Opening a new gym on a limited budget? Purchasing equipment is one of the most significant costs for any new fitness center, and buying new can often add a huge amount to your startup costs.
Luckily, there’s an easy way to save money when setting up your gym — by choosing certified pre-owned equipment. Buying pre-owned lets you save money, all while benefiting from the same high-quality engineering, manufacturing, and design that you’d get from new products.
From wear and tear to refurbishing, there are several factors to look for when comparing and choosing pre-owned fitness equipment for your gym. Below, we’ve listed five essential tactics that will help you avoid bad deals and get the best possible value for money as a customer.
Avoid Cheap, Heavily Used Equipment
Shopping for a used car? If so, you’ll know it’s best to avoid heavily used, extremely cheap options and instead look for a vehicle that’s been cared for, maintained and kept in fantastic condition by its previous owner, even if it costs a little extra.
Pre-owned workout equipment is no different. While cheap equipment can seem like a great deal, it often comes with a history of poor maintenance, lack of care, wear and tear and other issues that make it a less than optimal buy.
Go for the cheapest available option and not only will you potentially miss out on better deals, but you also risk having to spend a significant amount of your budget on repairs, maintenance and other costs that wouldn’t occur with equipment that’s been maintained properly.
As a result, it’s best to study the market before you purchase and look for pre-owned exercise equipment that’s been lightly used, cared for and well maintained. While it might cost ever so slightly more in the short term, this strategy can produce serious savings over the long term.
Understand Pre-Owned Equipment Conditions
Pre-owned gym equipment is sold under three different conditions. When you see fitness equipment for sale, it’s usually sold either as is, serviced and cleaned, or remanufactured.
While these conditions can seem identical at first, they’re actually very different. “As is” fitness equipment is usually sold in the same condition as it arrived in the storage facility or shop, with little to no cleaning and no extra maintenance.
In short, it’s exactly what you’d expect — equipment that’s sold “as is,” with the task of restoring and servicing it up to you.
Serviced and cleaned equipment is pre-owned exercise equipment that’s been serviced for key moving parts and points that require maintenance. It’s also cleaned, giving it a newer look that can make it more suitable for your gym or fitness center environment.
Finally, remanufactured equipment is pre-owned fitness equipment that’s been entirely rebuilt, from new bearings, cables and other moving parts to new grips, powder coating, and aesthetic components. In short, it’s as close to “new” as you can get, without actually being new.
Each option offers its own advantages and disadvantages, meaning there’s no “one” optimal solution for your business. However, by knowing which condition you’re looking for, you can avoid buying equipment that doesn’t meet your standards and optimize your spending.
It’s Always Best to Plan in Advance
Exercise equipment is an investment — one that can have a significant effect on your fitness center’s results — making it important that you plan ahead before you start shopping for the items you need for your gym.
Before you start comparing brands, prices, and suppliers, make a list of the items you need for your fitness center. List items individually, with quantities for popular machines like treadmills and generic items such as dumbbells and weight plates.
Doing this gives you several advantages over other customers. First, with a list of equipment and specific quantities prepared ahead of time, you’ll find it easier to estimate the amount of money you’ll need to spend to fit out your gym.
Second, you’ll gain negotiating leverage with suppliers — by showing them a list of what you need, they’ll see that you’re a serious customer and potentially offer better pricing in order to earn your business.
Finally, planning ahead helps you avoid going over your budget by buying exercise equipment you don’t need, buying too many units of specific equipment or forgetting about items that you need to operate your fitness center effectively.
Consider Buying a Pre-Owned Equipment Package
There are tens of thousands of gyms across the United States, meaning that businesses are constantly selling off old equipment, whether due to the need to upgrade to new equipment or changes to their business conditions.
This means that you’ll often see lots of gym equipment available sold as packages. These lots usually contain several machines — for example, an entire set of strength training machines or an entire spin room’s worth of stationary bikes.
Since these packages are sold as bulk lots, they’re usually competitively priced, with special discounts that are rarely available on individual items.
If you’re opening a new gym and want to buy equipment in bulk, buying a certified pre-owned equipment package is a great way to get the equipment you need at a far lower cost, all while saving time by avoiding having to select machines, racks, and other equipment individually.
Keep Shipping Costs in Mind
Finally, it’s important to keep shipping costs in mind when you’re shopping for pre-owned gym equipment.
Buying local has its benefits, one of the biggest of which is low or no transportation costs. If you spot a great deal on fitness equipment for sale across the country, there’s a good chance it may end up costing more than buying more “expensive” equipment locally.
If you do opt to buy pre-owned equipment from a merchant in another city or state, make sure you have a complete, accurate shipping quote available before you confirm your purchase.
This will help you avoid any last-minute surprises when it’s time to calculate the cost of shipping your pre-owned gym equipment to your location, all while ensuring you have a reliable delivery option to your fitness center or warehouse.
Shop Online for Certified Pre-Owned Exercise Equipment
Are you searching for well maintained, high-quality pre-owned equipment for your new fitness center, studio or training facility? We stock a wide range of certified pre-owned machines and training equipment from the world’s top brands.
For more information about our pre-owned machines, pre-owned equipment packages, new exercise equipment and other products, please contact us now.
The post 5 Things You Must Know About Certified Pre-Owned Fitness Equipment for Sale appeared first on Primo Fitness.
No comments:
Post a Comment