Transcript of Video Titled “Massage Chair Industry Update – February 11, 2016”
Alan: Hi, I’m Dr. Alan Weidner from ‘Massage-Chair-Relief.com’ and today is our biweekly massage chair industry update for Thursday, February 11th, 2016. Happy Valentine’s Day to you. I hope you have a great Valentine’s Day, and Valentine’s weekend. We’ll get right in to business.
[SCREEN TEXT: Stock Status]
Alan: Now, we have some โ as far as stock goes — the Infinity Escape, which was supposed to be coming in this week, or early next week, has been pushed back another couple weeks, to the end of February, and we have quite a few back-orders on this chair. It’s a popular chair for the price point, it’s $2995 for an L-track, with six rollers in each foot, a very nice chair for $2995. Anyway, that chair is back-ordered for another couple weeks. I believe the โ hmm, I think that might be it, that I’m aware of โ as far as back-ordered status goes, for the models that we more commonly sell.
[SCREEN TEXT: White/Caramel Infinity Iyashi DISCONTINUED]
Alan: I will mention, though, that Infinity has discontinued the white and caramel Iyashi. So, that model has been discontinued. You can still get the white with the cherry, or the berry red, and the black interior, and of course, you can get the black, with the caramel interior, and the black interior, on the Iyashi.
[SCREEN TEXT: Human Touch HT-7450 & ZeroG 2.0 DISCONTINUED]
Alan: Also discontinued is the Human Touch 7450, and the ZeroG 2.0. Now, the ZeroG 5.0 is a new model from them, and I thought they were going to discontinue the 4.0, and they may still do that, because they’re priced the same, but the 5.0 has a few more features. But they have discontinued โ they’re out of stock on the 2.0, and the Human Touch 7450 โ and now that 7450 has been around a long time. I’ve had the one in my showroom, right from the get go. I even had it in my clinic, before I sold the clinic, and that was eight, nine years ago. So, that chair’s been around a long time, and I guess it’s run its course. I have a โ I have my ‘Black’ showroom model here โ I’d been willing to donate that to charity, if you know of anybody that could benefit from having a chair, having a 7450. I think that the airbag intensity adjustment might be a little goofy on it, and we can see about getting that fixed, but I’d be happy to donate that 7450 to a charity, if you know of anybody; let me know. OK, so thatโs it for stock, and for discontinued items.
[SCREEN TEXT: 18 Month, 0% Interest Financing – February 10 – 16]
Alan: Also, might mention to you that from the 10th, which was yesterday, to the 16th, Synchrony Bank is offering their 18-month financing at lower merchant processing fee rates, so we can offer that to you. We do that about five times a year, and this is one of those times, Presidents’ Day, which is Monday. And so, if you’re interested in buying a chair, and you want to finance it, and you want to take advantage of the 18-month, 0% interest financing, let me know. We can take care of you, we can hook you up.
[SCREEN TEXT: Inada DreamWave Price $8799 on February 1st]
Alan: The DreamWave price went up on February 1st, the Inada DreamWave, it’s at $8799 right now. That is one of our luxury chairs, one of our top chairs, and widely considered one of the best chairs in the world. We, the price has โ and I’ve talked about this on previous updates โ but the price continually goes up on that chair, yet surprisingly, it continues to sell, it’s still a very popular chair. I think it’s maybe getting a run for its money now, because there’s so many other chairs coming in to the market, and some good quality chairs, but the DreamWave is still kind of like the gold standard of massage chairs, so $8799, we’ll see how that holds up in the market, but just wanted to let you know about that.
[SCREEN TEXT: 2 Used DreamWaves for Sale – Call Me!!]
