You've done the research. You've watched the YouTube videos. You've compared specs on three different tabs. And now you're staring at a $4,000–$8,000 reformer on a manufacturer's website, credit card in hand, thinking: how hard can this be?
Here's what nobody tells you before you hit buy.
It Shows Up on a Freight Pallet. At Your Curb.
This is the one that surprises people most. A Pilates reformer isn't an Amazon package. It's 200+ pounds of steel, wood, and hardware that ships via freight carrier — not UPS, not FedEx. When that truck pulls up to your house, the driver's job ends at the tailgate.
That means you're responsible for getting it off the truck, up your driveway, through your front door, up any stairs, and into the room where it lives. If you didn't pay for "inside delivery" — which is often an add-on, sometimes expensive, and frequently not available depending on your location — you're on your own.
Most people find this out the day the truck arrives.
"Assembly Required" Is Doing a Lot of Heavy Lifting
Reformers don't come ready to use. They come in pieces, in boxes, with hardware bags and instruction manuals written for someone with a mechanical engineering background. You're looking at 1–3 hours of assembly minimum, assuming nothing goes wrong.
And things go wrong. Missing hardware. Parts that don't seat correctly. Springs that need to be tensioned just right. A reformer that's slightly out of alignment won't just feel off — it can affect your form, your practice, and over time, your body.
This isn't IKEA furniture. The tolerances matter.
You Probably Don't Know Which Reformer Is Actually Right for You
The brands all look premium at a glance. Balanced Body, Gratz, Merrithew/Stott, Contrology, Align-Pilates — they each have different feels, different resistance systems, different carriage glides, different footbar configurations. What your studio uses may not be what makes sense for your home. What works for a 5'4" woman doing classical Pilates is different from what works for a 6'1" man doing athletic conditioning.
When you buy online, nobody asks you any of this. You click, you pay, you receive a freight pallet.
The result? Buyers end up with equipment that doesn't match their practice, their body, or their space. Some of them figure it out. Most of them just live with it.
The Room Prep Nobody Mentions
Did you account for ceiling height if you're doing jumpboard work? Floor protection so the reformer doesn't scratch hardwood? Adequate width on both sides for full arm extension? The door width the reformer needs to get into the room in the first place?
These aren't obscure edge cases — they're the questions that derail home studio setups regularly. A reformer that doesn't fit through a doorframe has to be partially disassembled. A setup on the wrong flooring will shift and slide. A room that's two inches too short for your jumpboard makes a $1,000 add-on useless.
None of this is in the product listing.
Customer Support After the Sale Is... Thin
Once that reformer is in your house and assembled — or half-assembled — you're largely on your own. Manufacturer support lines are staffed for dealer questions, not consumer troubleshooting. If something's wrong, the process is: document it, submit a claim, wait, ship a part, reassemble. That's weeks, not days.
If you bought through a third-party retailer online, add another layer of "that's between you and the manufacturer" to the mix.
So What's the Alternative?
This is exactly the problem Reformer Registry was built to solve.
We're not a retailer that drops ships equipment and hopes for the best. We're a concierge — we help you pick the right reformer for your body, your practice, and your space, then handle everything from procurement through white-glove delivery and full installation. You walk into a room with a reformer that's leveled, calibrated, and ready to use.
No freight pallet surprises. No instruction manual archaeology. No wondering if you bought the wrong thing.
If you're considering a reformer for your home — or outfitting a studio — [start here with our concierge intake form] or reach out directly. We'll ask the right questions and make sure you end up with exactly what you need.
Reformer Registry is the only luxury concierge for Pilates reformers in North America. We serve home practitioners and commercial studio owners across the Midwest and beyond.