Is $35 bi-weekly too much for a Goodlife membership?

Joined Goodlife Fitness at union station for $35 bi-weekly. $500 initiation fee was waived. This is apparently the corporate "deal" that I am entitled to by working at a certain financial institution.

Pros:
- Love the location. Working downtown, I always pass by union station.
- Good equipment for strength training. Better than Bally's or Extreme Fitness in my opinion.
- Towel service.
- Clean facilities.
- Big lockers.
- Free movie rentals. Will be better once I get a dvd burner.
- "Platinum" membership required for this location allows me to use any Goodlife in Canada.

Cons:
- $35 bi-weekly seems expensive considering that my colleague pays $20 for the same membership. He joined when they first opened.

Salesperson told me that this is the best deal he can give me. You guys think I'm paying too much? Should I attempt to negotiate by threatening to cancel my membership? My 30 day trial period is not over yet.

Side note: Curzon at skydome is offering a $35 monthly membership at their gym for their corporate deal. Not as convenient as union station though. Will have to evaluate their facilities.

Speaking of corp discounts, depending on which financial institution you work at, you may be able to join the former Fitness Institute clubs for $18.75 a month (reg price is $89). Suggest you give them a call. Sorry but can't give out the name of the financial institution as ppl will flood the clubs.

Thanks for the tip, eelfliw. I'll go check it out this week.

My bum is still sore from signing that Goodlife membership.

that is really expensive....

if you want the best deal, you need to find someone else with a goodlife account.... probably a friend... and you open another goodlife account under their account....

so the goodlife bill gets sent to them and you pay your friend...

i can't remember what the discount was.... but i remember paying a little over $100 initiation fee and monthly payments depends on how many accounts the primary person has under their name.... if i remember correctly i think it was 10% or 25% discount for each person.

$35 x 26 payments per year x 15% tax = $1046.50 per year = idiocy

My negotiating skills seems to be as poor as my judgment. I'll shop around and let you know the results. Any tips would be appreciated.

Originally Posted by ProfessorChaos

that is really expensive....

if you want the best deal, you need to find someone else with a goodlife account.... probably a friend... and you open another goodlife account under their account....

so the goodlife bill gets sent to them and you pay your friend...

i can't remember what the discount was.... but i remember paying a little over $100 initiation fee and monthly payments depends on how many accounts the primary person has under their name.... if i remember correctly i think it was 10% or 25% discount for each person.

You can only do that in the first 30 days that person joins the club. That is after 30 days you can't add more people with discount to your account.

Originally Posted by chicken_little

$35 x 26 payments per year x 15% tax = $1046.50 per year = idiocy

My negotiating skills seems to be as poor as my judgment. I'll shop around and let you know the results. Any tips would be appreciated.

I paid $500 init fee and my biweely fee is $9. No, I can't use Union station facility.

Teachers can get a yearly membership at Goodlife for $319 with no weekly fees.

You're getting ripped off.
Without the initiation fee, 35$ bi weekly is what you pay anyways. you're not getting any discount at all.

With that kind of fees, you can buy a bowflex from costco and it pays for itself in one year. Unless you're there to look at chicks, then that's a different story.

They all have these pressure tactics, so don't fall in their traps. Plus these membership guys have quotas, so find a club else where that has a lower price and tell them to match it...I did that before and it works.

Originally Posted by jameslinux

With that kind of fees, you can buy a bowflex from costco and it pays for itself in one year. Unless you're there to look at chicks, then that's a different story.

They all have these pressure tactics, so don't fall in their traps. Plus these membership guys have quotas, so find a club else where that has a lower price and tell them to match it...I did that before and it works.

Hot chicks is a side benefit of going to the gym.

Paid $9 bi-weekly $200 down 5 months free in Oakville prior to the gym opening. I pay about an extra $2 or $4 a month for access to Union which I never use.

ADVICE: NEVER join at Union - unless things have changed over the last few months join in the burbs it is a lot cheaper and you can pay a few extra dollars assuming that you want access to Union which is not all that great anyway way too crammed and too many universal machines.

I paid a few hundred in intiation fees... can't remember how much $200-300

And I pay $1 a day (or $14 bi-weekly) for Goodlife

I pay 25/mo (tax incl) for goodlife and I can use every goodlife in canada including the one at union stn. It's a corporate plan thru work.

Explained to the sales rep that Curzon was offering a way better deal than what I'm paying. He told me that he doesn't consider Curzon a competitor at all and that if I wanted to cancel I should give him my membership card.

So I did.

Then he came back and told me that I need to fulfill my trial membership requirements of 12 workouts before cancelling. Not sure if this is a valid requirement or if I called his bluff. I feel like I'm in a poker game.