Ameriglide SCAMS THE ELDERLY AND HANDICAPPED! OFF-BRAND RIPOFF!! Raleigh North Carolina

I have researched a few companies lately that sale Stair Lifts. These are typically  
installed in the homes of the Handicapped and the Elderly, whom cannot get up and down Stairs easily. I did this research for a friend of mine who was in the market for this product.  

With that said,

I have found that a few brands are of better quality than others. The key manufacturer that I have found to be the most reliable, is the brand “Summit”. This includes the study of warranty offered, amount of distributors, quality of actual product, success rate of installation, testimonial comparisons (mainly) and price. I do have some data backing me up on this but, I do not own this company nor, do I represent and/or sale anything by this company.

Now to the nitty-gritty and the reason for this report…

I have visited many websites and pulled as much data from specifications possible, of the Stair Lift distributors that sell “Summit” Stair Lifts.
I have even called around to a few distributors located on the web.

I then searched for the generic term “Stair Lifts”, just to see what’s out there.
The company that first showed up in the search engines (organically) was Ameriglide.
They offered “Ameriglide Stair Lifts” which after all of my previous research, I have not
Once seen an instance of their manufacturing.

This finding has me scratching my head at this point. Was this another manufacturer that I have missed? Come to find out and contrary to what the website leads you to believe, it in fact IS NOT!
This discovery I must thank a major distributor of Summit for. This company tipped me off to Ameriglide’s methodologies of branding. I was already very cautious of this because I had not found them in my previous manufacturer searches, yet they were at the top of the search engines (that I used) for “Stair Lifts”.
This scenario made little sense and has lead to my personal investigation.

My findings:
1. The Ameriglide Branding of Stair Lifts is actually manufactured by Summit. It is then modified with a chair. One competitor distributor claims the chair worth under 20 dollars and cheaply assembled. It also has cables that were not in that standard location. I have not found many other modifications to the original manufactured Stair Lift, but there could be a few. I note that these are definitely minor changes.

2. The Ameriglide Website claims they have the best warranty of all manufacturers. How can they make such a claim if they are not actually the manufacturer, of the Stair Lift they have branded.

3. The Ameriglide Website claims they offer the best price from any competitor. How can they do this if Summit themselves does not allow prices under 2,200 dollars to be advertised online?

4. Ameriglide prices are outrageous in comparison to similar distributor pricing, for a off-brand (rebranded) product.
** I want to further explain another angle of this.
If I go to the store and purchase toothpaste that is off-brand (rebranded). That toothpaste is, or was, patented by a major brand. In this example I will use Colgate. The rebranded toothpaste that I purchase is less expensive but, is a knock off of the original major brand. It may be distributed under the name of “Ultra Bright” but, I am fully aware (thanks to the labeling on the back of the toothpaste tube) that the rebranded product is slightly modified to lower the price. Modifications such as print graphic detail, tubing, and possibly less active ingredient (not likely) are something I know is a possibility in order to save the mighty dollar.
With Ameriglide, you have the same rebranding concept of the toothpaste I have used hypothetically (above). You have a slightly modified version of the major brand.
Since this is the case, why is it that Ameriglide feels like charging more for an off-brand
Than the major brand? That is to me a TOTAL RIP OFF

The majority of all Elderly/Handicapped would have a hard time resolving distinction.
Ameriglide  is plain bad business and extremely unethical based on known standards and structures.
How can a company even begin to exploit the people that in most cases have less ability to distinct a branding scam with higher prices, from an authentic major label product with lower pricing?

Something is extremely fishy with this company and its branding techniques. I have told my friend to steer clear from their unethical practices and I urge others to heed my caution and research. Don’t let your Grandmothers and Handicapped loved ones get ripped off by a shady branding scheme like Ameriglide Stair Lifts. Also be alarmed at other websites boasting “Ameriglide”.  Ameriglide owns 8 other websites.

Two Thumbs Down.