The treadmill salesman is a cunning and clever creature. Indigenous to the United States and a close relative of the used car salesman, the treadmill salesman preys on unsuspecting consumers with lies and high-pressure sales tactics to lock in a sale. Unfortunately, my fitness career has forced me to cross paths with several unscrupulous treadmill salesmen. I’ve witnessed these tactics being used at fitness retailers I have worked at or at companies I’ve done a little reconnaissance on. If you have been looking for a treadmill and contacted a salesman there is a good chance one or more of these tactics have been used to get you to buy a treadmill. Here is a list of the most common lies you will hear a treadmill salesman use to get you to buy a treadmill. I hope this helps someone out there.

Out of Stock – Bait and Switch
Did you see a great deal on a treadmill and just had to have it? Did someone call you about 24 hours later informing you “that item is temporarily out of stock; we’re sorry for the inconvenience. We can give you a deal on a better treadmill for less than what paid to make up for it.” If you ever heard this, you were probably the victim of a bait and switch scam. Salesman and companies that pull this scam usually don’t have permission to sell the treadmill you wanted to buy and are trying to steal sales from competitors who probably brand their products better.

I Use that Treadmill
Another popular lie used by treadmill salesman is the “I use it everyday” lie. Treadmill salesmen use this lie to gain your trust by giving the impression that they have experience with a treadmill when they in fact do not. The worst case of this was probably someone I worked with for about three weeks. This person had not used the treadmill or done any sort of exercise in general for at least a year. Yet, when I heard him talk with customers he was anything from a “certified personal trainer” to a “marathon runner”. He would then explain that he used this or that treadmill to train clients or explain how instrumental that treadmill was in training for the Los Angeles Marathon. Customers, like a good story with their treadmill, and they bought his story quite literally.

I’m not saying that all treadmill salesmen lie when they say they used a product. I didn’t. Rather, just be careful and fact-check too good to be true stories.

I’m Not Working on Commission
I have only worked at companies that do not work on commission. However, my former duties at a treadmill shop required me to go to competitors stores to check things like pricing and talk to some of the floor staff to get a better idea of what other companies were doing. I often got a spiel from salespeople saying “I have no reason to lie to you; I’m not working on commission.” On one occasion I ran into one of these salespeople at fitness industry event who worked for a different company. He recognized me and asked him “Do you still work for ___________ ___________?” he said no and mentioned that he works for another company that pays a lot more commission than ____________ __________. If a salesman brings up commission first, he or she is probably about to lie.

Don’t get discouraged. There are ethical people out there like me who are willing to help you out with your treadmill purchase. If you have any questions or want unbiased treadmill advice or ratings, just check out my site or send me an email: treadmillmaster@gmail.com. I always have time to help people out! Wait, that makes me sound like I have no friends. I MAKE time to help people out!