Overpriced OW class?

[Wookie]

Force you to Cozumel?! Isn't Houston right next to the Gulf of Mexico?! They must have a waiting list for hiring instructors.

Ummmm. Have you dived the Gulf? Even 40 miles out it's still pretty muddy (west of the Mississippi and Atchafalaya outflow, anyway). When you get to 2 or 3 hundred feet deep it clears up quite a bit. At the surface anyway.


It really isn't fair to compare Texas prices with New Jersey or South Carolina or wherever. In Key West, an OW referral at the local PADI SSI shop is $450. That includes instructor fees and a confined water evaluation. Not gear or the boat ride. Even the pricing between Dallas and Houston is different. At Maximum Scuba in Lake Jackson, they have a quarry in the back yard, so I imagine the pricing is different there too. From their website...
[h=4]PADI Open Water Diver Course[/h] $300 All-inclusive* (valued at $420) We do not make you buy any scuba equipment for the course *Includes all scuba training material, PADI certification card, & use of scuba equipment needed for the course….BCD, regulator, dive computer/gauges, fins, mask, wet suit, booties, snorkel, weights, and tanks

That includes everything except Lake fees, at $40

 

[tkdgodess]

Check how many pool dives are included. Our local prices are close to $500, but includes a learning agreement that you can take more than the standard 5 module pool dives if you need it. Good value for many, not having to pay extra for extra pool training if you need it.

 

[Colliam7]

I recently was looking for a dive instructor for my OW class, and the one place I went to was going to charge me $500 per-person for a group class, plus I had to buy my mask, snorkel, and fins from them, which he said would cost 300 to 400 dollars. He was a PADI instructor. Does this seem overpriced?

The absolute prices are hard to evaluate.

$500 for a group class appears a bit high, depending on what is included. We charge $375, but the student is responsible for purchasing the 'crew pack' - the manual, tables, etc.

As for the mask / fins / snorkel part - there is really no reason to pay $400 for them. I don't necessarily have a problem with the shop requiring you to buy from them, although I do not agree with the business practice - the student should be free to buy wherever they want. You should be able to get that equipment for ~$250, unless you decide to buy needlessly expensive gear.

The PADI affiliation is irrelevant to the issue of price.

I would at least shop around a bit - compare prices for various OW options, and take into consideration exactly what is included in each.

 

[Keith.M]

For a group class, that seems high.

My LDS publishes all their training rates. No surprises.

Tuition: The tuition pays for instructor fees, pool and classroom use. It also covers use of regulators, buoyancy control device (BCD), tanks and weight belts in the pool sessions.
Group Open Water Classes (Per Person)
Open Water With Ocean Dives $169.99
Open Water with Lake Dives $119.99
Referral (Class and Pool Only) $89.00
Referral (Open Water Dives Only) $89.00

Private Open Water Classes (Per person)
Referral Lake Dives Ocean Dives
1 Person $250 $400 $500
2 People $225 $350 $450
3 People $200 $300 $400
Academic Materials
Part # 60335 Crew Pack $49.98
Part # 70831 Video $30.00
Part # 10018 PIC Card $19.98
Total $99.96
Required Equipment
Mask Underwater Compass
Snorkel Whistle
Fins (open heel) and Neoprene Booties Octopus Retainer
Package Pricing From $150.00 to $400.00


Scuba Equipment
For your open water training dives, you will need to have a Regulator with Computer, Buoyancy
Compensator, Tanks (2 for Ocean, 4 for lake), Wetsuit, Hood, Gloves and Weight. While you are enrolled
in any class at Dolphin you will receive a special student rate for rentals.
Rental package is about $50.00 for Ocean dives and about $60.00 for lake dives.

Not sure why equipment is 10 bucks more for lake dives...

But I had plenty of gear for my son to get certified so my costs for him was the 169.99 + 99.96

So it was basically $270.00 (plus two nights hotel accommodations in Monterey)

 

[MXGratefulDiver]

I've been charging $600 for a semi-private class, inclusive of books and certification fees. This year that price went up to $750. Some in our area are charging $1000 ... and don't seem to be hurting for students. Their price includes drysuit and nitrox training as well as OW.

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

 

[Hawkwood]

$450 CDN here. That includes Class and Pool and the Open Water. All inclusive.

All gear is provided for the pool (masks, fins, BCDs, wetsuits).

The price includes all materials, books, PIC, SMB, and rental equipment (fins, BCDs, wetsuits, boots, gloves, hoods, weights, tanks, etc.) for open water.

We don't rent masks so students have to provide their own mask for the open water dives.

Bill

 

[scubaskipper]

Crystal River, Florida: SDI O/W $270.00/ includes everything but entry fees to open water dive sites. ( $6.00 to $45.00 )2 students+ 50 private double.

 

[oly5050user]

I recently was looking for a dive instructor for my OW class, and the one place I went to was going to charge me $500 per-person for a group class, plus I had to buy my mask, snorkel, and fins from them, which he said would cost 300 to 400 dollars. He was a PADI instructor. Does this seem overpriced?

Costs vary region to region. $500 is seen as cheap here in NY if it includes learning materials and ow training dives with gear rentals. I tell people course itself is $269 but by the time you buy learning materials @$105 buy decent set of mask, snkl, fins,boots ($200 to $350). Pay for ow training dives which include rentals ($ 239) entry to quarry (2 days about $70) you have anywhere from $850 on up. This is in Westchester NY area , which is considered to be one of the most expensive and affluent areas in the country. Currently teaching a very private class for a 17yo young lady who flew in this past weekend from private school in Switzerland to take classes with me here in NY. She also purchased entire set of top end gear and is leaving in 10 days to somewhere in Indonesia for a school class trip for a marine bio course. She is doing the 4 training dives on the trip at additional cost. All said and done she will spend close to $9,000 -$10,000 if not more to get certified which covers course and materials, full top end gear and Indonesia trip with training dives. What is seen as expensive to some is pocket change to others.

 

[ams511]

I don't have a problem paying for better training. The problem is that the dive shop down the road had the same gear for half the price. I kind of got the impression that they were trying to charge me for every little thing.

My advice is to shop around and see what is available in your area. As you can tell from the responses prices vary across the nation, the prices in California, Florida, or Washington are irrelevant for your decision. What matters is the prices in your area, unless you want to get certified somewhere else.

I would interpret the fact that they want you to buy the equipment from them as a bad sign, made worse by the fact that it is higher-priced than other shops. Also I would inquire as to the price of other courses, you may want to take advanced or nitrox also.

 

[iluvtheocean]

My LDS offers basic PADI OW certification for $350. Includes all course materials but shore dives only for that price, boat dives available but would incur the extra expense. Mask, fins, snorkel available through the shop and while recommended to purchase you won't get dirty looks or black balled if you don't. The instructor however reserves the right to inspect the gear to see if they are appropriate for scuba. Some students try to bring their $35 vacation snorkel gear.

one of the shops here is advertising $350 for Padi OW
includes: instructional material, pool fees, boat fees, rental gear, & c-card cost. You provide mask,fins,snorkel, & weights (can buy at the shop) and will buy back weights at end of course if you don't want em. This is almost directly from their email advert.
it's a reputable shop.


ask questions of the shop & the instructor that would be teaching... there are stickys about this
http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/ne...ng/287780-how-find-excellent-scuba-class.html

it'll give you ideas what questions to ask etc