The Spa Depot

Full review
A few years ago we decided to get a spa. I had been trying to convince my husband for years that we needed one and when my strategy didn’t work I started nagging him for a pool and he conceded to getting the spa. Yay.

It took me a few weeks to figure out how to keep the water pH and all that stuff at the right levels so I burned thru lots of chemicals and a few filters too at about $75 each. Ouch! It seemed like every spa store we went to had some special system that they recommended. We wanted something simple so we went with just a basic bromine based system and finally got the schedule and testing just right.

Now that I know what I need when and how often I need to replace my filters, I’ve decided to shop for those things online as it is so much more convenient. The local store I like best and which has the best prices has the most stupid hours. They’re open like 9 to 5 every day and not open on Sundays. The location is only about 8 miles away but it’s in a part of town that is a high traffic area and just getting there and getting home would take an hour. An hour that I just don’t have.

So I started looking for a good online store by reading reviews here at Epinions and finally decided on giving Spa Depot.com a try. That turned out to be a very good decision as I was very pleased with that first order and every one of the several orders I’ve placed with them thus far.



Since 1997 Spa Depot has been carrying supplies and accessories for spas and swimming pools. Pretty much anything you could need for a pool or spa is sold by this etailer. They have toys and games, chemicals, fragrances, steps, ladders, storage pieces, covers, parts, filters, all kinds of things for maintenance, and much more. They even sell various brands of spas on the site.

The site itself is quite colorful. It’s busy with tons of images, pictures, and blinking links but is not overly annoying. Even with all those bells and whistles on the homepage it’s easy to find what I’m looking for on the site. Plus there’s a Search field in the upper left corner so if I feel overwhelmed I can just search on bromine or filter or whatever I’m looking for.

If you’re looking for a category of supplies, just click on one of the buttons along the left side to see everything that falls within that category. This is the function I use most often as I’m usually stocking up on bromine, sanitizers, or cleaning supplies and it’s the easiest way to find exactly what I need.

The prices on SpaDepot.com are slightly lower than at my local store as well which makes it an attractive option. For example, I use bromine tablets for my turtle floater. A 4-pound container of those locally is about $29. Spa Depot sells a 4.5-pound container for $27 so I’m getting a half pound more for 2 dollars less.

Filters are also much more economical than buying in the store. I have a Tiger River spa and if I buy a filter at the dealer from which I bought my spa I’ll shell out about $75-$80 for the Tiger River brand. But on Spa Depot.com I can get a comparable filter for about half that price. And if I buy two or more filters, the price is reduced by about a dollar each.

Now you may be thinking that shipping of heavy chemicals and filters must cost a fortune. I thought the same thing at first. I figured that whatever savings I incurred would surely be eaten up in shipping and handling fees. That’s the other nice thing about SpaDepot.com; shipping and handling is free on orders over $100. For orders under $100 the only charge is a handling charge of $3.95 regardless of the size of the order. Sometimes my orders are over $100 but not always. But for those orders under $100 I feel that the $3.95 handling fee is very generous. My orders are sometimes so heavy that the FedEx man has to bring them in the house for me so I can unpack a few items at a time and move them to the spa storage area so it’s nice that shipping of those heavy, bulky boxes is not based on weight.

FedEx shipping? Yes, you read that correctly. By FedEx. All for free or only $3.95! Spa Depot sends an order confirmation via email when the order is placed, then FedEx takes over and sends another email with tracking info when the order has been shipped and another when the order has been delivered. My last order was placed on a Monday evening, shipped the same day from Seattle, and received here in Detroit first thing on Friday morning.

Spa Depot accepts the following methods of payment: American Express, Discover, Master Card, and Visa.


Returns can be made but customers need to contact Spa Depot beforehand to get an authorization number and instructions for making the return. There are a few conditions on returns so it’s best to read those in the Customer Service Helpdesk area before placing an order.

There are some other really nice features of the site that I really appreciate:
1. The ability to create an account on the site is helpful to me as I can see what I’ve purchased in past orders and track how often I need to buy those items.
2. Favorites list allows me to add my favorite products to a list and save them on the site. So when I log in to my account I can easily find items that I repeatedly order.
3. The Spaclopedia. Sometimes I have questions about what types of chemicals I need and in what combinations and I can always find those things in the Spaclopedia. There is also a nice help section in the Customer Care section where customers can go to find links to email addresses to contact Spa Depot to get advice about various subjects.
4. Free gift! Spa Depot sends a free gift with orders over $50 and the nice thing is that the customer gets to choose that gift from a list of choices. In the past I’ve received free measuring cups, measuring spoons, and cleaning sponges but they also offer mouse pads, rubber ducks, water testing logs, and other choices.



Bottom Line
I enjoy shopping at Spa Depot.com as I can get all of the supplies I need online, not have to fight traffic to get to the spa store, and handling fees are very reasonable. The site is busy but it is well organized and has a good selection. The site is easy to navigate, place items into my cart, and check out. Product images are clear and good quality so it’s easy to see what I am potentially buying. Shipping is fast and tracking is reliable and the products are good. I’m a happy customer!