Aqualung and gray markets...FYI

[rawls]

Unfortunately when I can't get my free fills elsewhere I have to resort to visiting a local shop.

And I am sure they are so happy to see you....

 

[Splitlip]

This makes me wonder if Divers Direct knows something we don't about AL's distribution policies?

Divers Direct has been selling Al in their West Palm store since I can remember. 99 or 2000.

 

[RonFrank]

In the years I have been diving, I've never actually seen a fake, or counterfeit product. I know they exist, but I think it is very rare.

Bottom Line, warranties are often a PITA to use. Some companies are great about it, and others, not so much. My experience is that Aeris, and Zeagle both have great customer service, and most of the large off shore manufactures.. less so. I guess maybe I need to be clear.... Companies based out of the USA vs. companies with a USA presence are two different animals in my experience. Most stuff is made overseas.

In any event, the question for me is what am I buying. As ScubaToys matches LP prices, I've been buying there. However I buy as I see fit, and if buying fins for example, I don't worry much about a warranty.

 

[bfw]

The more I read these posts the more anti-aqua lung I get. Same with scubapro. This elitist BS makes me want to not buy their products even from the grey market.

They don't MAKE anything I want, but unfortunately, they got Suunto to give them USA distribution of their dive computers.

 

[bfw]

CMy MK25/G250V is costing me $563 from a local authorized SP dealer. $500.00 is what LP charges.

Bully for you - you found an LDS that's willing to compete rather than whine, but that's rare.

 

[bfw]

One of the great things about dealing with a local shop is you can handle and use the merchandise before buying.

And if you need that, great. For a lot of equipment, I can learn more USEFUL about it from the manufacturer's website than I gain from an emotional reaction to seeing it in person.

When bought my kid's BC, the shop let me take one home for her to dive the weekend. She (and I) liked it, so I bought it.
I suppose I could have been a dick and ordered it from LP after that, but I would not have gotten the 10 nitrox fills.

You would have been more than a dick, you'd ethically and morally be a thief, for taking services you didn't pay for. If you need LDS level service, then go to the LDS and pay for it, but if you DON'T need that level of service, you shouldn't have to pay for it. There are people who have no business shopping online. Let every consumer choose his level of service and pay for it.

 

[bfw]

I believe that most of us who purchase from LP and the other main on-line retailers know what we want. We have done our research; how we do it is our own business.

Yes and no. If you do your research at the LDS, bending the ear of the sales guy, whose time is the shop's money, then you should buy there. Pay for whatever service you receive.

 

[bfw]

And you are acting as what is called a "schlepp."

Very cute, but not what that word means.
So, what's your cut?

Then what are you doing in the dive shop in the first place?

Giving them an opportunity to compete.

The answer for you would be to stay out of dive shops altogether. There is nothing in there you need. So just stay away from them.

No, when the dive shop meets our needs, we will shop there, but we are not in this to subsidize someone else's poor business plan. We're not in the dive shop welfare business. It's called capitalism, and if you don't like it, I suggest you check out the dive industry in Cuba.

 

[SparticleBrane]

And I am sure they are so happy to see you....

Depends on the shop.

Some shops are fantastic and I bring them thousands of dollars of business through my own purchases (sometimes they have better prices on things than LeisurePro or anyone else I know) or from me recommending other people go to those shops. Sometimes it is from group buys.


Other shops I avoid at all costs due to ridiculous prices. As an example, I recently had a friend to go a local shop to get (4) single 130s filled with 32%. The shop wanted payment up front, and they were going to charge $64.

Payment up front isn't normally something I prefer -- really, I'd like to have the service performed and then pay, but that isn't the real gripe. The gripe is this -- the shop wanted $64 to fill (4) 130s with nitrox. Holy crap. :11: Of course, my friend walked right out of the store and didn't go back.

The chances of me visiting that shop any time soon are very slim indeed.

 

[bfw]

I'm not so sure if the statement that "the place LP got the stuff from paid Aqualung as much for it as the next guy" is accurate.

It's not precise. A more precise statement would be "LP's source didn't rip Aqualung off - they paid what Aqualung considered a fair price for the goods." You're correct that volume buyers get a discount, but ask yourself, when a distributor calls Aqualung and orders 1000 BC's, when that distributor's authorized dealers moved only a couple hundred BC's last year, do you think Aqualung doesn't know where they're headed? If so, I have a bridge to sell you. Aqualung is quite happy to see the additional volume leave their shipping door, and THEY don't lose a dime on grey market sales.

Aqualung tracks their lifesaving equipment's serial numbers, and you do hear of them dropping dealers on occasion due to violations.

Sure, but only AFTER those thousand BC's are paid for.

I really think Aqualung comes across as wanting to support their dealers who toe the line as far as policy as I've heard of and known dealers who've tried violating their policies get warned or dropped. They seem committed to their marketing strategy and their dealer support system from what I've seen,

Grow up and do the math. Grey market sales volume is huge. Aqualung knows full well when those huge orders come in where they're headed, but they also know those orders make their sales numbers. They enforce just enough to keep the authorized dealers in the fold.