I just heard from Human Touch that their HT-5005 massage chair is being phased out and the only color they have left is ivory. The black and espresso colors are sold out and will not be replenished. So, if you don’t like ivory, I’d look at another model altogether. If you are looking for something in a similar price range, i.e. between $1000-$2000, I might suggest the Human Touch HT-5040 or the HT-3300. Great chairs at very reasonable prices. Of course, they are not as feature-rich as more expensive chairs, but they are perfect for that price range. Human Touch also has a great customer service department should anything go wrong with your chair. These chairs have a 1 year comprehensive/5 year chasis warranty.
FYI, we just bumped up the price of our Panasonic 30007 massage chair from $3999 to $4299 to accommodate the price increase at our end from Panasonic. These chairs are backordered, but when they come in they will sell for more than they have in the past…so buyer beware!
We just received another phone call from a massage chair owner who purchased his massage chair from another online website store. We get these calls all the time and you’d be surprised to know that they call us for customer support. Why, you ask? Because they can’t get a response from the online store they bought the chair from. They said that they had no trouble getting support when they wanted to buy the chair, but were having a “dickens of a time” (is there such a phrase!?!?) getting a hold of someone at their online store of choice when they had an after-purchase problem or wanted to get some help with the chair they purchased.
We get these calls all the time…and I am not exaggerating! Steffanie handles most of the website and showroom calls and she gets calls like this almost weekly. We find ourselves explaining things about the massage chair to the client that they didn’t know and couldn’t find answers to. We find ourselves referring clients to the manufacturers for warranty help. We find ourselves getting calls like this all the time. Now…don’t be me wrong. I don’t mind! But it concerns me, and it should concern you, the prospective massage chair buyer, that customer support AFTER the sale is often so weak.
We have certainly taken this lesson to heart and do what we can to reassure you that you are making a good decision when you buy from Massage-Chair-Relief.com. We will even give you our personal cell numbers at the time of the sale so that you can always get a hold of someone should you have a concern. We want you to have complete peace of mind when you spend this much money on an online product. I know a lot of folks are hesitant, at best, buying a product of this high a price online. Many of you have heard horror stories of online fraud and rip-offs. Well, I have personally been ripped off online, and the taste of those experiences linger in my mouth and gut for a long time. So we, as a company, are bound and determined to make sure that your buying experience is phenomenal. And, should you ever bump into a problem we will take care of it ASAP.
Feel free to call me or Steffanie, my showroom manager, if you have any questions or inquiries. My personal cell number is 801-651-2026. Steffanie’s is 801-680-4229. We are always at your disposal.
I see our friend and Inada USA President, Cliff Levin, is in the news again, this time promoting the new Inada Cube massage chair. Check out this article in the New York Times:
I love the picture of Cliff standing next to a “stack” of Inada Cube’s. I don’t think I’d ever imagine a stack of any massage chairs prior to the introduction of the Cube. I have the Cube in my showroom and it actually has quite a remarkably strong and firm massage in the legs and even in the butt and low back. This thing actually looks like a cooler. You can fold it up and pull it on the wheels. Very cool!
I also have put up a couple of new Inada Sogno massage chair videos on the website. One is the calf and foot massage feature and the other highlights the full arm massage feature.
This last week, as promised, Inada raised it’s prices on the Inada Sogno massage chair and the i2A massage chair. The prices have gone up to $6799 and $3799, respectively. We have not seen that much change in Sogno interest since the price increase, so I would have to say, at this point, that the price increase has not had an immediate dramatic effect on the popularity of the chair.
Unfortunately, the slate and creme colors are still back-ordered, but not by much. If you purchase today, your chair would be here at the end of the month or the first week in March. Comparing this waiting time to the HT-7450 massage chair (black) by Human Touch, which is back-ordered until the end of March/beginning of April, the wait for a Sogno is not bad at all.
Remember, that we have also added the bright red Inada Sogno color and the genuine leather Sogno. These options have been out there before, but only recently have they become available to all Inada dealers. The bright red Sogno has been on the TV show “30 Rock” in Tracy Morgan’s office.
Well, if you have any questions about the new pricing or would just love to talk to us, please feel free to contact our showroom at 801-417-8240 and Steff, Mona, Melissa, or myself would be happy to visit with you.
We published another in our series of 9 videos about the Inada Sogno massage chair. This one is about the full arm massage feature of this chair. It is up on youtube.com for your enjoyment:
In this video, I go over the arm massage function of this unique massage chair. It is the only chair that I am aware of which has a full airbag arm massage. Arm, forearm, and hand/wrist are all covered by the airbags. Intensity of the massage can be adjusted, as can all airbag functions on this chair, to Low, Medium, and High.
We recommend taking off wristwatches and large rings or bracelets when using the arm massage, to prevent excessive pressure on those accessories…which will push them into your skin! Just a little tip!
I wrote a blog post a couple of weeks ago that talked about my experience with Panasonic after one of my clients experienced some trouble with a damaged Panasonic 30007 massage chair delivery (www.massage-chair-relief.com/blog/general/changes-at-panasonic-thank-goodness-i-hope/ ). I am happy to announce that Panasonic has stepped up to the plate and offered to pay for delivery of a new chair and pick up of the damaged massage chair. I don’t know if my blog post or the letters from my client made any difference, but I am just happy that my client has a chair that is working for them now!
On another Panasonic note…I just heard yesterday that Panasonic is raising the price of their 30007 model by $450. I have been told by inside sources that the reason for the price increase is NOT because of an increase in the cost of production, but because Panasonic does not like it’s retailers/dealers selling the chair for so low. Remember in that same blog post I wrote a week ago what I thought about the lack of integrity in Panasonic’s terrible pricing policies (or lack thereof)? Well, who knew that this would be their answer!!
