Transcript of Video Titled “Massage Chair Industry Update – September 4, 2014”
Alan: Hi, I’m Dr. Alan Weidner from ‘Massage-Chair-Relief.com‘ and today is our biweekly massage chair industry update for Thursday, September 4th, 2014.
[SCREEN TEXT: Stock Status]
Alan: As far as stock goes, there’s not much to report in the stock department. The Dreamwave is in good stock, but the old Sogno, which the Dreamwave replaced, the old style, which isn’t that old, it’s just last month, there are some ‘Brown’ and ‘Black’ ones remaining at the old price, so if you’re interested in that, that is available. I’ve been told there’s only about a week, to a week-and-a-half of stock left of those two colors, the ‘Crème’ and the ‘Red’ are gone. The Dreamwave stock is good, the Flex 3S stock is good, and from what I understand, I’ve not been told of any other, any other massage chair company that has a deficiency in stock right now, so anything you’d need pretty much is there. I heard that the Osaki 1000 is back-ordered for a month or two, but for the most part, their popular models are still in stock.
[SCREEN TEXT: Special OS-Marquis & OS-Intelligent Pricing – Call 888-259-5380]
Alan: I will mention that the Marquis and the Intelligent from Osaki have some special pricing that we can’t put on the website, but you can call me at our toll-free number, 888-259-5380, and we can give you the special pricing on the OS-Marquis and the OS-Intelligent.
[SCREEN TEXT: Inada Flex 3S Price Increase – December 1, 2014]
Alan: OK, the Flex 3S will be going up in price on December 1st to $6799. Now, the Flex 3S, even though it looks like a mini Dreamwave, it is not the same chair. It has, it’s really a completely different feel from the Dreamwave, but it’s a nice chair, I’ve got it in my showroom, we’ve sold a number of them already, it seems to be a fairly popular chair, it will increase in popularity as time goes on. The Dreamwave, the new Dreamwave, though it’s priced at $8499, the sales of it have been fantastic, which continues to boggle my mind at these prices, but Inada’s got a real winner there. Anyway, so be aware of the Flex 3S price increase on December 1st, so if you’re going to buy for the Christmas holidays, buy before December.
[SCREEN TEXT: Osaki OS-4000T In Our Showroom – Review to Follow!]
Alan: Let’s see, oh, we received the OS-4000T in our showroom, I made some room for it, I sold a couple of floor models, and made some room for the 4000T. I sell a number of those chairs, you know, we’ve got four of them in the Salt Lake Airport here, I’ve had one in a stretch clinic up at Weaver State University here in Utah, and I have a lot of interest in that chair because of the bang for the buck that it is. I mean, with the instant discount, it’s $2695, a great little chair, it’s got foot rollers, it’s zero gravity, it’s got airbags. The only thing – you know, when people sit in it, and I’ve got it in my showroom next to the Dreamer and the Cyber – the mechanism, the massaging mechanisms, and the sophistication of the technology doesn’t feel as refined or as sophisticated as the Dreamer or the Cyber. So, I mean, you really do get what you pay for, it’s not a chair that’s going to be – it’s not going to, you know, it’s not – well, it’s not like the Dreamer or the Cyber, the Dreamer and the Cyber have a more sophisticated roller technology, they have 3D-roller technology, their overall feel is more nuanced, and more refined, a little bit more sophisticated, sophisticated is probably the best word to use, but the OS-4000 is a nice chair. For $2695, it’s probably the best bang for the buck, that and the IT-8100, both great chairs in that price point. We’ll be doing a review, or I’ll be doing a review on that fairly soon. I’ve been pretty busy lately, and I haven’t, I’ve still got do a review, my own review, on the Inada Dreamwave, and now on the Flex 3S, or sorry, not the Flex 3S, the Osaki 4000. So, I’ve got some work to do to get caught up, but I will get on those, and I know there are people out there waiting for my reviews, and I apologize for taking so long.
