The Internet is a Great Place. The great disrupter for the Fitness Industry has been the Internet. From the early sellers on the Net like Smooth and Sole to later aggressive online companies like NordicTrack, the Internet is a wonderful place. With that said, it is also a great place to do your research and then go to a local store and try to have them match the price. Keep in mind that the delivery of a treadmill or elliptical from an online seller is much different than when you buy from a local store. Curbside delivery literally means that. Most people find that paying extra for "white glove" or inside delivery and assembly is well worth the cost. Also, it is much easier for a single unit to be damaged in shipping rather than when you buy from a local store so inspect your box carefully before accepting delivery.

Unbundling Isn't Just for Airlines Any Longer. An ongoing trend is to get very aggressive on the price of the machine but take away things that were once free and that you would expect to be included in the price...remember there is no free lunch. Just like the airlines now charge for bags, drinks, snacks, a seat larger than a thimble, and breathing (we'll maybe not breathing yet but it wouldn't surprise me) and Ryan Air is trying to charge to use the restroom. Some companies have so aggressively priced their products that they have essentially priced the product where they don't have the ability to effectively service the product.

Don't Buy on Specs. Especially if you visit a specialty retailer, you will get all kinds of facts and figures thrown at you...typically at the mass-market retailers all you will hear about is the motor HP. All of these figures are about as useful as a fire hose for a drowning. These facts and figures are, many times, designed to confuse most consumers because HP ratings can be manipulated wildly and bigger is not necessarily better. You are better off looking only at quality brands from a quality retailer and not let your head get too clouded with all the hyperbole. We help you cut through the nonsense with our quality ratings. We also have our own standard for motor ratings because there is no standard in the treadmill business and we wanted you to have an apples to apples comparison. Keep in mind, even if a company uses good parts, if it is assembled or engineered poorly, the parts won't work well together.

If It Sounds Too Good to Be True It Probably Is. Some companies will talk about LIFETIME warranties and other come-ons that sound great but if the factory is no longer in business, you can take the warranty and use it for toilet paper because that will be all that it is worth. Others claim massively inflated MSRP's with a "sale" price that is only good for today. If you feel pressure to make a decision today, you are probably getting the short end of the stick. Get all your ducks in a row and learn all you can (and the new habit- pull out your smartphone and check prices on the Net while you are in the store). Try out different models because this is an important purchase...we are talking about your health here so it is important to get a good product that will support your fitness goals, weight loss goals, heart health, etc. This is a great business because it improves people's lives but remember there are sharks in every business.

The Quality is Getting Better & Better at the Low End. Just as other consumer products are getting better while the price is going down, treadmills and ellipticals are no exception. Just a few years ago, you had to spend $1500 to get a decent treadmill and $1500 was the minimum on an elliptical too. That is no longer the case and in fact, the $1000 machines on the market today are better than the $1500 machines from just a few years ago. Sears has really stepped up in quality; as have some of the big sporting goods companies like Dick's Sporting Goods. On the whole, the consumer is the real beneficiary. If you want something for occasional, light use, you can really save some money on a lower-end unit. If you are a marathon runner or someone who pounds the heck out of a machine, still be prepared to shell out the bucks for something that is a long-term treadmill. If you put 10 miles on an elliptical every morning, you will want to shell out more for a better quality machine. If you want the best, open up your wallet and be ready to spend thousands but the lower end is as strong as it has ever been in this business.

Don't Expect a Cheaper Machine to Be Perfect. We regularly get an email from someone that bought a warehouse club machine and they comment that it has plastic on the side rails or doesn't feel as sturdy as the model at the club...here's a news flash- when you buy a $999 from a club or even a $2,500 model from a fitness store, they aren't the same as a $8,000 club model. That's right, list price on most club models is now approaching or over $8 grand and there are now models over $20,000! You get what you pay for. With that said, the cheaper units don't have as high quality components overall as the more expensive machines. Many of the lower end units are now using the same motors as the higher end units but they cut corners on the quality of the heart rate grips, cut quality of the rollers, use a thinner deck, cut as much expense out of the electronics as possible, or use an incline motor that is slower than the ones on the more expensive machines. If you want a great machine with no disappointments, you have to pay for that. If you are willing to make a few compromises, you can get a heck of a deal on a cheaper machine.

Figure Out the Angle. We are always ready to let you know that we accept advertising from factories and the links are clearly labeled as sponsored links- just like on Google. We know Google makes piles of cash but NOT our little advertising program. Our advertising program is finally getting to the point where it helps cover costs we make our money by selling replacement parts and we are the leader on the Internet in parts sales so that's how we make a living. We've been doing this for 16 years now so if we were trying to push an agenda or trick the public, we would have been figured out a long time ago- especially how it is impossible to keep a secret on the Internet- just ask Miley Cyrus. Our policy has always been to tell people what we would buy if we were standing in the consumer's shoes. As always, we NEVER accept any compensation in any form for the reviews we do. When we finally figured out that we were spending six figures on the reviews, we knew we had to accept advertising because our readers told us they didn't want to pay for it. Reviews like Consumer Reports are also easy to figure out and are above board. Many affiliate sites are on the web and they get paid if you click through from the affiliate site over to the manufacturer to buy the product...many times they get hundreds of dollars for a single click. Even Runner's World has moved to the affiliate model! No wonder they push certain products. A recycled idea is for factories to start doing their own reviews. Some have tried to create an arms-length arrangement to make it look independent but you need to ask yourself a simple question; "how does this site make money?" If you see a well developed review site, it costs a bunch of money and they have to get it back somehow. Many unwitting sheep are getting served up as lamb chops when they don't ask this simple question.

We wish you the best of luck with your purchase. Click here for our buyer's guide. Click here to visit all our reviews. Click here to see our 2014 Best Buy list.