Alan: Oh, oh, and I do have โ I have a DreamWave, I have a one-month-old Inada DreamWave, ‘Dark Brown,’ for $8799 โ or sorry, $7799, and so that $1000 less, plus it includes the five-year extended warranty. Now, a fellow bought this, for Christmas, for his wife, and she ended up not wanting it, so they returned it. I have it โ as a matter of fact, I have it sitting in my showroom behind the backdrop โ and it’s $7799, so first come, first serve. If you’re interested in that chair, please call, or email, or reach out to me, and you can get that chair, and that includes the extended, five-year warranty. So, you’ve got five years, parts-and-labor coverage, at a price of $7799, on a chair thatโs only a month old, so let me know. Oh, and I also have a black leather, Inada DreamWave coming back, and that chair is priced at $9799, and we will that one on sale for $8799, so the regular retail price for a DreamWave, but the premium black leather, and I do sell quite a few of the leather chairs over the years. It’s not unpopular, it’s not like โ it’s more expensive, so we donโt sell as many โ but it still sells quite regularly. So, if you’re interested in the premium black Italian leather DreamWave for $8799, instead of the list price of $9799, let me know, got that one available too. And I also have โ while we’re on the topic of returned chairs, you know we have more returns the first quarter of each year, more than any other time of the year, because we sell so many chairs over the Christmas holidays โ and Black Friday through Christmas, that we do get a few returns. And I’ve got one other chair, it is an Osaki 7200CR, I think, it’s like the Osaki Dreamer, but it doesn’t have the 3D rollers. But it has the foot rollers, and it has the heat, a very nice chair, and I don’t remember what the price is on that one. We’re going to pick that one up, it was a local buyer, and we’re going to be picking that one up early next week, but I think we’ll have that one in the low $2000 price range. So, a very, very good price on that one, and that one also is about a month old. So, if you’re interested in any of those chairs โ I don’t know the color of that one though โ but if you’re interested in that one, let me know, and we can send that one out to you, pronto. Let’s see, oh, the instant savings on the Luraco iRobotics 7 โ and this chair has been a very popular selling chair for us โ we like the chair, it’s a well-built chair, it’s priced at $8490. Over the Christmas holiday, they had โ did I mention it’s an American-made chair โ it has some Taiwanese-imported components, but the chair is manufactured in the United States, and put together, and assembled, and tested, in the United States, a very nice chair, a good quality chair, a very quiet chair. It’s the quietest chair of all the ones that we have, and it has over 100 airbags, just like the DreamWave, plus the foot rollers, and a very cool, like, smartphone remote control. Anyway, where was I going with that? Oh, they were having a $500-off instant savings over the Christmas holidays. Well, that ended in January, and I didn’t know. I had it on my website, and they had to reprimand me for not taking it down, but we took it down now so, but give me a call if you have any questions about the iRobotics 7, a very nice chair. You know, that chair was โ Luraco originally built chairs for the spa, nail and spa industry โ so their chairs were originally developed to be in a high commercial use environment. So, these chairs are built to last, and they’re strong chairs, and well made-chairs, and they’re engineered right here in the United States, in Dallas, or Arlington, Texas, outside of Dallas, a very nice chair, good company, really enjoy them.
[SCREEN TEXT: Intro Video for iRobotics 7 on our YouTube Channel]
Alan: Anyway, good chair, so but there’s no more instant savings for that, and I did record some videos for the Luraco. I posted the intro video, just earlier this week. I’ll have the first-time-use video up probably early next week, and then we’ll have a series of videos on the Luraco. And I went down, I flew down to our California store last week, and I recorded, I think, 19 videos, with the help of Chris, one of our sales guys there, one of our massage chair experts there. And anyway, I recorded intro, and first time videos, for all the new models that we have down there, that we donโt have here in the Utah store. So, for the Infinity Escape, the Titan Executive, the Ogawa Refresh, and the Ogawa Active, the Osaki JP Premium, which is the only 100% made Japanese massage chair, and for the Human Touch Navitas Sleep, the Human Touch ZeroG 5.0, and I think thatโs it. But we got like 19 videos recorded. It was awesome, and thank you Chris for putting up with me. It’s kind of funny when Chris is โ and I’ve had this happen here with my guys that record here โ but I can tell when they’re holding up the camera, and if I’m talking too long, I can see them bringing the other hand up, and holding their wrist like this, to hold their arm up, so it doesnโt start shaking, because sometimes I get a little long winded, and we have to take a few takes on each video. And if you’re doing 19 videos, plus the bad takes, the bad outtakes, well, then, the guy โ we have to, it’s like we have to prop up a stilt, or something, to hold his arm up, to hold the camera up โ but anyway, hopefully the videos arenโt too shaky. Alright, so we have the videos coming out, go look at the Luraco introductory video.