[SCREEN TEXT: Dreamer vs. Dreamwave Review Part 2]
Alan: We have the second part of my Dreamer versus Dreamwave review, I put that up on the blog since the last time we visited. So, if you want to read a good review comparing the similarities and differences of the Inada Dreamwave and the Osaki OS-3D Pro Dreamer, take a look in my article library, my blog, and you can get that part two of the article there, it’s a two-part article. Also, you know, I had an interesting visit this week, it was kind of cool. There was this young man named Gabe, who lives in Maryland, and he and his family were traveling – and I found this out after, you know, after I’d arranged a visit with him, but he arranged to come by on Labor Day, and a very nice young man, I didn’t realize how young he was, he was only 17 years old – but this guy’s like an expert on massage chairs. He’s been studying my site, like he even corrected me on one model that I threw out, that I mentioned the wrong number of, I threw out the Osaki 3000, and he said ‘No, that’s the 2000,’ and he was right, and I was impressed with what he knew. Anyway, he and his family are moving to California, and he begged his mother ‘Please, as we drive to California, could we please go through Salt Lake City, so I can go see Dr. Weidner’s showroom?’ So, you know, I met him on Labor Day at the showroom, him, and his mom, and his grandma, they were traveling, and I had a wonderful visit with them, it was just wonderful to have them there, we spent a good hour together. They were, of course, in a hurry to get to northern California, and we had some family activities going on that day, but it was great having Gabe come by, a 17-year old kid that’s saving up to buy a massage chair. He’s just a great, great kid, and really well versed and knowledgeable on the topic of massage chairs, he probably could teach me a few things that I didn’t know about some of the chairs. That is inevitable, when people buy chairs from me, they will call me and say ‘Well, did you know that this chair can do that,’ and I had no idea. So, there’s certain things and subtleties of the chairs that even I, who am supposed to be the expert, don’t know, and trust other people to tell me, or mistakes that we’ve made in our videos, or you know, like I remember one in particular, about an assembly we did, I think it was the OS-7000, the 7075, from Osaki, I had a couple people email me, and say you know, ‘The way you guys put the bolt and the washer on was backward.’
[SCREEN TEXT: Awesome Customer Relationships!!]
Alan: So, I love it when I have customers that are so knowledgeable that they can call me and tell me things that I did not realize. So, anyway, Gabe’s kind of like that, and I appreciated their visit, it was great having Gabe. Yesterday, we had Ron, from Denver, fly in, and it’s just been wonderful to – you know what the best part of this business is for me, I’d have to say – is the relationships that I develop with the customers, because most people call because, I mean, we still have a lot of people that order online without, you know, sight unseen, without talking, without coming to the showroom. Those people are motivated to get a massage chair, and they get it, they don’t need to talk to me, but the number of people that call me and talk to me, and the relationships I have, because people will call back with more questions, I try to answer all the calls, or at least get back, just as quickly as I can, if I miss a call, but it’s wonderful to have these relationships with you, the massage chair shopper, it’s great. I’ve had some people that have purchased the chairs, that have come back to Salt Lake, or come back to the showroom, and we’ve done lunch together, or we’ve chitchatted on the phone, it’s wonderful. I just really, really cherish these relationships that I’ve been able to develop through this business, it’s wonderful, and so thank you for being such wonderful people, and making my job so fun, just having my association with you.
[SCREEN TEXT: Make-A-Wish Goal of $7500 REACHED – 2 Months Early!!]
Alan: As far as Make-A-Wish goes, we just surpassed our goal, we are up to, the goal was $7500, I think we just hit $7950, or something like that. So, we passed our goal for the first year, and remember our goal is from November to November, November to the end of October, so we reached our goal two months early, and I’m so excited, so proud. I think next year we’re going to raise the goal to $10,000.
[SCREEN TEXT: http://www.Massage-Chair-Relief.com/Make-A-Wish.html]
Alan: We have a new wish child, who wants to go to Disney World, her name’s Evie, and you can check her out – that didn’t sound right – you can check out her story, you can, you know, research her story on our website, just go to the Make-A-Wish page, and see what Evie, what her story is, and what she wants, and we’re working toward helping her. We helped Samantha get her patio deck, and this is a very, very, very fulfilling program that we are involved with, with Make-A-Wish, and I love it. Of course, as you know, or may not know, I’ve got six kids, and I’ve got four grandkids, and I love grandkids, by the way, grandkids are a hoot, they are the, grandkids are the reward for putting up with six kids for 31 years, or 32 years. They are fantastic, you don’t have to change their diapers, you don’t have to discipline them, when you get a little pooped at the end of the day, and you just want to sit back and watch ESPN SportsCenter, you can send them on their way with their mom and dad. I once heard a neighbor of mine say the two most beautiful sights that he sees in his life and the headlights of his grandkids coming, and the taillights of his grandkids going, and I have to admit that, that is true, I may have shared this before, but I admit that, that is true. Anyway, Make-A-Wish Foundation is awesome, and thank you for those of you that have purchased from us because a portion of every sale, every sale, goes to the Make-A-Wish Foundation, and I’m grateful for that, and thank you for helping us raise, pretty much $8000 in 10 months, and there’s still two months left, and we’re getting in to the busy season, so who knows, maybe we’ll reach $10,000 even before the end of October, but thank you so much. You know, I think that is just about it for this week, there’s not a lot to it, I’ll keep it short and sweet for a change, but thank you so much for viewing with me, and being a part of what we’re creating here, which is a vehicle to educate people about massage chairs. There’s so much information that’s out there, so many chairs out there, and so many people that’re getting in to this thing, getting in to a massage chair, and they’re at all prices, I mean, we’ve got prices down to $1395, all the way up to $8500, there’s chairs for every budget.
