Trying to find used treadmills is akin to wading into a pond without knowing the depth. You may get to a spot where you're in too deep and stuck. Finding a great treadmill doesn't have to be so fraught with peril. Perhaps peril is a strong word, but when you spend $100-$5000 on something used, you could get a dud. Where can someone be sure to find a great used treadmill without getting ripped off?

Now this isn't an article for those buying at a shop. If you have a local dealer of used treadmills, you may find a better option there. In fact there are many places locally you can find used gym equipment, and I point those out at the bottom of this article. I will say this though, you probably won't find a better price at your local dealer, than online, for a number of reasons.

There are a lot of great places to find used treadmills online. You are probably more likely to find a reliable purchase online, than from a local advertisement. Maybe you're reading this and thinking about the shipping charges or how unsafe buying online can be? But stick with me, I'll show you why buying online is ten times better than buying from your average classified ad. You can buy used treadmill on Ebay and Amazon, which are the most trustworthy, imo. 

When you buy online you get to check out your salesman. Lets take a look at Ebay for a second, mainly because used treadmills are prevalent there. Here are some basic examples of used treadmill for sale, the pictures change depending on the auction status, so I won't reference these specifically, but I've taken a screenshot of a specific auction to give you an idea about buying a used treadmill online.

You can see the price of the treadmill to the left, it's not very expensive, but that is just the starting bid. When you check the shipping prices you can see this one is offered for free. So when the bidding ends you may have a $500 used treadmill that ships free. Not all sellers ship for free, but you get that choice when you're on the site.

Now check the information to the right (circled in red), that's the amount of sales this seller has made. He's also received 100% feedback, so you know he's sold or bought things before, and he's sent, or paid for, the items appropriately., at least 8 times. While that's not an incredibly trustworthy number, if you check the green circled area, you'll see why this is such a great deal.

If you use Paypal your purchase is 100% insured, so if it's not as described, not shipped etc, you'll get your money back (see the terms you have to abide by at Paypal).

When you buy from a local man or woman from the classifieds, you may find a number of problems. Number one, you won't know if this person is reliable, you have no unbiased feedback from anyone thats purchased from them. You won't have any peace of mind about the product, because if there is a problem, you have no recourse, except small claims court. While small claims court is a valid way of getting your money back, you have to pay and wait to get your case heard, take the time off of work to get to court, and wait around the courthouse. It's not a very convenient method. Even if you had to pay a little more for shipping, you can see why buying a used treadmill online is a better option. And the best part is there are always hundreds of used treadmills for sale on Ebay.

Another great option to buying online, besides Ebay, is the refurbished used gym equipment. These are usually pieces of equipment from a health club or rehab center which upgraded their merchandise. The older models are shipped to remanufacturer who rebuilds the entire treadmill. There are a few bonuses to buyin ga refurbished treadmill.

While a used treadmill will have the same equipment, a refurbished treadmill will have many new parts. Used treadmills are purchased as-is without a warranty, a refurbished treadmill will have a warranty, usually (if it doesn't do not purchase it).

A used and refurbished treadmill will sell for at least 50% off the retail price, even though the equipment is almost brand new. That's a huge savings.