[SCREEN TEXT: Customer Interview Video on YouTube – IT-8500]
Alan: Oh, I did a customer interview last week. Who was that with? I can’t even remember who that was with, just a minute. Oh, Garrett Hammerel, and he bought an IT-8500, an Infinity IT-8500. That was a great interview, go ahead and take at that on our YouTube channel, it’s also on the video section of the IT-8500 product page on our website, and if you donโt know what our YouTube channel is, it’s youtube.com/massagechairrelief. All lowercase, no spaces, youtube.com/massagechairrelief, and you can go and see that interview, plus other interviews that I do with other customers, and if you are a customer, and you want to do a video interview with me, please let me know. We love those video interviews, they’re so candid, and so great, and it really helps people make a decision, and they’re honest. These are not โ they’re not prompted to say anything โ these are legit customers; this is not fake by any stretch of the imagination. So, if you’re interested in โ if you are a customer, and interested in doing an interview with me โ let me know, we really love those interviews, they are just very poignant, and helpful. OK, let’s see what else we’ve got cooking.
[SCREEN TEXT: Human Touch Comparison Chart Info Up to Date]
Alan: I updated โ oh, OK, so finally, when I was in California last week, a representative from Human Touch came โ and as you may or may not know, our feature, our comparison chart data, for the Human Touch chairs is very weak, we donโt have a lot, it’s very sparse information. The reason being, because they’re having this battle at Human Touch between the engineers, and the marketing department, the engineering, and marketing department, about what they want on the comparison chart. It’s not that they donโt want to give me information, it’s just that they’re not sure how they want to portray the information about their chairs, and how they want it on our comparison chart. So, a representative, Michael, came over, when I was down there last week, and we talked it through, and worked out some things, and they had some great input on my comparison chart, which we โ and I’ve changed a few things around there โ but now all the information on the Human Touch chairs that we carry is up to date. So, if you want to get more information on the Human Touch chairs, go there. I’ve got all of the data now, like length of the roller tracks, you know, the feature set, etcetera, etcetera, it’s all on there, so โ and I updated that this week, earlier this week โ so Human Touch, we’re good to go on that. I really like that Navitas Sleep chair, I got to tell you. It’s got calf rollers, and when you first sit in it, and you’re not used to it, holy monkey, that’s intense, but wow, what a great chair. It’s got 36 programs, it’s got the foot rollers, it’s got calf rollers, it’s got โ it’s a nice looking chair, it’s designed and engineered in Japan, by the Japanese, or ex-Japanese — or not ex-Japanese, Japanese ex-Inada, Panasonic, and Fujiiryoki workers, engineers, and the parts are made in Taiwan, and it’s assembled in China, great chair. So, I really like that chair, but anyway, call me, we have a promo code for you, if you do call, let me know.
[SCREEN TEXT: Luraco Back Pad with Each iRobotics 7 Purchase]
Alan: Alright, let’s see, what else? Oh, one thing I forgot to mention about the Luraco iRobotics 7, they are now including a small, a thin back pad that will go with every chair. So, if chair is too intense for you, even with the 3D intensity adjustment, they’re sending a little pad that you can use in those areas where it’s too intense, and this is a great thing. I think Infinity sends out a pad, with their IT-8500, or at least they used to, I can’t remember if โ I think they still do โ I’m not sure if anybody else sends out a pad, but it’s a great idea, because some people are so tender, and so maybe frail, or so thin, that the rollers are too intense for them, even when they’re on the lowest setting on a 3D chair. Well, getting a little back pad with it is a marvelous idea, and it’s going to be a back pad that matches. If you notice on the seat of the iRobotics 7, it has kind of a crisscross design, theyโve mimicked that same design on the pad, and it’s the same color as the upholstery of the chair. So, it’ll blend in well, but that’s a good idea, I like that.
