Peloton is in something of a financial rut lately, and we all know what companies do when that happens. They take it out on consumers. To that end, the exercise machine maker just announced it will be charging a $95 “used equipment activation fee” to anyone who buys one of its machines on the secondhand market, according to a report by CNBC.
The company made this announcement in its Q4 2024 shareholder letter. The fairly exorbitant fee will apply to any machine bought directly from a previous owner, meaning anything purchased via Craigslist, Facebook Marketplace or, heck, even a neighbor down the street. Without tithing $95 to the church of Peloton, the machine won’t have access to any of the classes or features the company has become known for.
The company says this activation fee is just to ensure that new members “receive the same high-quality onboarding experience Peloton is known for.” In a recent earnings call, however, a company representative was more transparent, calling the fee a “source of incremental revenue and gross profit,” according to The Verge.
The standard Bike, for instance, sells new for nearly $1,500, but you can pick up a used one online for $300 to $500. Now, that price goes up to $400 to $600. Peloton also requires a monthly membership fee to access content, which is around $44.
The high-quality onboarding experience?
Oh for fucks sake, this is just people entering information into a webpage.
Just another failing business model trying to find somewhere to “extract value”.
Setting something up is literally the worst part of anything you buy that isn’t a lego/model kit. No one is excited to set up a new TV, phone, or computer because it takes forever and prevents you from doing wha you actually want to do with the damn thing.
I have to disagree a little bit personally. It can be a chore, but sometimes there is a sense that you’re taking this generic piece of tech sold by the millions and tailoring it to your personal preferences. It’s a little silly and superficial, but it can add a little extra enjoyment to that whole experience of getting a new shiny that you’ve been looking forward to.
All that said, paying $95 for the experience of setting up a used exercise bike is one of the dumbest things I’ve ever heard.
Failed
Not sure how this was ever a good model, unless they knew they’d make their profit very quickly before people realized they could download a phone app for interval training and watch whatever they want.
I use an interval app, Just Run, but not just for running. I’ve used it for physical therapy exercises, because I have a bunch of them, and it works really well. I just make a list of exercises and make a sequence of them, which I do on their respective interval instead of running.
