What Beds to get? Good Consultants?

[RyanLA]

Hey everyone,
Im glad this site is here to exchange ideas, get advice and opinions from people all over the country.
Well, im looking to open a new salon in Los Angeles and ive been shopping for beds.

Ive narrowed it down to UWE, Ultra Sun, Ergoline, DR Muller, Sun Italia.
Ultra Sun looks like the best deal finacially even new. UWE, Ergoline, Dr Muller, Sun Italia I would buy used. Im in no way going to pay these crazy new prices the bed reps are quoating me.

Anyone have any thoughts on these beds? What beds do any of you recomend? Where to get the best rock bottom price on good used? Would I be postioning myself better for a better deal by buying in offseason? Who is the best reliable source for used equipment?
IM also looking to hire a consultant and ive seen alot of postings about Steve Underhill. Has anyone had any business experiance with him? Is he legit or full of shit? I would not be interested in anything whatsoever from Tan America but would be interested in hiring a consultant that wont push there beds on me.
If anyone had any negative or positive dealing with Steve Underhill and don't feel like sharing it in the group please PM me. Or if there are any great consultants you would recomend please let me know.

Im looking at every possible option to budget any and all start up costs without overlooking quality.

Thank you all in advance for your help.

Ryan

[blondjuls]

In terms of beds, you'll get lots of different opinions.

I like UWE personally and Ergoline as well.

Ask for when to buy, off season is when many salons go under and therefore theres lots of repo and used equipment around. I like to get the repo stuff myself when I find exactly what I'm looking for. You can get used equipment on here, you can go to a "remarketing" company...etc etc. Some manufacturers also refurbish used equipment. If you're looking for HP, I suggest you go that way if not new.

Welcome and Good Luck.

[Stephen Underhill]

Originally Posted by RyanLA

Hey everyone,
I'm glad this site is here to exchange ideas, get advice and opinions from people all over the country.
Well, I'm looking to open a new salon in Los Angeles and Ive been shopping for beds.

Ive narrowed it down to UWE, Ultra Sun, Ergoline, DR Muller, Sun Italia.
Ultra Sun looks like the best deal financially even new. UWE, Ergoline, Dr Muller, Sun Italia I would buy used. I'm in no way going to pay these crazy new prices the bed reps are quoting me.

Anyone have any thoughts on these beds? What beds do any of you recommend? Where to get the best rock bottom price on good used? Would I be positioning myself better for a better deal by buying in off season? Who is the best reliable source for used equipment?
I'M also looking to hire a consultant and Ive seen allot of postings about Steve Underhill. Has anyone had any business experience with him? Is he legit or full of shit? I would not be interested in anything whatsoever from Tan America but would be interested in hiring a consultant that wont push there beds on me.
If anyone had any negative or positive dealing with Steve Underhill and don't feel like sharing it in the group please PM me. Or if there are any great consultants you would recommend please let me know.

I'm looking at every possible option to budget any and all start up costs without overlooking quality.

Thank you all in advance for your help.

Ryan

Hello Ryan, Thanks for considering me. I am sure you will find that I have a great track record for saving my clients money and maximizing potential income. I promise I will not mention the line of equipment I handle and will give you an accurate evaluation of the equipment you wish to purchase. I can guarantee that I will teach you how to maximize income potential while structuring a successful salon.

[maggietan]

Ergoline....

[Din]

Dr. Mueller
UWE
KBL

[John]

If you are looking for a consultant, try finding one who offers more than 1 line of equipment.

KBL- Ergoline - UWE are very good options. Ultrasun is also on the top of the list.

Try talking to California Salon Solutions, they do consultation work & have some very succesfull salons of their own. 951-273-9044

[Din]

Royal Sun for entry level beds.....

[RyanLA]

Thanks guys, I really appreciate the feedback. I am seriously looking to hire a consultant that has my best interst in mind. I talked to Steve Underhill and he was very nice and very informative. I told Steve up front flat out that in no way shape or form am I interested in ever buying Tan America anything and he was really cool and said no problem and didn't even mention the word Tan America once. I am still wanting to speak with several other consultants and pick one out that I think will be most valuable to me. I realize that I can come here and get great advice for free from all you great people and I love it! I really want to hire someone that will be hands on, roll up there sleeves and and dedicate a lot of work into helping get things rolling!
Anyone with any suggestions on who the top tanning salon consultants are please let me know.
I can admit that I need some help but don't we all one way or another?
Does anyone out there know Tommy Toy (Tan Plan) besides Big Leo? Anyone had and dealings with the guy? Good or bad? Anyone with the 411 feel free to PM me if you don't feel like posting publicly.

John, thanks for the tip buddy..does california salon solutions have a website? I did a yahoo search and can't find anything.

I hope everyone is well and thank you guys for being so cool and helpful. I hope to make alot of new friends here.

Ryan

[SOCALTAN]

Why not Tan America?

[RyanLA]

Because there beds look like there from 1982 "UGLY". Im sure there are beds that tan better and look better.

[EliteMike]

HA, looks are very important to me as well. I think customers these days need visual appeal, especially in a new salon

[RyanLA]

Mike, I don't know much about tanning but I do know what people like and that's eye candy!
IM born and raised in LA, CA...IM a Hollywood club promoter / event planner for the past 16 years and I if dont have the best looking club decked out with cool lighting and an awsome ambiance with hot girls and celebrities...guess what, no one is coming!!! Eye candy is what sells in this plastic city of mine! How can I promote something that looks outdated when someone down the street has something that looks awsome? Im sure everyone will have some sort of argument on what tans better but who cares when you can get beds that tan perfect and look sexy as hell!
If I had my pick of cars that all drive great MBZ, BMW, Lexus, Honda, Toyota etc.... these are all good quality cars but I woud pick MBZ, BMW, Jaguar because they are sexy and all look better!
Mike you are so right when it come to visual appeal...why do people go tanning in the first place? Visual appeal!