So, rather than police their retailers to maintain price and product integrity, Panasonic decides to raise it’s price by almost $500 to get retailers to charge more for the massage chair. Oh my…it’s a wonder that so many retailers, including myself, put up with this for their clients and for themselves. I have no idea if the price of the their other models will go up as well, but I am sure I will find on Monday morning price increases across the board.
For now, I will keep my 30007 price at $3999 to see how things work out. But, I will also tell you, for sure, that I will not be doing any low price matches on Monday until the new pricing has filtered through to all the retailers. As it was, I was doing price matches that left me with such a minimal profit margin, that if the credit card that was used by the buyer was an American Express card (which charges me 3.5% on a purchase) and if shipping was to the furthest corner of the country away from California (which is where the chairs ship from) I came extremely close to losing money on the transaction (in one or two situations, I actually DID lose money).
But I asked for that now, didn’t I, with my 110% low price match guarantee. So, I have to sleep in the same bed I make.
Well, there you have it folks. On Monday morning, the Inada massage chairs AND the Panasonic chairs are all going up in price. “Just another manic Monday…”! It will be so interesting to see how you, the consumer, reacts to all of this. By the way, if you are planning to beat the price woes, you had better give us a call this weekend to place your order. Call 888-259-5380 or call Steffanie, my showroom manager, at 801-680-4229.
We sell a lot of massage chairs overseas and into Canada and Central/South America. And I often get the same question for each international inquiry: “Is the warranty any good in my country?” I want to address this a bit today. For all massage chair manufacturers the warranty is only good for US orders. Once the massage chair leaves US soil, the warranty is considered void.
Inada is the only exception to this. If someone in Canada buys an Inada massage chair from a US retailer (such as www.massage-chair-relief.com) the warranty is good in the Great White North. But, not anywhere else.
Having said all this, it is important to know the following:
Although the warranties are void, most companies, particularly Sanyo, Panasonic, and Inada, have an international presence. They have resources available for you to get parts and service for your massage chair should you ever need them. So, if you are an international customer and you purchase a massage chair from us, you can still get support overseas even if the warranty is not applicable. Feel free to call me if you have any concerns of questions about this subject. We have had a lot of experience in international massage chair sales and can give you a lot of great input.
I’d like to thank Steffanie, my commercial sales manager, for writing this little review and giving us her input on this new AcuTouch massage chair and iPhone app from Human Touch:
AcuTouch 9500 massage chair
Human Touch has a new technology- minded massage chair in the works to come out in May. It is called the AcuTouch 9500 massage chair. It is able to be used with your iPod Touch, iPhone, or iPad. It has an app that you can download for free to personalize and customize your massage experience while using this chair.
I, myself, have not joined the iPhone bandwagon so this doesn’t mean a whole to me except, does this mean that MY massage in this chair will not be as good since I don’t have an iPhone? However, if you do have an iPhone this app sounds pretty cool. You can use it to customize what massage auto programs you want it to perform and you also have access to lots of health advice and tips for utilizing your chair to the best of its abilities. Besides that, it will “save” the programs that you have done in your phone so that you can go back and see what program it was that you really enjoyed.
The AcuTouch 9500 has the same look and feel of the ever popular HT-1650 massage chair. This has been a top seller for us and gives the best lower leg and foot massage of any chair in the market. It has a very regal and classy look to the upholstery and can pass for a regular recliner.
Keep in mind that information on this chair has still been limited so take this blog post for what it’s worth! Thanks, Steffanie. I like the idea of having info on the cell phone about the chair and the benefits of massage that I can access while I am sitting on the chair. I’m not sure, though, if the iPhone app is going to be that great of a deal for prospective buyers. Can the remote control be used just like with the other Human Touch massage chairs? I will be very curious to see how you, the shopper, respond to this chair when it hits the market in May. Any feedback would be appreciated from you. We will be carrying the chair if it will be available to us in May. We don’t even know what the price will be until closer to May. I’ll keep you posted.
Check out this amazing-looking workstation. Someone sent me the info and I was quite taken by it. Of course, it is only $40,000!! I wonder if it has a massage chair built into it…any good workstation should.
I just read a press release from Panasonic that talks about a new massage sofa, the EP-MS40, which is being introduced to the US market. It is a cute little thing, looking like a piece of furniture as opposed to the traditional massage chair. The
Panasonic MS40 massage chair sofa
Human Touch HT-1650 massage chair has always been a fan favorite at our showroom because it looks more like a regular recliner than it does a massage chairs. Omega came out recently with their new Skyline and Serenity zero gravity massage chairs, which are also designed to look like a regular chair…getting away from the traditional massage chair look, too.
Here is the image of the MS40 for your perusal. I don’t know if we will be carrying this model, especially with my concerns about Panasonic’s customer service and price integrity (see blog post http://www.massage-chair-relief.com/blog/general/changes-at-panasonic-thank-goodness-i-hope/ ). But, I like the aesthetics of the chair (oops…I mean sofa). The only thing that concerns me with the improved aesthetics is the compromise of features to accommodate the appearance. Maybe it won’t just be another “pretty face” but a real therapeutic, feature-rich massage chair, too. I’ll have to try it out to be sure. If anyone has already tried this baby out, let me know what you thought.
Here are some of the specs: it will come in avocado green and latte colors, the airbag massage ottoman retracts underneath the chair seat (ala HT-1650), washable polyester upholstery (may be prone to getting dirtier than the regular leather or faux leather), 26 inch track, 4 pre-set programs and 2 manual programs, price tag of $2499.
Oh, by the way, I saw the coolest thing I think I have ever seen in the massage chair genre the other day. My next blog post will talk about that, along with a picture. It will blow you away.
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