How to compare different aesthetic equipment offers
You have decided to invest in professional aesthetic equipment and gathered several offers. On the table are different prices, different promises and a great deal of technical vocabulary. How do you compare them fairly, so that you have no regrets a year from now? This guide gives you a concrete method: what to ask every supplier, how to work out an offer's true price, and which red flags should make you stop.
We write this openly — we are suppliers ourselves, so we know this kitchen from the inside. The method we set out works whether you end up buying from us or from someone else: an offer compared properly protects your money either way.
Rule one: compare the full price, not the number on the page
The most common mistake is comparing only the price of the device. The real investment has several parts, and a "cheap" offer often gets more expensive with the first question. Build a table with every line, for each offer:
| Line | What to ask |
|---|---|
| Price of the device | Is it final? Does it include VAT? What is in the package? |
| Training | Included or charged separately? How much of it, and who delivers it? |
| Delivery and installation | Who assembles the device? Is installation included? |
| Warranty | How long? Who honours it, and where? |
| Service after the warranty | Does it exist at all? What does an inspection cost? |
| Consumables | Filters, gels — what do they cost, and does the supplier stock them? |
With us, for example, individual training and professional installation are included in the price of the device, and all the consumables are ordered from the same place as the equipment. Bought elsewhere, those lines can add several thousand more — or, worse, may not be available at all.
Rule two: check what stands behind the offer
The device will serve for five to ten years — and so will your relationship with the supplier. So judge the partner as well as the product:
- Is the supplier a direct representative of the manufacturer? A chain of intermediaries means slower service and unclear responsibility. We are direct representatives — which is why we can guarantee both parts and repair times;
- How many years have they been trading? Check the company's history in the public register; our own road since 2018 is described on our About us page;
- Can the equipment be seen in person? A serious supplier has somewhere to show it — we invite you to our studio in Kaunas, where you can try the devices in real treatments;
- Do they answer awkward questions? Ask about fault rates, repair times and parts availability. Evasiveness is an answer in itself.
Rule three: documents, not promises
Every verbal promise should have its documentary counterpart:
- The EU declaration of conformity — mandatory; we hand it over with the installation, and it fixes the start of the warranty;
- A purchase contract with clear terms — prices, deadlines, the scope of the warranty, the payment schedule. Our standard sequence (contract → 50% deposit → factory testing → delivery → final payment) is set out on the page "How working together goes";
- A user manual in a language you understand and clear maintenance instructions (what they should cover is in our maintenance guide);
- A certificate after the training — a document that confirms your qualification to clients.
Rule four: compare technical specifications properly
A specification table can inform or mislead. What to look at:
- Power and handpieces. The number matters, but so do the window sizes — they determine working speed (more in the selection guide);
- Wavelength. Understand what it means for your clients — our article on wavelengths will let you talk to suppliers as an equal;
- The cooling system. One of the most important parameters and the most often passed over — ask specifically what technology is used and how it is maintained (why it matters);
- Working life. How many pulses the module is rated for and what replacement costs — that governs your long-term cost per treatment.
And be wary of miraculous numbers: if one supplier's specifications suspiciously beat the whole market at half the price, what usually differs is not the device but the honesty with which the table was written.
Rule five: work out the business scenario
Finally, compare the offers not on price but on business outcome. For each device, answer: how many clients a week could I serve? What is the cost per treatment? How long until it pays for itself? We built a payback calculator for that, and set out the method with examples in our article on equipment payback. It often turns out that the more expensive but higher-throughput device is the cheaper one in business terms.
If the size of the investment is what is holding you back, compare financing options too: our clients apply through the Bigbank platform, and the instalments are paid out of operating income.
A practical checklist before deciding
- I have calculated the full price with training, installation and consumables — not just the price of the device;
- I know who will repair the device a year from now, and how quickly;
- I have seen the equipment in person or experienced a treatment;
- I have documentary confirmation of every promise;
- I have compared at least two or three offers against the same table;
- I have worked out a payback scenario with my own numbers.
