“Treadmills on sale”, “Treadmills cheap” and “our lowest price on treadmills EVER”;
You’ve all seen the ads, but how do you know if that “selling price” is actually saving you money? The truth is, no!
Department stores are famous for this tactic. They will list a treadmill for $1499, list it for $799 and sell a ton of them! What most of these buyers don’t know is that the manufacturer’s suggested retail price and the price of the treadmill for another 8 months of the year is, in fact, $799! They just paid FULL price for that machine they thought they saved $700 on. Scary but true.
As a rule, I always like to buy special products in a specialized store. The prices are honest and the quality and service are better. Buying a treadmill from the same store where you bought your underwear seems very, very wrong! But no matter where you shop, timing is usually everything.
Treadmills remain the best bone-building, fat-burning cardio exercise out there. A good quality machine at a great price will probably pay for itself in a few years. But with treadmill prices skyrocketing, family income in the opposite direction but the need to maintain a healthy lifestyle remains important, I’d like to help.
Here are my inside tips for saving money on your treadmill purchase:
1) Summer is generally considered to be the best season to get the lowest possible price on treadmills. This is partially true, as it’s considered the “off season” for cardio equipment (it’s like buying a lawnmower in December). The other side of the coin is that most treadmill manufacturers release their new models around November and use the summer months to clear out old inventory. Now, while this would seem like the ideal opportunity to save some money, keep in mind that the closer you get to the launch of the new treadmill, the lower the price of the outgoing models will be.
Summer is also a great time to buy a quality used treadmill, as many people would have paid a lot of money 6 months ago, never used the machine, and are now looking to cut their losses and use that space for something else. (check out what to look for in a used treadmill in my buying guide
2) Christmas, in my opinion, is BY FAR the best time to buy your best treadmill.
- Each retail business is compared to its own sales numbers from the previous year.
- These numbers (and the competition) in fitness equipment retail are HUGE in December.
This puts you in a great position for negotiations (especially in today’s economy) as store managers and salespeople will do just about anything to get your business. Just be sure to come prepared for your negotiations, as this is also when managers are at the top of their game, and will simply say “no deal” if you are seemingly easy prey or are being too aggressive on price. want.
Bottom line, if the sale sounds too good to be true, like most things in life, it probably is.
Know your wants and needs, do some research and shop at:
- Summer — used treadmills
- Fall (September is better): rock-bottom prices on last year’s models
- December: The best time to negotiate the deal you want (but come prepared)
