Massage chairs

[Ready]

Has anyone purchased a massage chair? I sat in one at Brookstone and it was quite comfortable. I wasn't that excited about paying $4K+ for a chair, but it looks like Costco is having an upcoming November sale with some pretty significant discounts.

The Brookstone Renew will be $1999 ($900 off)

The Osaka OS-4000CS will be $1999 ($1,000 off)

The Osaka os-3D will be $2,899 ($1,100 off)

So if anyone has purchased a massage chair, a few questions:

1) How has the reliability been? Most seem to only have a 1 year parts and labor warranty, and they may require you to ship the chair back at your expense for warranty coverage.

2) Does the novelty wear off where you get tired of using it after a while, or has it become part of your normal routine to sit in the chair and get a massage?

 

[zinger1457]

No experience with the type of massage chair you listed but did try out one of those zero gravity chairs (Svago?) and it was very comfortable and had a nice modern look (leather and wood). Some of them have a built in heat and massage feature but it's probably not the chairs primary function like the one's you listed. It is a chair that would seem to fit in and be functional even if the massage feature wasn't used.

 

[pjigar]

You can get same chair for 25% of store price on eBay. All chairs are made in China in the same companies ! I bought one for $500, air cushions, leg message, and whole nine yard. We don’t use it much after novelty wore off.

 

[pjigar]

We turn off the main power after every use and we have had about 12 uses a year for 2 years. No issues so far.

 

[RunningBum]

Maybe it's too different, but for $20 ($25 now) I got this portable muscle massager/stimulator: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00LOUW1WU
It's a handheld device about the size of a TV remote, with leads and sticky pads that you can put on your back, shoulders, knees, feet, wherever you ail. I don't use it daily, but often enough that it was worthwhile to buy. Feels good, though I don't know if there's a lasting impact.

 

[Ready]

You can get same chair for 25% of store price on eBay. All chairs are made in China in the same companies ! I bought one for $500, air cushions, leg message, and whole nine yard. We don’t use it much after novelty wore off.

Interesting. How did you go about selecting a model from Ebay without trying them out first? It looks like there are hundreds of options to choose from.

 

[Ready]

Maybe it's too different, but for $20 ($25 now) I got this portable muscle massager/stimulator: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00LOUW1WU
It's a handheld device about the size of a TV remote, with leads and sticky pads that you can put on your back, shoulders, knees, feet, wherever you ail. I don't use it daily, but often enough that it was worthwhile to buy. Feels good, though I don't know if there's a lasting impact.

Have you found this works for pain management? I'm having a lot of problems with my shoulder lately and was looking for something to manage the pain. It looks like this uses electrical muscle stimulation technology. I tried this out decades ago when it was marketed to build muscle tissue, but the science wasn't there to support its efficacy. For pain management though I've heard it can be effective, but the low price seems too good to be true.

 

[RunningBum]

Have you found this works for pain management? I'm having a lot of problems with my shoulder lately and was looking for something to manage the pain. It looks like this uses electrical muscle stimulation technology. I tried this out decades ago when it was marketed to build muscle tissue, but the science wasn't there to support its efficacy. For pain management though I've heard it can be effective, but the low price seems too good to be true.

I use it after running sometimes. My muscles feel better, but it's really hard to quantify just how much it's helping, and whether it's a lasting impact. There's no magic that everything is all better. It feels very good while I'm using it.

Part of my hesitancy for answering is that I haven't been running all that much since I got it this summer, so I really haven't put it to the test. I've got a long race this weekend, so maybe I'll have more to say Sunday or Monday.

I saw this kind of device earlier in the year at a race expo. They were selling them for over $100. This one seems as good as the one there was. Only thing I've found is that if I connect both sets, they don't have that much power, but with just one plugged in at top power, I wouldn't want it any stronger.

 

[jazz4cash]

I am very interested in getting one and willing to spend up to 3k. I asked about experiences from this board and was generally scolded for considering a frivolous expense. Someone suggested Craigslist which I did checkout but very unlikely to buy this item used. Higher end chairs go for $7k which is beyond my comfort level. Other than Brookstone it's surprising more sellers don't have showrooms It's impossible for me to figure out if the units on Amazon are comparable or cheap knockoffs.

 

[jazz4cash]

We turn off the main power after every use and we have had about 12 uses a year for 2 years. No issues so far.

With 2 adults I think we'd use it as much in 1 month as you've used it in 2 yrs. You haven't even broken it in!

 

[CoolChange]

I went to a chiropractor a few times who had a rolling massage table. (I just did a quick Google search without finding anything similar to his; but, I'm sure it's out there somewhere.)

I have tried several of the massage chairs (Sam's/Costco demos, airports, health clubs, etc.) without finding one that came close to feeling as good as that rolling table. Personally, I wouldn't spend $2K on any of the chairs I have tried but would seriously consider it if I could find one of those tables (heated padding, rollers that were perfect for my body, etc.) and had a place to set it up (very large, bulky item).

 

[TrvlBug]

Ready...did you purchase a chair? DH and I were at Costco today and decided to try out their massage chairs on a whim (Infinity road show). They had 2 models, but we're looking at the Genesis SE, Costco priced at $6.5K which is a $2.5K reduction from retail. The reason for this one rather than their $3K model is that the SE has more features and is fully customizable and if I'm going to spend that kind of money, features and customizability is what I want. Blow that dough .

I'm not sure if it's this chair or the Aleve I took with breakfast, but my pain level is down several notches since leaving the chair. We plan on visiting the local Brookstone as well as another back store this weekend before making final decision.

We have the same questions that you do and are especially concerned with reliability.