[EliteMike]

I'm sure there are tons of great beds on the market, I didn't do too much research on brands because I got with a company I loved right away.

I have 11 ProSun machines and the Magic. Along with Eurowalls, maple wood floor, and tile in the lobby, the place is clean and modern. My big project this summer is to redo my lighting. We let the lighting stay as it was, just crappy flourescent lights for the 2000 sq place. That was not the original idea, but it was one less thing to worry about and pay for up front. It's just too bright in the place for my taste right now.

Back to the beds, ProSun looks classy and offers new features. Young people love the surround sound. I also have 4 audio channels tied into each of the 4 X series beds. This is a big change from the cheesy looking car radio built into the bed.

If i make it long enough to have the opportunity to do it again, would I look around more, you bet. But ProSun has the upper hand in my mind. THey are refered to as boat anchors by some on this forum, but my clients love the boat anchors i let them use...

When i look in a tanning mag and see some of the equipment that is brand new, I wonder if they spend any time with visual appeal, there are alot of machines that look out dated on the market. It could be something as simple as the way the body fans are attached to the machine that makes me not want it.

Buy what you want. Take advice as only that. Everyone will have their own input. Heck, if i took all the advice on this board I would have never opened up, but here I am ready for the off season difficulties, prepping the salon to be even better than on opening day.

[Stephen Underhill]

Regardless of what brand you choose it is more important that you choose the right mix. Create wide separation between levels. Up-grade equipment that is half 160/200 watt and half 100 watt is not a true up-grade and will never produce the up-grade income of a system that is 160/200 watt canopy & bench with facials. Creating levels between true levels creates traffic jams and is not as easy a sell. It is my experience that creating clear performance separation between levels is a smarter decision. Don't buy short narrow beds.

When you have one level that is 100 watt/ 160 watt in a salon with 100% 160 watt systems, one of those levels is not getting used as much. This is not good space and resource management.

[Derf]

Originally Posted by RyanLA

Because there beds look like there from 1982 "UGLY". Im sure there are beds that tan better and look better.

I have quite a few TA beds. Sure there are some better looking beds out there, but I have never owned anything that works day after day and NEVER breaks down. I never got a complaint about the results either. AND I never had a better installation experience than I had with TA. My Dr Muller beds need some type of repair monthly and when it's time, they will be replaced with TA.

Brian is not a big fan of TA, but ask him about Muller's Sungate end-caps. Nightmare.

[Derf]

Originally Posted by EliteMike

I'm sure there are tons of great beds on the market, I didn't do too much research on brands because I got with a company I loved right away.

I have 11 ProSun machines.

I hope you don't regret that.

[EliteMike]

Only time will tell

[Stephen Underhill]

Originally Posted by RyanLA

Mike, I don't know much about tanning but I do know what people like and that's eye candy!
IM born and raised in LA, CA...IM a Hollywood club promoter / event planner for the past 16 years and I if dont have the best looking club decked out with cool lighting and an awsome ambiance with hot girls and celebrities...guess what, no one is coming!!! Eye candy is what sells in this plastic city of mine! How can I promote something that looks outdated when someone down the street has something that looks awsome? I'm sure everyone will have some sort of argument on what tans better but who cares when you can get beds that tan perfect and look sexy as hell!
If I had my pick of cars that all drive great MBZ, BMW, Lexus, Honda, Toyota etc.... these are all good quality cars but I woud pick MBZ, BMW, Jaguar because they are sexy and all look better!
Mike you are so right when it come to visual appeal...why do people go tanning in the first place? Visual appeal!

It is correct that packaging is most important in a successful salon. However it is a good idea to take advantage of the knowledge and experience of the great success that has been experienced in this industry. A successful salon will be driven by much more than what you as a salon owner feels is a great looking piece of equipment. Much of what you may like as an owner will not translate down to what is important to the tanner. You must also be aware of your bottom line. As a club promoter you understand that your money is made at the door and pouring drinks and it is all driven by promotion efforts. While a trendy night club will be successful for a minute, a salon or service oriented business is driven by creating relationships with your clients that are drawn by packaging. It takes a great deal more than putting flashy beds in a space. I see many salons fail that build on the formula of I will have better equipment in my up-scale salon. I see many extremely successful salons with cheap ugly equipment that are properly structured, and costly salons with the most expensive equipment on the market fail because of the terrible structure.

[Brian Oshman]

Brian is not a big fan of TA, but ask him about Muller's Sungate end-caps. Nightmare.

They are starting to use electronic ballasts which is a better choice then magnetic.

Giant Sun end caps, Yeah, this is a common problem. Crack in the middle. How about some steel backing? Orbits too.

The hinge bushings are a problem too. Most installers do not put them in there and it shreds the hinge pins, then the top sags and starts shredding the acrylic hinge too. Should have used bearings instead like Ergo.

They tan like a mo fo though and get 25 bucks walkin.

[royalsun]

After 6 years of failed bushings in the GiantSun/Sungates , Muller is using bearings similar to the ergo set-up. Prosun's don't even make decent boat anchors!!