[SCREEN TEXT: No Name Brands? Buyer Beware!!]
Alan: Oh, I just will mention one quick thing before we close. I had a call from a guy that said you know, ‘What kind of chairs have you got, and what’re the prices?’, and I gave him the prices, and you know, our lowest price is $1400. I believe there’s an Osaki 1000, and one of the Cozzia chairs is $1400, and he said ‘Well,’ and I said, and I recommended a couple of other chairs that are good bang for the buck, like the OS-4000, or the Infinity IT-8500, or the Human Touch ZeroG 4.0, good bang for the buck, all those chairs. Well, he said ‘Well, you know, I saw a chair online for $7, $800, and it seems to have all the things that these other chairs have,’ and when I hear that, all these red flags go up and alarms go off, and of course, he saw it on Amazon, or eBay, or something like that. It’s a no-name brand, and I just would say, you know, buyer beware. The statement that you get what you pay for could not be truer in any other industry than in the massage chair industry, and you may say ‘Why is that, you’re just jacking up the prices, or you know, your distributors are jacking up the prices, this is how much they really cost.’ Well, you know what, if you buy a $7 or $800 massage chair, and they even tell you that you’ve got this long-term warranty with it, just be concerned because the no-name brands – do you know how many calls I get each, it used to be every week, I don’t get as many anymore because I’ve put out a lot of warning shots – but I get calls, well, it probably is every week about a brand that I’ve never heard of before, or that I’ve heard of, but I know is a no-name brand, and the people cannot get through, the phone is dead, or they won’t respond to emails through their website, or the website’s down, or whatever. I get these calls all the time, and it breaks my heart, because people spend their hard-earned money on these chairs, and they get no support. So, here’s the lesson, when you buy a brand-name chair, and you buy it from a reputable retailer, like Massage-Chair-Relief – A) you’re going to get good support after the chair is purchased, and B) if you feel like you’re not getting the support you deserve, you call me, who is a retailer for that distributor, or that massage chair company – and I will get involved, and I will make sure that butts are kicked, and your chair will be, or your problem will be taken care of. So, you may be paying $7 or $800, but within six months to a year, there will be a problem, and there will be no customer support for you, or the customer support will be so ridiculously marginal or goofy, like you’ve got to mail the chair back to them at your expense, which will probably be $3, $4, $500, and that’s the cost of the chair almost, just be, buyer beware, be careful. I don’t care who you buy your massage chair from, your brand-name massage chair from, but I don’t care who you buy it from, beware of the no-name brands that people buy, they might import a load, you know, a container load from China, sell them on Amazon, sell them on eBay, no-name brands that I’ve never heard of before, or heard rarely of, you may be in for some trouble. So, anyway, take that with a grain of salt, for what it’s worth, because you might think that I’m quite biased because I have my own business, but honestly, I honestly with all the sincerity in my heart, I’m trying to protect you from being hurt in the long run, OK, alright, enough of that. Well, that’s it for our massage chair industry update for today, I look forward to seeing you in two more weeks.
[SCREEN TEXT: Customer Interviews on Our YouTube Channel]
Alan: If you haven’t had a chance to look at our customer interviews, take a look at them. My computer has been so skiwampus over the last month, I haven’t been able to get all the interviews done, and I haven’t been able to get the ones that I’ve done, edited, but I think we have three or four up, and we’ll have more coming. Those are great interviews, talking to my customers about how they came to arrive at the model that they decided upon, and how they decided to buy from us, and what the process of discovery and due diligence was for them, but take a look, it’s a playlist on our YouTube channel, I think you’d get a kick out of it. Well, I’m Dr. Alan Weidner from ‘Massage-Chair-Relief.com,’ if you found this video helpful, please feel free to ‘Like’ us, share us, tweet us, ‘+1’ us, or whatever it takes to help us get the word out about massage chairs. We are thankful for you, and for your patronage of this video, and of our business, and of what it is that I’m trying to do. Have a fantastic day, and we will see you again in two weeks. Bye bye.
Click on the following link to watch this Massage Chair Industry Update on our YouTube channel.
