Biggest thing killing dive shops?

[muzikbiz22]

It seems like dive shops in larger populated areas like Sac and LA have a much easier time than some of the more remote shops that specialize in pretty much the local scene, for the exception of maybe Monterey.
And I still maintain why CA dive boats don’t get more tourism is because of cold water and the lack of babysitting. The LOB dive culture nowdays is all about comfort and pampering. The culture of CA dive boats goes way back to a time before foo foo dive op’s when divers (who were locals) were expected to pretty much DIY their whole diving world. The boat provided a ride, a bunk, air, and plenty of food, the rest is up to you.

Agree with all. PLUS, not sure if someone mentioned earlier, here in California you absolutely need a car. If one were to come to SoCal for a weekend/week of diving, it is entirely possible that your hotel, your dive boat of choice, gear rental/dive shop have 10 miles between each one. There's no "dive resort" that does it all in SoCal, as opposed to Bahamas/Cayman/Florida, etc., where I can walk out my hotel room to the boat/dock/restauraunt/dive shop/gift shop/bar/beach/local grocery store/"town", etc. Beach diving is a pain. And overall, it's just plain expensive here. Add in a million other things to do here; Disneyland, Hollywood, sports, etc,,etc,etc.

 

[gcarter]

Theoretically, you’re supposed to report and pay sales tax on any items you buy out of state according to your local rates. But nobody ever does this, unless maybe they get audited and popped.
I’m seeing now that some of my online art supply dealers in NY are collecting CA sales tax when I order stuff even though it’s free shipping. That particular chain also has retail locations in CA so that might have something to do with it. Never the less, they have great prices online and their brick and mortar prices are the same. The reason I order online is it saves me gas, time, trying to park, and bridge toll to either go to Berkeley or San Francisco.

What is nexus?

Nexus, also known as sufficient physical presence, is the determining factor of whether an out-of-state business selling products into a state is liable for collecting sales or use tax on sales into the state. Nexus is required before a taxing jurisdiction can impose its taxes on an entity.

Nexus is created if your company maintains a temporary or permanent presence of people (employees, service people or independent sales/service agents) or property (inventory, offices, warehouses). The temporary presence is created through traveling people visiting states to call on customers or prospects, trade show attendance, or consigned inventory in warehouses.​

 

[Eric Sedletzky]

Agree with all. PLUS, not sure if someone mentioned earlier, here in California you absolutely need a car. If one were to come to SoCal for a weekend/week of diving, it is entirely possible that your hotel, your dive boat of choice, gear rental/dive shop have 10 miles between each one. There's no "dive resort" that does it all in SoCal, as opposed to Bahamas/Cayman/Florida, etc., where I can walk out my hotel room to the boat/dock/restauraunt/dive shop/gift shop/bar/beach/local grocery store/"town", etc. Beach diving is a pain. And overall, it's just plain expensive here. Add in a million other things to do here; Disneyland, Hollywood, sports, etc,,etc,etc.

In other words, If you are a tourist coming to California to dive, you REALLY have to want it!

 

[drrich2]

If anyone wants to minimize the car & traveling around thing, it can be done to a point. When I went, I fly in to Santa Barbara airport and taxi'd to the Santa Barbara marina, rented tank & weights from the dive shop right there before boarding Truth Aquatic's boat the Vision, enjoyed 5 days without concerns about food or housing, then taxi'd to a nearby hotel, ate at the burger joint across the street, and the next morning taxied back to the airport.

I grew up hearing about 'L.A. shootings,' and while I'm late 40's now, the idea that California driving is so bad it drives people crazy got lodged in my head. On the other hand, Santa Barbara seemed fairly laid back.

Richard.

 

[HantsDiver]

Don't know if it's been mentioned, but for those of us in high sales tax states, if an online retailer doesn't charge for sales tax, that can be a significant savings vs buying local.

I'm going to be buying a Perdix and two transmitters over this winter. The savings between my local shop and DGX is a bit over $100 because DGX doesn't charge sales tax for orders outside FL. That $100 is a big chunk of change to me. I know there is very little margin on Shearwater products, so it's not like I can ask my LDS for a discount to make up for the sales tax.

There is more than $100 in a perix. So just ask them.

And just buy oceanic transmitters - they are the same thing but cheaper.

 

[KevinNM]

Your LDS can do it. They don’t buy the minimum 5 or so, more like 100 plus a year.

 

[Marie13]

Someone here has offered me two unused Shearwater transmitters at a very good price so I'm going to buy those.

 

[ljpm]

Don't know if it's been mentioned, but for those of us in high sales tax states, if an online retailer doesn't charge for sales tax, that can be a significant savings vs buying local.

I'm going to be buying a Perdix and two transmitters over this winter. The savings between my local shop and DGX is a bit over $100 because DGX doesn't charge sales tax for orders outside FL. That $100 is a big chunk of change to me. I know there is very little margin on Shearwater products, so it's not like I can ask my LDS for a discount to make up for the sales tax.

You can ask. They may be able to give store credit or a discount on another item.
You could also order and ship to a friend in another state. (not sure of legality here. seems tax laws haven't kept up with technology)

 

[muzikbiz22]

If anyone wants to minimize the car & traveling around thing, it can be done to a point. When I went, I fly in to Santa Barbara airport and taxi'd to the Santa Barbara marina, rented tank & weights from the dive shop right there before boarding Truth Aquatic's boat the Vision, enjoyed 5 days without concerns about food or housing, then taxi'd to a nearby hotel, ate at the burger joint across the street, and the next morning taxied back to the airport.

I grew up hearing about 'L.A. shootings,' and while I'm late 40's now, the idea that California driving is so bad it drives people crazy got lodged in my head. On the other hand, Santa Barbara seemed fairly laid back.

Richard.

Santa Barbara is VERY laid back, and very nice. I always tell people if you want to see the REAL California, go there, as well as San Diego, Northern Cal, etc.. And yeah, you can stay close to the marina there and do the walking thing. LA, OC a whole different story.

 

[rhwestfall]

In other words, If you are a tourist coming to California to dive, you REALLY have to want it!

Come try the Great Lakes.....