 

[Ready]

Ready...did you purchase a chair? DH and I were at Costco today and decided to try out their massage chairs on a whim (Infinity road show). They had 2 models, but we're looking at the Genesis SE, Costco priced at $6.5K which is a $2.5K reduction from retail. The reason for this one rather than their $3K model is that the SE has more features and is fully customizable and if I'm going to spend that kind of money, features and customizability is what I want. Blow that dough .

No, I decided not to. From all the research I did it seems all of these chairs only come with a one year warranty and they have a lot of failure problems. And they can be expensive to repair out of warranty. I did see the chairs you mentioned at the local Costco road show last week but didn't try them out. They were quite expensive.

I would only buy a chair from Costco if I was going to buy one, since they will take it back if it fails. I would stay away from Brookstone or any other retailers. These chairs will not last long and the manufacturers don't stand behind them after the one year warranty period.

 

[TrvlBug]

No, I decided not to. From all the research I did it seems all of these chairs only come with a one year warranty and they have a lot of failure problems. And they can be expensive to repair out of warranty. I did see the chairs you mentioned at the local Costco road show last week but didn't try them out. They were quite expensive.

I would only buy a chair from Costco if I was going to buy one, since they will take it back if it fails. I would stay away from Brookstone or any other retailers. These chairs will not last long and the manufacturers don't stand behind them after the one year warranty period.

Thanks for the input. I'll have to check on Costco's return policy on road show purchases as it may be different from products purchased directly from Costco. If the return policy is different, I'll see what type of massage chairs can be purchased directly from Costco.com. The more I think about it the more a basic chair w/o all the bells and whistles may be the best purchase.

 

[jazz4cash]

I'll have to check Costco but my limit is about $5k. This is something I that I am willing to indulge in, but I have to try it first so eBay/Amazon are not an option. I tried the chairs at Brookstone and their high end chair is Cozio brand (others are store brand) and it is my 1st choice right now. Biggest issue for me is finding one that both of us like. The good ones are huge and ugly. I went to a high end car show in Jan and they had some high end $10k chairs and knowledgeable sales staff. They said to try their mid price chairs which were Infinity brand and priced at $4-6k. They said Mattress firm is their distributor. I did the demo and it was great especially after walking all over the car show (Barrett Jackson!) all day.

 

[mountainsoft]

To each their own, but I would never pay $5K for a massage chair. For that kind of cash I could get over 60 full body massages ($80 each including tip) that would be more relaxing.

I'm sure they're in a different class, but I've tried the massage chairs at the mall out of curiosity. Beyond the "neat" gimmick I wasn't impressed.

 

[Time2re]

Take a look at https://www.relaxonchair.com/product-page/upgraded-zero-gravity-full-massage-chair-mk-ii-br. I bought mine a couple of years ago thru Walmart and it was delivered to our house. I love it, has heat and 3 custom buttons for your fav massage. I use it almost every day.

 

[HtownRose]

My workplace has one. It was a gift to the Houston center from co-workers in other parts of the country after Harvey (the hurricane). I enjoy it but am curious to see how long it lasts with so many people using it. I only use it when I have time in my work schedule, but if I had one at home I think I would use it every day.

 

[Badger]

We have a good friend who is a massage therapist and comes to our home to give a massage for $40. They usually last for more than an hour. That $5k chair is 125 visits. I would rather have the massage that addresses specific problem areas than a "Magic Fingers" chair.

Cheers!

 

[Big_Hitter]

We have a good friend who is a massage therapist and comes to our home to give a massage for $40.

is that with tip?

I get about two 90 minute massages a month - first one is $68 and second+ ones are $78. I usually tip $20 per massage.

 

[Big_Hitter]

My workplace has one. It was a gift to the Houston center from co-workers in other parts of the country after Harvey (the hurricane). I enjoy it but am curious to see how long it lasts with so many people using it. I only use it when I have time in my work schedule, but if I had one at home I think I would use it every day.

houston center? I worked at 1221/1331 Lamar from 87 to 2004 then we moved to 1000 main

 

[Ready]

To each their own, but I would never pay $5K for a massage chair. For that kind of cash I could get over 60 full body massages ($80 each including tip) that would be more relaxing.

I'm sure they're in a different class, but I've tried the massage chairs at the mall out of curiosity. Beyond the "neat" gimmick I wasn't impressed.

I wouldn't pay $5K either for a massage chair, but I would have paid $2-3K if I could have found one with a longer warranty.

A personal massage is nice and I do get one every month, but sometimes I just want to sit in my living room with nobody around and let the chair help to loosen me up and relax. The chair allows one to do it without any requirement to schedule a visit or make a trip somewhere. So I don't really see one being a substitute for the other.

 

[mountainsoft]

A personal massage is nice and I do get one every month, but sometimes I just want to sit in my living room with nobody around and let the chair help to loosen me up and relax.

If you get massages regularly, I suppose the chair might be worth it. I'm lucky to get a massage once or twice a year. It's more of a splurge item, a little relaxing escape from daily life.

For me, that massage chair would probably be like the treadmill we bought. We used it a lot when we first got it, then over time we used it less and less until it just sat unused in the corner for a few years.

 

[Big_Hitter]

I wouldn't pay $5K either for a massage chair, but I would have paid $2-3K if I could have found one with a longer warranty.

A personal massage is nice and I do get one every month, but sometimes I just want to sit in my living room with nobody around and let the chair help to loosen me up and relax. The chair allows one to do it without any requirement to schedule a visit or make a trip somewhere. So I don't really see one being a substitute for the other.

+1

I'd rock an inexpensive massage chair too. My back hurts all the time.

 

[haha]

I'm sure they're in a different class, but I've tried the massage chairs at the mall out of curiosity. Beyond the "neat" gimmick I wasn't impressed.

Still, I rarely see any of these chairs empty. But that may only be tired shoppers looking for a soft place to sit!

Ha