The Powertec Multi System in Tasmania
Firstly I just wanted give a massive thanks to Dave from Tasmania for taking the time to write such a long and detailed review. Selling gym equipment online is a tough gig, for reasons which I will expand on below. This sort of feedback is not only great for people looking to take the plunge into the home gym or studio market, it makes a lot of the long hours and stress worthwhile from our end. So to Dave, I can’t thank you enough mate!
I don’t very often leave customer reviews, but I felt I needed to make an exception in this case.
A few months ago, I decided to get back in to fitness, specifically weight training. I had owned gym equipment in the past (dumbbells, free-weights, Smith Machines etc.) so I had a pretty good idea of what I was looking for.
Initially, I did a fair bit of research on the Body Solid range and I had actually placed an order with another supplier for the Body Solid “Free-Weight Leverage System”. Fortunately, Body Solid no longer make this available in Australia so I had to pull the pin on that and look around for something similar. (I say “fortunately” because in the end I went with the Powertec gear instead and I can’t imagine there being a better gym on the market.)
It was at that point I came across Sam’s Fitness website and I found the “Workbench Multi System” by Powertec and like I said, I’m so glad that Body Solid don’t offer their leverage system anymore because the Powertec stuff is unbelievable!
I did a stack of research on the Powertec Workbench Multi, and I thought if it was half as good as the pictures, the specs and the reviews, it would definitely be the right gym for me. As I live in Tasmania it wasn’t possible for me to go in to Sam’s Fitness store in Sydney to look at the Powertec gym in person, so I had to rely on the pictures, specs and videos that Sam’s has on their website. But I have to say, Sam’s website is fantastic and so easy to navigate around and very easy to get all the info you need. After looking at these (specs, pics and videos) I didn’t actually need to see the equipment in person and I was able to make a very informed decision. (I especially loved the videos that Sam’s has of Lee Priest using the gym!!)
After all of my ‘research’, I got in touch with Matt Grimshaw from Sam’s, and he was probably the most helpful (and friendly!) sales person I have ever dealt with. He helped me through the entire process and sent me a heap of quotes based on the different configurations I was considering. (I decided to get most of the ‘attachments’ that you can get with the Powertec like the arm curl station, leg curl station, pec fly station and the triceps station.) Even after I had placed the order and then changed my mind several times about what mix of options and other free-weight gear I needed, Matt was always there to answer my questions and re-do the invoice usually within a few hours. I was in the process of moving house when I ordered the equipment so I needed it to be delivered on a certain date. Matt made sure that he booked the delivery in for that date and sure enough, it was delivered on the day he promised!
When the gear arrived last weekend, the first observation I had was just feeling the weight of the boxes I could tell this stuff wasn’t the cheap and nasty, flimsy gear I had bought in the past. This stuff is full commercial grade!
After un-boxing, it did take a couple of solid hours to put everything together (thanks to my wife who is the “Ikea Queen” and knows how to follow diagrams!) but during the whole process I was constantly amazed at the quality of the fabrication, the design and the overall appearance. I ended up choosing the Multi Workbench in the yellow (it comes in black / yellow) and I’m so glad I did because it looks awesome!
So, now that I have everything set up in my gym room I can’t wait to start training again!
For anyone out there looking for extremely solid, commercial grade home gym equipment, look no further than Sam’s Fitness and make sure you check out their Powertec Workbench Multi Gym. It really is phenomenal. I can assure you that you won’t be disappointed. Their pricing is extremely competitive, their gear is probably the best I have seen on the market and their service is second to none. (Make sure you speak with Matt, as he is an absolute legend!)
Dave.
Unfortunately, like a lot of things we buy in Australia, fitness equipment will nearly always be purchased online in the future. Soon you will only be able to test out the gym equipment that is available in your local market, the rest you will have to take a punt and buy online. But this punt will pay off in the form of the cheapest prices in gym equipment ever – especially considering the price of nearly everything else is going through the roof!
The reason for this is because selling online allows the cheapest way to get the goods to the customer. Having retail networks with all the associated overheads just adds a whole layer of cost. In our case, if we sold to retailers the products would be double the price. With our current margins we are effectively wholesaling to everyone. We have been able to keep a lid on prices by adding many new products whilst still staying in the same warehouse. Our ordering and storage still amazes me, but it is the result of years of hard work and refinement. So our customers like Dave, get a commercial quality product at an exceptional price.
To put this into perspective we sell the Powertec Multi System for $2,499 Aussie dollars. In the USA, Powertec sell the same machine for $1,969 US Dollars. At the current exchange rate that works out at roughly $2,590 Aussie. So straight off the bat we are cheaper than the manufacturer who is based in the US where rent and wages are way cheaper than Sydney. By a mile!
But wait there is more!
Now most people buy the gym in a package. If we use our basic Powertec Multi System package with 150kgs of Olympic weights as an example, you get a discount. If we apply that discount over all the products in the package the price of the gym comes down to $2,347 Aussie dollars. This is pretty impressive and represents excellent value for our customers.
But the biggest advantage we have over our competition is that we sell quality branded gym equipment like Powertec, Barbarian Line, Ironmaster, Megatec and ATX. These are sold worldwide and have been around for over 20 years in some cases. Anyone can make ordinary gym equipment look good on a website, but it takes genuine quality in both design and manufacture to sell thousands of gyms worldwide. The reviews back this up.
These designs have been tried and tested for yeas. So they represent years of refinement after receiving feedback from customers. So while you are taking a chance by not seeing something before you buy it, there isn’t too many gyms on the market in Australia that have heritage as long as the brands we sell. So like Dave you can do your research without having to leave your home.
Lastly if you are still unsure pick up the phone and give us a call. There are plenty of places that sell good stuff for cheap but the service is second rate. Believe me I could have a business twice or three times the size of what we are currently. To achieve this I would have had to take gambles by hiring a lot more people. Instead I have built a team of people who I know will do their best to give you the best possible service. They share the same genuine passion in making sure our customers are happy like I do. So even if you are in Tasmania or anywhere in Australia, you will get genuine personalised service.