I used to work out on an elliptical for an hour every day and I loved it. Over the course of a year, I lost 40 pounds and kept it off until I decided I wanted one more baby. Over the next couple of years, my elliptical stopped working (probably due to lack of upkeep and not being turned on for months at a time…I blame postpartum depression). Anyway….I was way past ready to exercise again so it was time to find another elliptical.
I bought my last elliptical about 10 years ago and honestly forgot how expensive they are! That’s why I backtracked a bit and started from scratch. It was time for me to get serious about finding a machine on a budget. I needed to follow these tips for saving money on exercise equipment.
4 Tips For Saving Money On Exercise Equipment
Do Your Research
Before you even start shopping for your exercise equipment, do your research. You won’t save money buying a cheap machine if it’s a junk machine. Be sure and look up its weight capacity (be sure it’ll hold up to anyone who may exercise on it), as well as durability and overall ratings. I’m always sure to look up independent websites for reviews and then I look through customer reviews on retail sites.
Shop Sales and Clearance
You all know me by now. I NEVER pay full price for anything, so I always look for sales and clearance deals. When I bought my first elliptical,it was brand new. Regular price on it was $1999 and I bought it for $699 on clearance.
Shop Used
As it turns out, a lot of people buy exercise equipment and then not use it much. That’s awesome for those of us who may be shopping for one!
Shopping used is what I did to save money on my recent elliptical purchase. I check the following websites daily for a couple of weeks:
Offer Up
Craigslist
FB Marketplace
About a week ago, I spotted a one owner Precor EFX 5.23 elliptical for $150. The seller was a man who was getting a divorce and needing to move so he was basically liquidating everything in his home. I had great timing and saw his post just minutes after he posted it. I had it in my home within 2 hours. I knew I got a good deal, but until I did a little more research did I know how great of a deal I got. (See photo above).
Buy in Person
Whether you buy new or used, it is usually a better idea to buy exercise equipment in person. Exercise equipment, whether it is an elliptical or a bike or free weights, it is expensive! Buy locally and in person in order to save on shipping.
