LP Prices no longer a Bargain?

[boat sju]

I don't know if LP prices are negotiable.......... Does LP offer better prices when you call?

From my experience . . . yes. Minimum ADVERTISED price.

 

[Sas]

They've doubled the shipping price too I noticed recently. I emailed them to ask about cheaper shipping options (I was looking at $90 shipping for an item weighing 3lb to Australia) and they said they have no choice due to UPS shipping rates...

 

[Jim Lapenta]

Ask if they will ship usps priority flat rate. To australia 3lbs should be around $20.00 if that. I sent books to australia and for 2lbs it was $14 or so. Sas, pm me for what you are trying to get. May be able to help facilitate?

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[Sas]

Ask if they will ship usps priority flat rate. To australia 3lbs should be around $20.00 if that. I sent books to australia and for 2lbs it was $14 or so. Sas, pm me for what you are trying to get. May be able to help facilitate?

Sent from my DROID X2 using Tapatalk

Hi Jim

I already asked them if there was an option for cheaper shipping (any type of shipping, I know DSS and DiveTub for example, havebeen quite flexible about what type of shipping they have sent dive gear over depending on what I have asked for) but they said nothing they can do.

I will PM you, thanks

 

[Jim Lapenta]

Just an update. I was able to find a little cheaper rates for Sas but not by much and one way can't guarantee shipping in time. It's the weight coupled with type of package that's a killer. Envelopes are reasonable, boxes are nuts.

 

[ams511]

What the USA scuba market needs is a good. grey market dealer. Maybe someone will show up and fill the void left by LP changing its business model. Or, maybe we should just wait. I really don't see LP coming out ahead if they have to go up against Scubatoys and other online dealers based on service rather than price.

This could be the problem and why LP decided to tow the line. Supreme Court Rules Against Consumers in Costco vs. Omega - DailyFinance

 

[ams511]

One of the things I explained in my book was the way pricing works in the Scuba Industry. Actual "pure" MAP itself is not a bad thing. It does level the playing field between dealers and lets them compete or at least gives them a starting point. But MAP is just that - MINIMUM ADVERTISED PRICE. It is not MSP - MINIMUM SELLING PRICE! The latter is what outfits like Scuba Pro and Aqualung did to not only level the field but to actually control their dealers.

Jim, from my understanding (please correct me if I am wrong) that there are different levels (tiers) of dealers and that high volume (upper tier) get a better price than lower tier dealers. So without MSP or MAP the high volume dealers would sell for less driving the low volume dealers either out of business or to other product lines. This is a good news / bad news situation for the manfacturer. The good news is that it is easier to service one large account than 100 small ones. The bad news is that now you have large dealers that make up a significant proportion of your sales. This happened to companies doing business with Walmart. Walmart is their least profitable retailer but they can't drop them because Walmart moves 40% of their product, in fact they fear Walmart will drop them. Walmart knows this and uses it to extract more concessions from manufacturers.

 

[Sas]

Thanks Jim for checking out pricing for me.

 

[mdb]

Jim, from my understanding (please correct me if I am wrong) that there are different levels (tiers) of dealers and that high volume (upper tier) get a better price than lower tier dealers. So without MSP or MAP the high volume dealers would sell for less driving the low volume dealers either out of business or to other product lines. This is a good news / bad news situation for the manfacturer. The good news is that it is easier to service one large account than 100 small ones. The bad news is that now you have large dealers that make up a significant proportion of your sales. This happened to companies doing business with Walmart. Walmart is their least profitable retailer but they can't drop them because Walmart moves 40% of their product, in fact they fear Walmart will drop them. Walmart knows this and uses it to extract more concessions from manufacturers.

Walmart is very predatory. They have put hundreds, if not thousands, of small retailers and manufacturers out of business. The classic model is that in year one the manufacturer is "invited" to stock products at a few hundred Walmart stores. If the product(s) sell well they then roll out to many more stores. The manufacturer is overjoyed. The OEM manufacturer increases its work force, expands their factories. The next year at the yearly vendors meeting in Bentonville, Arkansas the supplier is told that they must reduce their wholesale price to retain the shelf space. They do it. In the meantime Walmart has the product copied and made in China or Indonesia etc. Repeated time after time.

 

[Jim Lapenta]

Correct. Walmart and similar entities do not make less on items. Initially they might but then once thay have destroyed the local small businesses the mfg has no choice but to lower the price Walmart pays since the manufacturers no longer have a local outlet for their goods. The same thing happened back in the late 70's when "super" markets really began to hurt the corner grocery stores. A&P, Kroger, etc bought items in huge quantities and not only made it possible for mfg to sell by the railcar load instead of truckload. They made it economically feasible for them to tell small business owners like my Grandfather that they would no longer ship to him as he did not order enough to make it worth it. Some independent grocers formed co-ops but they were still not big enough to get the same pricing as the chains. As a result many family businesses were wiped out. It would not have hurt the mfg to offer the same prices to the smaller retailers. The big boys were in no danger of being put out of business. All it would have done is allow the little guy to survive and provide the level of family style service customers were used to. Now ivy league marketing pukes decide what needs to be in a store and where. Then they change it every few months. It's why my local Giant Eagle managers get told the people at corporate should be slapped upside the head on a regular basis.