Treadmills And Ellipticals - Online Buying Vs Offline Buying

Ohiyo! As the Treadmill Sensei and knower of all things fitnessrelated, a lot of readers email me here at the DOJO and ask,"Oh, great Sensei, where should I purchase my new treadmill orelliptical? Should I buy it at a local store or online? Whichis better?" While I don't really like recommending specific stores orwebsites to purchase from, I can break down the pros and consof placing an internet order versus going in to a local storeand buying the unit from a brick and mortar location. I'm notgoing to get in to "how to choose" in this post because I'vealready done that in my "Treadmill Buyer's Guide" and"Elliptical Buyer's Guide" articles. Check them out if youhaven't already done so. The single best way to start researching a treadmill, and theeasiest, is to load up your favorite search engine and startpoking around. The internet has more information on it than anysales rep at a brick and mortar store...more than any 10 salesreps combined into a super sales rep. Start with review siteslike this one (the Treadmill Sensei, www.treadmillsensei.com).Take a look at multiple sites because a lot of them out therehave personal agendas in regards to which treadmill orelliptical they are "prescribing." I'd suggest checking with atleast 3 sources. Once you've got a decent handle on a few ellipticals ortreadmills that meet your needs, I suggest trying to find alocal store to go and try them out. This is a large purchasefor most people and it is for a piece of equipment that you'regoing to spend a lot of time sweating on. Make sure the unitfeels good to you. Once you're completely convinced you've found the perfecttreadmill for yourself or the perfect elliptical for your den,get back online and start doing some price comparison. Thereare a lot of places online that will give you some fantasticprices on equipment. You'll also generally get free shippingand won't have to pay sales tax. Shopping online can save youhundreds dollars on the "hidden costs" that will pop up whenpurchasing at a local fitness store. Let's go over some of the pros and cons for online storesversus local shops. Local Stores -- The Pros: 1) The best thing about a local store is that you'll be able totry out the actual equipment you've been researching online. Youcan do a run on a treadmill or take a quick workout on thatelliptical you've had your eyes on. 2) The other positive is that you'll be able to walk out thedoor with the equipment right there. You see it, you like it,you buy it and you take it home. Instant gratification is awonderful thing. Local Stores -- The Cons: 1) You may get instant gratification, but more than likelyit'll cost you. Even if the actual cost of the elliptical ortreadmill is good at a local shop, don't forget you're going tobe hit with taxes which can add up to a hundred dollars or moreon a lot of the treadmills and ellipticals. You might save that$25 or $50 on the price of your dream treadmill but that getseaten up by $80 in sales taxes! 2) From there, you'd better have a big truck or SUV to cartthat unit home because once you buy it you'll have to deliverit yourself! Or, for anywhere from $50-$200, that local storecan deliver it for you. 3) Now, the biggest Con about brick and mortar stores inproduct knowledge. Unfortunately, in my experience, most brickand mortar sales cashiers have very little actual productknowledge. In fact, if you go to your local seller of sportinggoods/fitness equipment you'll find it very hard to even getsomeone to help you! Most of the reps you'll encounter aregoing to be young kids who get paid a minimum wage for aminimum amount of work...which is a shame because that will bea turnoff for most people interested in actually buying atreadmill or elliptical. 4) The last major problem you'll find at a local store is:pushy salesmen. There's nothing I hate worse than a salesperson who treats me like an idiot and pushes hard on whateverproduct will get them the best commission. I dislike the "usedcar" style sales people you'll find at a lot of fitnessspecialty stores. There is a big company here in the LA areathat is known for their hard-selling salesmen who bullycustomers in to some truly bad equipment. If a salesmen getspushy with you just walk out and don't go back. There are lotsof other places to buy a treadmill or elliptical where youwon't have to put up with that sort of attitude. Internet Stores -- The Pros: 1) You'll find the widest selection of product around. The bigfitness sites will have hundred or thousands of productsavailable for you to take a look at and compare. 2) With that extensive product selection you'll also find a lotmore product knowledge. If you've got a question or problem, youcan generally call up or email an online rep and find them to beincredibly well-informed on everything they carry. 3) You will also find better pricing, free delivery in mostcases and most of the time you won't have to pay taxes. Whenyou add it all up you'll find yourself saving a lot of time andmoney when ordering online. Internet Stores -- The Cons: 1) No instant gratification -- you will be waiting around 2-3weeks to receive your order. Most of the units will be shippedout via a freight company which take 7-10 business days totravel across the country. 2) The big con for internet stores is that you don't get totouch or test out their equipment. You're having to deal withfacts and opinions. Luckily, there are tons of sites out thereand you'll be able to get a good idea of what is a well-builtmachine and which ones are duds (Icon Fitness). All-in-all, buying online is a lot easier and less painful. Thebrick and mortar shops have their place (say, for buying a floormodel at a ridiculously low price), but for buying a newtreadmill or elliptical I'd say check out online stores for agreat deal and larger selection. That's it for today. Take care! -The Treadmill SenseiAbout The Author: The Treadmill Sensei is your source forreviews and information on treadmills and ellipticals. TheTreadmill Sensei has nearly 20 years of experience in building,restoring, repairing and maintaining fitness equipment. Let hiswisdom guide you. http://www.treadmillsensei.com