Being Forced to Buy Equipment AT LDS for Class

[stakanak]

I dislike being corn holed into any circumstance. I would highly advise finding a different LDS as the owner is not to be trusted. LDS's need to build positive relationships with their customers, or they are doomed to failure.
Get Wet

 

[Stu S.]

My original certification from NASDS (remember them?) and there was tremdous pressure to buy everything from the store. In fact they told you at one point you HAD to buy a mask fin and snorkel stuff. After that came the arm twisting as the instructors only made money from sales. Their gold mine was ScubaPro and even in today's world the stuff is expensive.

Same here. The instructor called a fin "jetfin" at all times. NASDS, Scubapro and the dive shop formed a team to extract student money ASAP. The customer was put in the role of student-subordinate and told what to buy. I bought discount gear elsewhere.

Most divers are hard working adults and should be treated as "customers".

 

[ReeferBen]

FWIW my son was recently certified at my LDS. We got his mask, snorkel, fins, boots there. After he was certified his instructor wrote him a thank you note for choosing thier dive shop etc. At the bottom of the note they wrote that if he was looking for a reg and BC and purchased it there they would give him the advanced OW class for free. I thought that was a real nice way to lead into a purchase with out the hard sales and offer something otherwise costly to offset any difference.

I recently purchase 4 items from them, the difference in the leisurepro price for the same items and theirs was $80. They have been there for me when I needed advice, dive buddies, air/nitrox fills, or as a local place to take more classes so in my mind that was worth it to spend a bit more there. I was talking to the owner there during my sons class and telling her about how my wet suit doesnt fit me since I gained some weight. She didn't try to sell me a new one but told me to bring it in and she might be able to let it out for me instead. To me thats the way a good dive shop should be run.

 

[ZenDiver.3D]

Why is that?

Well, in the invasion in 1990, Iraq sent divers up the coast to try to get into the Sha'ab Palace. And they also tried to get to the oil tankers and oil pumping docks with divers....
After that, they just outlawed shore diving. I know, apples and oranges..

In any case, I have found a little beach area and estuary way down south that I take people to shore dive. It seems to be okay there.

Oh yeah. Just a fun fact for weird laws in this area- it is illegal to spearfish in the waters of Kuwait. It is Not illegal to sell spearfishing equipment in the country though, and All the marine stores sell lots and lots......hmmmm
Welcome to the Land of Confusion (read that with Phil Collin's singing...)

 

[SkimFisher]

Support your LDS if they support you and diving.

 

[diver 85]

Find another shop/instructor....

 

[laughingsquid]

I once worked for a LDS who even had the students sign a form stating that if they didn't purchase or use all gear from him then they would have to pay "full price" for the class. Even if they had their own gear. I would go elsewhere for sure. Eventually, those LDS will go out of business

 

[Paladin]

There is a shop near me that does not rent dive gear. Nor do they supply any gear for classes. Instead, they sell a complete package of new gear, including training, for $1500 to $2000.

 

[txapacheguy]

There is a shop near me that does not rent dive gear. Nor do they supply any gear for classes. Instead, they sell a complete package of new gear, including training, for $1500 to $2000.

They must not want to do much business. My wife and I have probably spent almost that much at our LDS in the last year and a half, but most of it was for training.

They try to sell gear like everyone else, but they offered to furnish every piece of gear to us for OW and AOW as part of the price for our class. We took them up on that offer with the exception of masks and snorkels we purchased from them. For my rescue course last month, they provided tanks and weight, and offered reasonable prices for rental gear for those who needed it, but by now I have everything I need.

I will never understand how a shop can stay in business for long trying to force people to shell out that kind of money just to get in the water the first time. I never would have made the plunge into this hobby if it had meant giving an LDS almost $2000 right off the bat.

 

[ScubaSteve]

I never would have made the plunge into this hobby if it had meant giving an LDS almost $2000 right off the bat.

And you are definitely not alone in that either.