A recent development in the massage chair industry is the advent of cheaper off-brand massage chairs that can be had for as little as $500 all the way up to just under $2,000. You can find them online at stores like Amazon.com and eBay.com.I believe that these chairs have become popular because all kinds of buyers want to get a massage chair but can’t afford a $3,000-$10,000 massage chair.
There is certainly a space for this niche in the massage chair market. I am not at all against the idea because it allows more people, of all demographics, to get a massage chair. But there are some things you need to be aware of if you choose to go that route when purchasing a massage chair:
Lower quality components – It goes without saying that you don’t get the same quality in a low level Kia model as you do in a high end Lexus because each vehicle is made with different quality components, justifying the different price points. You get what you pay for. No truer statement existed…especially in the massage chair industry. Cheaper chairs cost less to produce because the components with which they are built are cheaper…and that generally means lower quality. With cheaper components comes higher failure rates and lower lifespans.
Warranty coverage – You can’t pay $500-$1000 for a massage chair and expect to get a comprehensive 1-3 year parts & labor in-home warranty. It is not viable from a business standpoint. You will most likely get some sort of warranty but don’t expect it to be the same as a brand-name chair. Warranties can differ quite a bit, from parts only coverage, to requiring you to ship the chair back to the company to get it repaired, to only structural coverage, to full comprehensive parts & labor in-home warranties. Make sure you understand the warranty for the chair you’re about to buy.
Customer support – If you are considering the purchase of one of these very inexpensive massage chairs, you might try calling the support number of the company beforehand to get an idea of how responsive they are for warranty issues. Some companies have been known to not even answer their phones. If there is no phone number to call, try emailing them. If you can’t even find an email, phone number, or other form of contact, take that as a sign that perhaps you will have trouble getting a refund or getting technical support should you need assistance with those issues once you purchase their chair.
You can check out this video on my YouTube channel that compares a $500 online massage chair with the Infinity Genesis, one of our premium models. In this video, the chairs are both opened up and the guts analyzed and compared. It is quite telling.
Dr. Alan Weidner
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