[SCREEN TEXT: Podcasts of Video Recordings – Search “Alan Weidner” on iTunes]
Alan: OK, also, I have added the audio recordings of my massage chair industry update โ well, I’ve not, I’ve started adding the audio of those, and the interviews, I’m going to โ I’m going to strip the audio out of all of our YouTube videos, and post it on a podcast. And the podcast, if you go to iTunes, and look up ‘Alan Weidner, A-L-A-N W-E-I-D-N-E-R,’ I was too dumb to figure out how to make the podcast ‘Massage-Chair-Relief.’ Maybe I’ll figure that out over time, and if any of you know how to, please tell me, but anyway, it’ll be under my name, and it’ll be all the audio, of all of our biweekly updates, and the interviews, and anything else that doesnโt involve graphics, and pictures, and whatnot. And you can subscribe to the RSS feed of that podcast, so that you can get updated whenever we have a new one, and you can listen to it the car, as opposed to having to watch it on a video, you can listen to it, and hear what the latest and greatest is in the massage chair industry, through the podcast. Anyway, it’s cool, I donโt know why I havenโt done this earlier. I think I put on some audio stuff years ago on podcast, and kind of forgot about it, but then I thought to myself ‘Not everybody wants to watch a video of me.’ I’m sure very few want to watch me on video, maybe they want to just listen to me talk, and of course, some probably can’t stand that either. But you can listen, and you can do it โ you donโt have to do it with a laptop, you can do it in the comfort of your car, when you’re listening on your โ now these new cars have, you can play your iTunes over the speakers, or whatever.
[SCREEN TEXT: Tip for Canadian Chair Buyers!!]
Alan: So, anyway, and let’s see, I think thatโs about โ oh, I got a phone call this morning from a customer in Ottawa, Canada, and as you know, I’m from Canada. I’m born and raised in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, and we immigrated to the United States in 1988, so I could go to chiropractic college, and then I later became a citizen of the United States in 1995, after we’d been here in Utah for three years, and I love being an American, but my โ a lot of my, well, my roots are in Canada. So, I’m kind of sympathetic to some of the Canadian customers, because they donโt have a great selection of chairs up there, a lot of them want to import chairs, and it’s very expensive now with the exchange rate being terrible, and duty, and all that, duty, and tax, and all that stuff, that you have to pay when you ship something across the border. Well, a customer โ a future customer of mine, who is looking to buy an Infinity chair from me, or an Osaki chair, called Canadian Customs, and he told me that โ and by the way, he just says ‘Google Canada Customs, phone them, and press zero for the operator. And he said that if you mention the word ‘mechanical massage chair,’ that you are importing โ that you’re bringing in a mechanical massage chair โ there’s no duty on that. It’s the word ‘mechanical’ that is the magic keyword. Now, I don’t know โ he told me that this is what he found out, so he didnโt say it was the gospel truth for everybody you call, but I would recommend, if you’re in Canada, and I know I’ve got a lot of Canadian viewers โ we have a lot of people that call me from Canada, asking about massage chairs. You may be able to circumvent the duty taxes, or duty fees, by clarifying that this is a mechanical massage chair. Donโt take this as gospel truth, call Canadian Customs, find out if that is the fact, and then you know, good luck to you, that might be a great thing for our dear Canadian customers, who donโt have the luxury of being able to buy all the chairs that we carry here. There are some chairs up in Canada, Inada has a distribution channel up in Canada, Osaki/Titan has a distribution channel up in Canada, but they donโt carry all the models. And I think, actually the Canadian company, the Canadian Inada company, I think they carry the Duet, which is a chair that they donโt carry down here. So, they might even have a little bit more than what you can get down here, for Inada, but for the other companies, there’s not much representation up there at all. Well, I think thatโs about it for this week. If you found this video helpful, please feel free to thumbs up ‘Like’ us on YouTube, and of course share this video, and this information, with any of your social media followers, on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Google Plus, whatnot. We just appreciate you helping us spread the word about massage chairs. If you have any questions, you can call me at 888-259-5380. I’m always available to chitchat with, and if you have any questions, or comments, or feedback, please let me know. We’re open to โ I love chitchatting with the customers โ unless you’re mad at me about something, then sometimes it’s not as pleasant, but we always try to end the conversation very happy. Anyway, but if youโve got any concerns, or questions, just give me a call. Again, I’m Dr. Alan Weidner from ‘Massage-Chair-Relief.com,’ and I will see you again in two weeks. Bye bye.
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