Hot tubs made in North America tend to be far superior to imported spas. But beware of misleading claims. “USA product or “Made in Canada” can actually mean engineered and fabricated in China, assembled in Florida or Quebec.
One of the top 3 Brands recently moved their production factory to Mexico, but they have their official headquarters in California, where they put it all together and ship them out of there as an American product. Their quality standard has dropped significantly since they made this move.
“Made in Canada” sound patriotic but the truth is that almost all the equipment and materials come from the US, so the only thing “Canadian” about the product is the labour to assemble and package the products at a Canadian location.
As nice as “buying local” sounds, when it comes right down to it, I find that shoppers are most interested in getting the best bang for the buck when it comes to a big-ticket item like a hot tub. Buying local isn’t usually cheaper or better than buying from the USA (at least not at the current exchange rate) because manufacturing is more expensive in Canada. Canadian workers expect higher wages and more benefits than they do south of the border. At the time of this writing, buying an American-made product will still likely save you money.
We do offer some low-end overseas options because there will always be people interested only in the lowest price possible. One of the low-end brands we sell has the “Made in Canada” sticker on it because it’s assembled locally. But the truth is, it’s actually designed and fabricated overseas. The hot tubs look ok but they are definitely an inferior product. I always tell people “if you choose this brand, you have to promise that you won’t get mad at me if you end up not being happy with it, because I couldn’t have been more clear about the fact it’s a cheap tub”. I invite you to come to our showroom and I can show you the differences.
Certain hot tub stores adamantly deny they carry imported products because legally they can get away with it, and there’s no way for the consumer to know otherwise. Some trained sales staff aren’t even aware of this fact.
