.
I would also think the philosophy of in-stock spas changes depending on the region. Does anything I just wrote make sense?
Chris
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Chris H, that does make sense.
Terminator
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Chris H, that does make sense.
Terminator
... as long as the customer knows this up front and isn't promised a delivery date that the dealer knows full well he can't make but says yes to get the sale completed.
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Under promise and over produce! ;)
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I can appreciate the desire to save money both as a dealer and a consumer but the thought of putting a customer off for an unspecified amount of time to save an additional $100.00 on freight while it is a very realistic savings ....the thought of it possibly costing or causing a problem with the sale of a unit would not be worth to me ..... If it slows down an order anything longer than a weeks time....I would say pass, pay the extra 100.00 and get the deal done ....
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... as long as the customer knows this up front and isn't promised a delivery date that the dealer knows full well he can't make but says yes to get the sale completed.
Great point. My dealer gave me a great deal on a new cover and I know getting it in with his next shipment is part of that deal. I'm not dead in the water without it and we both understood this up front.
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As far as lead times go the piper glen was a minimum of 8 weeks the maxxus I ordered was 5 weeks, I live in the newburyport area of mass.
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As far as lead times go the piper glen was a minimum of 8 weeks the maxxus I ordered was 5 weeks, I live in the newburyport area of mass.
Interesting, my dealer is quoting 4 week delivery times for Artesian here in NJ.
I guess depending on the brand and the options being offered, I see nothing wrong with waiting 4 - 6 weeks for a tub. In the Artesian Platinum, Gold and Island series there are at least 10 colors that can be selected, when I saw the Sweeetwater Bahia, I think there were 3. I couldn't possibly see a dealer anticipating any orders with colors unless it's a proprietary color such as D1's "lifetime warrantied" white or something like that.
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While shopping, I will tell the consumer 3-4 weeks. When they buy it, I order it. Many are not necessarily ready to receive it as quick as I can get it, but yet I did notice some people jon the web indicating long lead time. I thought the dealer couldn't be doing much business and trying to save on freight.
Typically, it takes the factory 10 working days to manufacture the spa and in the midwest another 5 days to get it here. Plus or minus 2 or 3 days for it to start production or wait for a truck, plus or minus a weekend, 3-4 weeks.
A guy was in last Tuesday and wanted to know when we could deliver. I simply told him, if you like the color, this afternoon. If you want a different color 3-4 weeks. We did deliver it that aftenoon and the deal was done in 25 minutes.
That's happend three times in 21 years, but 70% of them, I'm sitting on the spa for 1 to 3 weeks after they get here for the customer to be prepared. 30% of them get delivered immediately out of the warehouse stock. We usually stock around 60-80 spas in inventory with 32 to 36 of them on the floors in 2 stores that get sold and delivered turning the floor over constantly.
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That's happend three times in 21 years, but 70% of them, I'm sitting on the spa for 1 to 3 weeks after they get here for the customer to be prepared. 30% of them get delivered immediately out of the warehouse stock. We usually stock around 60-80 spas in inventory with 32 to 36 of them on the floors in 2 stores that get sold and delivered turning the floor over constantly.
WOW!
You must have huge stores!
My dealer has about 8 spas in her store.
When talking to my dealer about delivery time, it seems she runs into the same situation as you. As a matter of fact that will probably happen to me - spa ready before I'm ready. She claims not to worry and that she has the room.
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I could understand how the customer might not be ready because in my case I haven't picked out my spa and I need to pour a pad and each spa has a different size. I guess i could go a couple of feet more but would like to as close has possible.
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Vinny, I gotta be ready when my shopper is. We do not attempt to pressure them into a decision, but BS walks and money talks, are you ready to do something?
2 stores with 14- 16 spas on each floor. You can't sit in a picture. My desire would be to have each model in water. Not practicle. One with lounge, one without. Which color do you like?
I am exclusively hot tub, well 85% and 15% Saunas. Our business it predominantly hot tubs, 24-6 off on Sunday, which is a good shopping day and I feel we should be open, but you can only do so much.
But, we remain available to our customer 24-7-365, that's service.
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I decided on the HS vista last Thur I think. The dealer had several color combos available for Sat delivery including the one I wanted (opal and espresso) however it was a floor model not wet but on the floor. He has several more being delivered the following Monday. So I waited and had a new one delivered on Tuesday ļ He told me they tried to keep most colors and models in stock. They like to be able to deliver them before people change their minds. LOL. I have had mine for just over 24 hours and I am loving it.
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We normally keep around 80 spas in stock between 4 stores. About 8 models per store are kept wet. Most of the inventory is HotSpring, Tiger River, and Solana TX's. Maximum lead time on our end has never exceeded 3 weeks and that is usually for entry level spas like the Hot Spots.
About half of our spas are 110v and there is not a lot of customer preparation that is required to get one of these set up at their home. Factor that along with a pretty mild climate here in NE Texas and this creates many opportunities for buy today, delivered tomorrow situations. It gives us a huge advantage over some of the other guys who are full-time pool dealers, part-time spa dealers and carry no-inventory and few floor models.
Terminator
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we usually have around 60 spas in stock. 16-20 on display at the store I manage, and another 16-20 on display at our other location. Being on the east coast, lead time for an order is about 4-6 weeks. D-1 builds the spas as they are ordered. Plus due to the rising costs of shipping we have started to stock the most popular shell/cabinet combinations and only the most popular models we sell.
Jason,
Store manager for a D-1, Nordic, & Hawkeye Dealer