You are here searching for a massage chair because you've already done your due diligence on what a good massage chair can do and the benefits of owning and using one. So, there is no need for me to try to convince you or educate you on why people are interested in massage chairs as part of their wellness routine. I'll cover FSA and HSA eligibility and how that can work in my next blog.
If you are a penny pincher like myself, it's super natural for you to look at the price first. Absolutely. I do it too.
The problem is, the price range for massage chairs is so crazy that shopping for one can almost feel like shopping for a vehicle.
It's like comparing an offshore Chinese brand car to a Toyota and then all the way up to a Rolls Royce. There is just too much range.
But if it's true that shopping for a massage chair is similar to shopping for a car, then those way too good to be true priced massage chairs can sometimes be like those way too good to be true priced vehicles.
If you see a brand new midsized sedan from overseas selling for $2,000, you might want to take a moment and ask yourself why. Especially if you can't even test drive it before buying it! LOL.
It's the same thing with some of these massage chairs in the super cheap $500 to $2,000 range that are online sale only and can't be tried before buying.
Staying away is probably a good idea.
Also, check the authenticity of the reviews. Make sure you are not relying on reviews that are difficult to verify or that seem too good to be true. When you're spending hundreds or thousands of dollars on a massage chair, you want to know what you are actually buying.
Now, let's take a step back from the budget just for one second.
Obviously, price is important. But let's take a step back and look at what I think should be the very next thing you consider.
Size.
Why size?
Well, just like most things in life, not everything is completely modified and personally catered to you. Most things are designed to fit a general size range.
Everybody is different.
You might be super tall. You might be super short. You might be average height but have a shorter torso, shorter legs, shorter arms, or some other body proportion that is different from the person sitting next to you.
And this actually matters more than people realize when shopping for a massage chair.
There are chairs that I personally can't fully enjoy because of the way my legs naturally fall. My knees may sit too high, or the calf massage may hit me in a way that doesn't feel right.
Then there are chairs with an oscillating calf massage that can feel too high or uncomfortable for me, while being absolutely perfect for somebody else.
That's the funny thing about massage chairs.
A chair can be amazing for one person and completely wrong for another person.
It kind of boils down to one simple thing.
Try the chair.
This is exactly why people search for massage chairs near me or massage chair showrooms near me when they are seriously considering buying one.
You can read specifications all day long. You can watch YouTube videos. You can read reviews. You can compare prices.
But at the end of the day, your body is the one that has to sit in that chair.
Once you have established that the chair actually fits you and feels good to you, then you can really start narrowing down your options based on your budget.
Now you've gone from having what feels like 10,000 different choices to maybe two or three models that are actually worth debating.
And honestly, that is where shopping for a massage chair starts getting a lot easier.
Don't start with the cheapest chair.
Don't start with the most expensive chair either.
Start by figuring out what fits you.
Then look at the price.
That little change in the order of how you shop can potentially save you from spending thousands of dollars on a massage chair that looked great on paper but simply isn't the right chair for your body.
