Dive center staff: does your DC let you buy gear at discount?

[irsubmarine]

The more dive centers I visit, the more I notice that a lot of them offer their staff special pricing. I.e. say ScubaPro is one of the usual suppliers of a dive center, then any staff (DM's, instructors, etc) can order gear for staff price (so far below retail). Purchasing that gear would not make the dive center any money, but it is one of the benefits of working in that specific dive center.

I'm curious how widespread this type of benefit is. Do you get these low prices when you working at your dive center?

 

[yle]

It's been my experience that manufacturers typically have programs that allow "key influencers", particularly scuba instructors (since they work with new scuba students and wear scuba equipment in front of them), to purchase equipment directly from the manufacturers at a special price. This price was usually below dealer cost. I assume the manufacturers chalk up the price difference to advertising.

I ordered gear through three different manufacturers this way. The orders had to be approved by the store manager, but the equipment manufacturer charged me directly (i.e. the transaction did not go through the store.) Whether or not a particular store tells their employees about these plans or approves their orders is up to the individual stores, I guess.

In short, the manufacturers seem very willing to get dive shop employees to use their gear; if there is any variability in the availability of these programs to employees, it's due to individual store policy. Probably worth noting that this kind of benefit isn't limited to scuba. When I worked at a bike shop many years ago, the bike manufacturers had a program through which they allowed each employee to buy one bike per year at 50% off retail (which was slightly below dealer cost.)

 

[TMHeimer]

When I was a working DM (4 years) I got a discount on everything of (I think) 15%, plus free air. A couple of times the owner got me things (a DC, weight pockets) at cost. To get free air you were supposed to work 4 full courses per year, but if I only did 3, 3 1/2 they still gave it to me. Now I pay full price for it all.

 

[irsubmarine]

It's been my experience that manufacturers typically have programs that allow "key influencers", particularly scuba instructors (since they work with new scuba students and wear scuba equipment in front of them), to purchase equipment directly from the manufacturers at a special price. This price was usually below dealer cost. I assume the manufacturers chalk up the price difference to advertising.

I ordered gear through three different manufacturers this way. The orders had to be approved by the store manager, but the equipment manufacturer charged me directly (i.e. the transaction did not go through the store.) Whether or not a particular store tells their employees about these plans or approves their orders is up to the individual stores, I guess.

In short, the manufacturers seem very willing to get dive shop employees to use their gear; if there is any variability in the availability of these programs to employees, it's due to individual store policy. Probably worth noting that this kind of benefit isn't limited to scuba. When I worked at a bike shop many years ago, the bike manufacturers had a program through which they allowed each employee to buy one bike per year at 50% off retail (which was slightly below dealer cost.)

Ha, now that is interesting. I didn't think about the idea that manufacturers could be targetting dive store employees to use their gear. But now that you mention it, I was diving in Gozo at one point and was talking to a course director who was telling me various manufacturers were sending him gear (BCD's) each year to try out. Perhaps the manufacturers are trying to get a foot in the door of the DC so the director can spread the gospel if he likes the gear.

When I was a working DM (4 years) I got a discount on everything of (I think) 15%, plus free air. A couple of times the owner got me things (a DC, weight pockets) at cost. To get free air you were supposed to work 4 full courses per year, but if I only did 3, 3 1/2 they still gave it to me. Now I pay full price for it all.

Seems like most dive centers have different approaches and different policies. I was starting to think I was being left out in the cold by my dive center. But that seems to be not the case at all. Do you now pay full price because you stopped working at your DC?

 

[Vicko]

Yup, Mares has amazing prices for the affiliate dive centers and the base equipment (rover line) is acutaly decent.

 

[TMHeimer]

Ha, now that is interesting. I didn't think about the idea that manufacturers could be targetting dive store employees to use their gear. But now that you mention it, I was diving in Gozo at one point and was talking to a course director who was telling me various manufacturers were sending him gear (BCD's) each year to try out. Perhaps the manufacturers are trying to get a foot in the door of the DC so the director can spread the gospel if he likes the gear.


Seems like most dive centers have different approaches and different policies. I was starting to think I was being left out in the cold by my dive center. But that seems to be not the case at all. Do you now pay full price because you stopped working at your DC?

Yes.

 

[boulderjohn]

IN my experience, there are several possibilities.

• The dive shop can offer a standard discount to its staff on all objects. It might be 20% off, or 20% over dealer price. I would bet just about all shops do this.
• Sometimes a manufacturing representative will come by and offer a one time special deal on purchases for all staff members who sit through the presentation that will allow them to tell customers the features of the gear. I got very nice prices from ScubaPro twice this way when I worked for a ScubaPro shop.
• Sometimes manufacturers will offer a couple of special deals to shops to extend to their staff, but it might be only for a couple of items total. I was working in a shop once when an employee screwed up and forwarded the message for just such a really super deal to all the instructors. The management had to crawl that one back, which enabled us all to learn that the manufacturer made such an offer to the staff every year, but at our shop those offers were a secret shared only by the inner management types. We riffraff were not supposed to know about them.
• Some manufacturers offer special keyman deals to people the shop designates for them. These can be below dealer price. I have gotten a few of them over the years.

 

[yle]

IN my experience, there are several possibilities.

• Some manufacturers offer special keyman deals to people the shop designates for them. These can be below dealer price. I have gotten a few of them over the years.

Exactly. The three manufacturers (one of them was Mares) that I ordered from at my previous shop offered keyman deals that were 20% to 40% below dealer cost. The offer wasn't a secret; for all three, it was explained in the catalog, near the front, that was provided to the shop. And it was a standing offer, could be used anytime. The only limitation was that we could only order one of each piece of equipment (one reg, one wetsuit, etc) per year and the order had to be approved by our store manager.

Knowing what I know now, I would never buy from a shop that I work for and pay full price or even a slight discount. If the manufacturers are willing to sell to instructors at a steep discount to help promote their gear, it's a win-win-win for the manufacturer, the instructor and the shop. If the shop doesn't allow their instructors to do this, they're simply taking advantage of the instructors.

 

[Brandon]

One dive shop I know of was well known a couple years back for "allowing" its employees to purchase gear at full MSRP, then apply their wages towards it. If the BC is $850, and you work for $8.50 per hour, 100 hours of labor gets you that shiny new BC. The shop owner gets discounted labor and avoids payroll taxes and UI insurance.

What a deal...

 

[boulderjohn]

One dive shop I know of was well known a couple years back for "allowing" its employees to purchase gear at full MSRP, then apply their wages towards it. If the BC is $850, and you work for $8.50 per hour, 100 hours of labor gets you that shiny new BC. The shop owner gets discounted labor and avoids payroll taxes and UI insurance.

What a deal...

Wow. That's a pretty one-sided and extremely selfish deal. (On the other hand, $8.50 per hour is more than I often got paid.)

Of course, the staff then probably does not report any wages for income tax.

All of which is illegal.