Ok, first we have to point out this article post isn’t in anyway racist, or motivated by anything rather than informing you of some hard facts about some imported spas from China that we are seeing more and more of
Because there is a lot to say on this, it’s also going to be a longer read for you, but well worth it so you can get an idea of the differences
Now China CAN produce products “just as well made” as local Spa manufacturers, but the thing is by the time you figure in initial cost, plus shipping and import fees, those higher quality Chinese Spas would end up retailing for pretty much the same dollars as a locally made and guaranteed model….So there is no benefit to the retailer to sell them
So why do they appear cheaper then?
Well this comes about because some Aussie Importers are NOT paying for those top line quality units, instead they select a “lesser” version. One with Chinese made Acrylic panels, and with lower specified less efficient Chinese parts installed which the average home user is never going to see.
See in China, they have an amazingly flexible manufacturing industry, one in which they will build you anything to “A Price Point”, unlike local Aussie Spa makers
To get an idea how this works, the Aussie Seller/Importer deals with the factory and says “We love your “XXXXX” model Spa but we only want to pay “XXX” dollars per unit, Chinese contact says “No No No we can only do for XXXX” and they haggle back and forth until they reach a figure they are happy with. But every dollar the buyer tries to skim off the premium price ends up with a substitution from better quality “imported into China” parts with cheaper Asian sourced items
So your Acrylic shell ends up being made from a sub-par Chinese made acrylic panels, Skimping on the adhesives used to bond the acrylic to the fibreglass body and the “Stainless” Heater unit ends up being an “almost” Stainless one … and on and on it goes!
If you are unlucky enough to purchase a “Made to Lowest Price” Chinese spa, you might end up even finding that things like hose clamps have been replaced by simply hot glueing the hose to the fitting!!! The average Spa can have over 100 joints or connection points and all of them need to be correctly secured with exactly the right adhesives and/or clamps to guarantee a long leak free existence
Insulation is also a factor, cheap Chinese Spas will often forego a full spray on insulation to the spa shell, instead relying on “perimeter” insulation on the cabinet walls, this is really inefficient as any air gaps will just bleed heat over and over
Spray on Spa Shell insulation as used by our Aussie manufacturers also provides support to all the plumbing, reducing the whiplash effect when turned on and off.
Your “incredible deal ” is now costing you more dollars every month in running costs and it doesn’t take long to fully wipe out any savings you think you have made in the initial purchase.
Let’s compare warranty shall we?
Our local Spa manufacturer, gives you a 100 year warranty on their Tufframe models!
Imported ones may be as little as 5 years tops!
In fact if you look at all the warranty on the different spa components its completely safe to say a locally manufactured spa eclipses ALL those offered by imported models. In many cases by many years …
Of course this doesn’t even take into effect the lack of availability for the correct spares to be stocked by importers going forward into the life of the spa
Most importers will “Do a deal” for a set amount of spares to be sent over with their order, and you can bet they are only ordering enough to cover future warranty issues and not ordering an extra 100 heater units to sit on a shelf until you need one a year after the warranty has passed, suddenly your bargain is becoming a money pit
Also remember China does not have a “Better Business Bureau ” or an ACCC to make sure all their products meet safety standards in other countries. Some Spas exported apparently appear to have counterfeited “Name Brand” control units and Jets etc that simply do not perform as intended and who knows whether they are indeed safe?
Aussie manufacturers put a “Porsche Body on a Porsche Chassis” … some Chinese spas are a “good looking VW Golf Body bolted onto Lada Niva Running Gear! “
Buying a legitimate Australian Made Spa or Swim-spa avoids everything discussed above and is the main reason why here at Instyle we won’t sell ANYTHING but an Australian built Spa
The spares are here, the manufacturers are here. They are in it for the long haul and will be able to meet your needs well into the future. Not only do they have better warranties, there is a huge gap in the probability of you needing to use it !
Your Aussie Spa will cost you less to run, will reward you with many years of relaxation, can be serviced by us if needed, and will save you a world of heartache because we WANT you to be happy and content… Full Stop!
