Biggest thing killing dive shops?

[BDSC]

I heard that there was a significant uptick in business. More people allegedly booked/ordered/etc significantly more than in the past few DEMAs.

Not sure about gear but there was a definite uptick in trips being booked. I heard that from several folks and I booked trips myself. There were some excellent deals to be had. A dive shop can make significant money if it can schedule and fill dive trips.

 

[Bob DBF]

I understand 50 foot waves off San Francisco and Marin coming your way.

Hope that calms

I'm conflicted, we need the rain and snow these storms are bringing.

t’s huge!
I heard 55’ on some waves, the surfers are saying it’s too treacherous right now to even be in the water.

Except the surfer on the news saying he likes it because his spot is not as crowded as usual.


Bob

 

[Eric Sedletzky]

Agreed 100%. Raising the bar on ow/try scuba training so that people don’t kill coral will make the industry shrink. And I think that is a good thing.

Or, they might just do what’s expected of them and not much will change.

 

[blue steal]

Eric thanks for starting this post. Now that it has slowed down a bit, I have caught up reading all 99 pages.
There was a comment on the Long Beach scuba show. I have been attending for the last 10 years.
$10 for admission and love seeing and talking with other divers, some vendors, watching the videos, and attending some of the lectures, plus a few freebies. Heck even scubaboard had a booth there for a while.
I have seen quite a few dive shops close in our area. I guess I am to fault as I spread my purchases all around.
I do still dive local every Sunday, and a local boat charter once a month.

 

[J-Vo]

Eric:

You started a good thread, that has "legs".

Your comments about older stores "stuck in their ways" rings very true.

I can think of quite a few stores that fit that stereotype.

One of my nephews is a very active bike rider. He is member of a bike team, does long rides all the time.

He is always posting pics of his newest and greatest gear: tires, helmets, shoes, etc.

His local bike store is all in on having the latest bikes and bike equipment in stock.
They are always bringing in the newest distributors/manufacturers and inviting the
reps to bike club meetings to introduce the new gear.

My nephew has a great collection of bike gear; "Look what I just got Uncle Michael!"

Since so many people are using the bike shop analogy, I run the mountain bike race team for one of the local bike shops. This shop started online in 1997 and later expanded to brick and mortar. Profits are split 50/50 in house and online. Shops with this model are the most successful. One of the keys at my shop is nearly zero inventory for the online store. The web site is directly linked to the national wholesale warehouses inventory. All online orders are bulk shipped to the shop overnight then repackaged and shipped back out. The greatest thing about this, you can order at the online store any product available on the US wholesale market. Then pick it up at the shop the next day with free shipping. There are a few manufacturers who do not sell to the 3rd party wholesalers, but most things are available.

I'm not sure if the SCUBA industry has this third party wholesaler model, but it was revolutionary for the US bike industry's product availability. This was especially true back when nearly all products were imported and local bike shops simply could not afford to maintain inventory.

 

[J-Vo]

Why? If online products are cheaper, why wouldn't you buy online? Most people don't go into the store to check stuff out then go home and purchase online... If the store is price competitive and they're already there, they'll purchase.

We did exactly what you said this weekend. My girlfriend is getting super into skiing since I have been taking her up with me so much this winter. We were in Mammoth last weekend, and she decided it's time she buys gear and stops renting. At a local shop in Mammoth, she paid $650 for a pair of boots and was going to get the skiis there too. Turns out the exact same, new pair of boots costs $500 on Evo. We returned the boots next morning and ordered online.

The sales people were super helpful and knowledgeable, but it's not our job to make sure they stay afloat. Brick and mortar stores need a business model that does that for them.

Evo has storefronts here in Colorado.

 

[Eric Sedletzky]

Eric thanks for starting this post. Now that it has slowed down a bit, I have caught up reading all 99 pages.
There was a comment on the Long Beach scuba show. I have been attending for the last 10 years.
$10 for admission and love seeing and talking with other divers, some vendors, watching the videos, and attending some of the lectures, plus a few freebies. Heck even scubaboard had a booth there for a while.
I have seen quite a few dive shops close in our area. I guess I am to fault as I spread my purchases all around.
I do still dive local every Sunday, and a local boat charter once a month.

I’ll bet the bulk of the shops that went out in the southland were Sport Chalet’s. I remember when SeaDSea went out, that was a shame, he was there a long time.
I have a buddy who works at Pacific Wilderness and he said they’ve never been busier. They probably picked up a lot of SC old business.

 

[mdb]

I’ll bet the bulk of the shops that went out in the southland were Sport Chalet’s. I remember when SeaDSea went out, that was a shame, he was there a long time.
I have a buddy who works at Pacific Wilderness and he said they’ve never been busier. They probably picked up a lot of SC old business.

Always good to hear of LDS success stories.

Pacific Wilderness has very good management, great location, well stocked and fairly priced.

Sea D Sea was my LDS for several years when we lived @ 1100 Esplanade in Redondo Beach.

I took a number of courses with Barry Friedman as instructor, went on lots of trips on the
old Golden Doubloon boat. Barry giving the pre dive lecture while munching on a Breakfast Mac.

 

[muzikbiz22]

I’ll bet the bulk of the shops that went out in the southland were Sport Chalet’s. I remember when SeaDSea went out, that was a shame, he was there a long time.
I have a buddy who works at Pacific Wilderness and he said they’ve never been busier. They probably picked up a lot of SC old business.

My perception is, all in all, most of the shops here in SoCal seem to be doing just fine. Sport Chalet "going off the cliff", probably has some play in that, as well.

 

[Eric Sedletzky]

My perception is, all in all, most of the shops here in SoCal seem to be doing just fine. Sport Chalet "going off the cliff", probably has some play in that, as well.

Sport Chalet as I remember was always kind of a sick horse in their dive shop department. It wasn’t that they were rude or arrogant, they were just not very knowledgeable.
They would pull employees from other departments to fill in at the dive counter when they needed someone. Their air fill station was also very hit and miss. They were notorious for short fills and sometimes no fills at all. My buddy started a dive once on an empty cylinder that was supposed have been filled. He forgot to look at his gauge when he pressurized his regs, but was also not expecting to have no air either.
People just went there because they were convenient and discount, but the quality of service left a lot to be desired.

As I understand it, the rest of the store pretty much had to carry the dive shop because it was a money pit. The only reason they kept the dive shop was because the original owner was a diver himself and insisted that they would always have a dive shop, if for nothing more than a public service.