Yes, this falls under costs of doing business... Posting on a public,internet, forum about the "benefits" of collecting cash because it can easily hide income/avoid having to pay taxes also offers a record of how one my operate his own business.

First off congrats on the decision to go with a Woodway. Wonderful TM to run on. Bought mine 3 years ago used with <200 miles on it. Bought it sight unseen from Ebay. Why are you going with a new one? Herbert actually published an article on buying his used. It was inspirational. I did not like the price he paid so I actually found a Widepath that was $3.5K. I remember reading that he had problems with moving his but thought it was working fine after all that. As he mentioned the units are built like a tank. So curious as to what happened. For some reason last year the drive motor in mine decided to die. I meggard it and saw nothing so figured that the windings were broken. Looked to find the motor independent of Woodway since the price they quoted was substantially higher than what I thought a 2.5hp DC motors costs but was thwarted by the fact that Woodway is the sole distributor. Moving on I cut a deal with them. If I shipped my old motor back to them they would pay for shipping for both the old and new one as well as charge 25% off of retail. Changed out the motor and have had nothing wrong with it since. I suppose I could have paid someone to fix it but was not raised that way. I did pay a professional mover to move it though after reading Herbert's article. So glad I did! Make sure you have the receptacle to support the Woodway (220A circuit).

You can also call Woodway to see if they have any factory used ones. When I was shopping for a new motor the guys in the service department told me they regularly find used TM's to strip for parts. Wow..$10K+ for a brand new one....sometimes I wonder what people in ST do for a living and wonder where I went wrong..

Wow, I've never met anyone who has never shopped online.

Let’s give Jim a break. I asked for input, he responded. That’s cool by me.

I agree that some respectful bargaining is a healthy part of any major purchase, including, but to a lesser extent, premium market leading products.

I also understand that credit risk associated with personal checks and credit card processing fees are both real costs, and the value of a cash offer. Turns out Woodway agrees. Their terms are cash up front, each unit assembled upon order (4 weeks).

The price quoted above includes a 5% discount from retail for consumer-direct.

Based on Woodway’s reputation, the quality of their product and the feedback on this thread, I feel like I’m getting a fair deal.

It’s a big sticker, but you’ve got to throw the pencil out the window once or twice in life and this is one of those moments.

Thanks to all for the input!

I buy a lot of things online and don't pay the full retail price.

You know when you buy something on Amazon that says it’s 40% off, that indeed the price you are paying is the real retail and not the inflated number amazon is quoting right?

okay

I'm not in the market for a Woodway (still in the process of killing my self-overhauled F80 of 9 years!) but I've definitely spent over $10k on YMCA fees alone just for pool access in the past 10 years - from that perspect, buying a Woodway for life almost seems like a discount! (Not saying it is though!)

Or ordered a pizza.

We like to make our own pizzas, but if I buy a pizza, I pick up an 18" combo from Costco for $9.99.

You negotiate at Costco or pay full price as advertised?

You got me.

He tells them he will only pay $9.79 cash

I actually pay $10.89 with the sales tax.

Buying real estate in cash? I've only heard that Chinese sometimes do that.

"Once or twice a lifetime purchase" for a treadmill? Perhaps a house or car would be in such a class, but a treadmill? Different strokes for different folks I guess.

When you can get a great treadmill for under $3,000 it makes me wonder why someone would spend $10,000. That would fall into the classification of a luxury item like a P5X. The first issue is when a treadmill price has to be negotiated.

Hey - One reco on my part in case it isn't too late . . . Unless you have very tall ceilings, don't get the decline. It adds several inches in height to the treadmill, so can make you feel scrunched, and you probably won't use it very much (I almost never do). I chose it because I envisioned using the decline to help train for Boston, but the treadmill is so soft that you won't get that effect out of it anyway. No way to feel pounded on this thing!

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Dimond Bikes Superfan

A lot of times, it can help you buy a house if you don't have a financing contingency in your offer.

Thxs!

This thread got way off track, so I'll throw in my 2 cents...

When buying a new car cash usually doesn't help at all and may do the opposite. Usually dealers get a kickback when you finance with their lender and can therefore negotiate on the car more. They expect to make money as you pay off the loan over 5+ years. So it's usually best, even with the ability to pay cash, to finance it and just pay it off. You'll likely get a better deal. Just make sure the loan doesn't have any early repayment fees (which they almost never do).

I bought a refurbished directly from Woodway about a year ago. The Woodway rep said that's how he would buy one too, you basically get completely new components, as the only refurbished part is the frame itself (i.e., new track, new motor, new display, etc). As I recall, it was around $7,500, so $3k+ less than brand new. He also confirmed there is no discount at all.

It was an odd purchase transaction, as I had to go to the bank and wire the money to Woodway. The guy at WellsFargo looked absolutely shocked at what I was paying for a treadmill. LOL! Shipping was slow, and was about $1,400 on the line item invoice. I live in CA, so it was pricey.

Then I had to get a new dedicated NEMA 5-20R outlet for the treadmill that was around $500.

Overall, I absolutely love it. My wife and I use it 6 days a week. Our kids love it, and I would do it again in a heartbeat. Highly recommend it. I completely understand wanting to get one from Woodway directly. That's exactly how I felt, so that's what I did. But refurb directly from Woodway is a great option.

Hmmm well I’ve bought every car cash the past 11 years

Oh yea and my brother owns a auto dealership (GM which I don’t buy) so gotta give your answer a hard pass