A scoring template: give the offers points
When emotion and a salesperson's eloquence start to cloud things, a simple scoring system helps. Rate each offer from 1 to 5 on six criteria and calculate the weighted total:
| Criterion | Weight | What you are judging |
|---|---|---|
| Full price | 25% | Device + training + installation + a year of running costs |
| Service | 25% | Who repairs it, how quickly, whether they are a direct representative |
| Technical fit | 20% | Whether the specifications match YOUR client flow and plan |
| Training and support | 15% | Scope, hands-on practice, help after launch |
| Documentation | 10% | EU conformity, contract, warranty terms in writing |
| The impression in person | 5% | The demonstration, answers to awkward questions |
The weightings are suggestions and you can adjust them to your own priorities. What matters is that every offer is judged against the same table — that way the most eloquent salesperson can no longer outweigh objective criteria.
The negotiation questionnaire: ten questions for a supplier
Print it and put it to every one of them — the answers, and their style, will tell you more than any brochure:
- What is the full price with training, installation and delivery — in writing?
- What exactly is in the package? What is NOT in it?
- Who delivers the training and how much of it is there? What does training an extra member of staff cost?
- How long is the warranty and who physically honours it?
- How quickly is a fault actually put right? Are spare parts held locally?
- What does a year of running costs come to — filters, consumables, servicing?
- Can I see the device working and experience a treatment?
- Will you provide the EU declaration of conformity, and when?
- What support is provided in the first months after launch?
- Can you put me in touch with an existing client already working with this device?
You will find our answers to all ten on the page about working together and in every device description — and anything not there we will gladly answer in person.
After the purchase: check that you got what was promised
Comparison does not end when the contract is signed. On handover, check:
- the package against the contract — handpieces, accessories, documents;
- the EU declaration of conformity and the warranty document with a clear start date;
- that installation was carried out by the supplier's specialist and that you received the maintenance briefing;
- that the training took place in full and you received your certificate;
- that you know the specific contact to call when a question comes up.
If every box is ticked, you chose well. All that is left is the work: our maintenance guide and the metrics for tracking payback will serve you through the first months.
Three situations from our consultations
The method shows best through real (anonymised) stories:
- The "cheaper" offer. A practitioner compared our device with an offer that looked €2,000 cheaper on paper. Once the full price was worked out — training charged separately, no installation, warranty repairs "by sending it to the manufacturer" — the difference not only evaporated but reversed. She chose on total cost of ownership, not on the price on the label;
- A used device from a classified ad. A client was considering a used device "at half price". We suggested a simple test: ask for the documentation and the service history. The seller disappeared after the second question — the test cost nothing and saved thousands;
- Two similar new devices. When offers are objectively close, a live demonstration decided it: one handpiece sat better in the hand and the menu was clearer. Details? You will be working with them eight hours a day.
The common thread in all three is the same: the winner is not the most eloquent salesperson but the buyer with a method.
The essentials at a glance
- Compare the full price: device + training + installation + a year of running costs;
- Judge the supplier as a partner for five years — service matters more than a discount;
- Every promise needs a document; "we'll send it later" is a red flag;
- A scoring table protects you from the most eloquent (rather than the best) salesperson;
- The final criterion is your own business scenario: work out the payback for each offer.
Frequently asked questions
Is it normal to ask a supplier to lower the price?
You can always ask, but consider what the discount is paid for: if training or the scope of the warranty disappears from the offer along with it, the saving is illusory. An honest supplier will explain what the price is made of.
What about offers from foreign marketplaces?
Work through the full scenario: who will install it, where warranty repairs will happen, who will train your team, and whether the device has EU conformity documentation. Most of the time "cheap imports" stop being cheap once those questions are asked.
Can you compare the offers I already have?
Yes — send them to us during a consultation and we will analyse them together, openly, using this method. Even if you end up buying elsewhere, it is better that you buy well.
Where can I see your own offer?
All the equipment with prices is in the catalogue, and for a quick comparison use the comparison table. What is included in the price is described on each device's page.
How many offers is it worth collecting?
In practice two to four is optimal: one offer leaves you no reference point, while after the fifth analysis paralysis sets in. What matters is that all of them are judged against the same table and the same questions — then even two offers give you a clear picture.
What if suppliers quote parameters that cannot be compared?
This happens often: one quotes power, another energy density, a third only marketing names. The solution is simple: send them all the same list of questions from this article and ask for written answers, point by point. Whoever answers clearly will be clear to work with; whoever sends a brochure instead of answers has already answered in their own way.
Choosing equipment right now? Get in touch — we will answer every question on this list about our own offer, without skipping any of them. An honest comparison works in our favour: the better informed the buyer, the longer and better the partnership — and those are exactly the partnerships we are after.