Biggest thing killing dive shops?

[Eric Sedletzky]

I think of other brick and mortar retailers that have also closed in some part the ease of purchasing on the net. Book stores to amazon. Sports authority to online. And others.

There are 6 scuba shops within 30 miles of me and 5 are within 15 miles. The closest diving is an old mine or a very popular quarry neither of which is hardly the diversity of California diving. It’s surprising we have so many. Yet these shops have been mostly stable. Each shop has a different feel and dynamic. One seems empty all the time so I wonder how he stays in business. The other shops are friendly and helpful with questions. So I say customer focus and attention wins

I can’t explain it.
You’d think that California would have a ton of dive shops all thriving with 38 M people but we don’t.
Maybe you guys have a larger population of vacation divers that go to Bahamas, Florida, Mexico, ? Who knows.
California diving is cold. Most divers don’t like cold and go to warm.
We have a very small population of divers here relative to the population.
Don’t ask me why, maybe cost of living is so high there’s less money for fun activities?
Maybe most of the population here isn’t wired for water sports and the diving life isn’t in their culture?
There are no caves or wrecks per say so not much tech diving if any. Most shops here have no tech gear at all. From what I’ve seen all of our shops up and down the state tend to have the general open water dive gear, the cookie cutter representation of either a Scubapro shop or an Aqualung shop. All of them are sitting right at full retail.
If anybody here want’s snything beyond a jacket BC or a set of solit fins they need to go online and buy it from the midwest or east coast.
It’s totally backwards.
And California is where it all began???

But we still have the best basketball team, go Warriors!

 

[JamesBon92007]

So, the effects on our local dive shops will be big since abalone diving was a huge part of their income. Scuba diving has always been a small part of business here.

Could you please expound upon exactly what it is about abalone diving that sustains dive shops? In my mind, assuming that the divers already have a thick wetsuit, mask, snorkel, fins, and weight belt, about all that is left is an abalone knife and gauge, and a fishing license.

 

[Bob DBF]

However, Scott still has a lot of damage to repair from when Joe owned it, but he’s a nice guy and I have high hopes. I’ll help him anyway I can.

If anyone can do it...


Bob

 

[boulderjohn]

Reminder: Med Form is only for students on courses. I doubt that PADI stores need it for anything else. Even for @Mrs. B

It is being required now for general diving in some places.

he last shop trip I went on, I got to hear the owner expound on how he was heading to the in-room jacuzzi (which I and everyone got to pay for). Fine, but don't be an idiot and rub it in my face.

Exactly. On our trips we all share equally in the free spots, commissions, and group discounts. No one goes for free

When I went to the Galapagos on a shop trip (I was an employee of the shop running the trip), the owner, the shop management people, and a close friend of the owner were on the trip along with several other employees and other customers. We flew to Quito, Ecuador, then went to the Galapagos. We were told we would have a very severe weight limit for the flight to the Galapagos. As we waited for that flight, many of us were talking about how hard it was to meet that weight limit. We had to bring practically nothing in addition to our dive gear. Some people, though, admitted that they had made no effort to meet those restrictions. The dive shop owner said his camera equipment alone exceeded that limit. All the shop's hierarchy said the same thing--all were at least double the limit. The owner's friend had bought a huge number of hammocks in Quito that he was planning to resell at a great profit back in the states. He had them with him for the flight.

Then it was time to weigh the luggage.

The owner conferred with the airport people and then made the big announcement. They would weigh all the gear together as one load. They would see how much they were overweighted as a total group and then divide the overweight fees equally among everybody. He said that was the best way to make things fair. Did anybody have any objections?

Do you think I voiced my objections to my employer, the aforementioned one with the MBA?

 

[mdb]

I can’t explain it.
You’d think that California would have a ton of dive shops all thriving with 38 M people but we don’t.
Maybe you guys have a larger population of vacation divers that go to Bahamas, Florida, Mexico, ? Who knows.
California diving is cold. Most divers don’t like cold and go to warm.
We have a very small population of divers here relative to the population.
Don’t ask me why, maybe cost of living is so high there’s less money for fun activities?
Maybe most of the population here isn’t wired for water sports and the diving life isn’t in their culture?
There are no caves or wrecks per say so not much tech diving if any. Most shops here have no tech gear at all. From what I’ve seen all of our shops up and down the state tend to have the general open water dive gear, the cookie cutter representation of either a Scubapro shop or an Aqualung shop. All of them are sitting right at full retail.
If anybody here want’s snything beyond a jacket BC or a set of solit fins they need to go online and buy it from the midwest or east coast.
It’s totally backwards.
And California is where it all began???

But we still have the best basketball team, go Warriors!

California and Florida represent 20-25% of the SCUBA biss. in the US.

Easy to see how small the SCUBA industry really is, and getting smaller.

 

[Bob DBF]

Could you please expound upon exactly what it is about abalone diving that sustains dive shops? In my mind, assuming that the divers already have a thick wetsuit, mask, snorkel, fins, and weight belt, about all that is left is an abalone knife and gauge, and a fishing license.

The basic is you always need something. Wetsuits wear out, you loose, or forget something. A friend wants to start ab diving and needs a kit, which over the years has outpaced the people that age out or make one or two trips and quit. You can scare the s**t out of yourself or die when ab diving.

Then there is the spearfishing group, either freedivers or on SCUBA, only in the area because of the ab diving. Most SCUBA divers in the SF Bay Area who don't ab dive go to Monteray or points south to dive.


Bob

 

[drrich2]

Maybe you guys have a larger population of vacation divers that go to Bahamas, Florida, Mexico, ? Who knows.
California diving is cold. Most divers don’t like cold and go to warm.
We have a very small population of divers here relative to the population.
Don’t ask me why, maybe cost of living is so high there’s less money for fun activities?
Maybe most of the population here isn’t wired for water sports and the diving life isn’t in their culture?

I wonder why I don't see California marketed more heavily as a dive destination for tourist divers from elsewhere in the U.S. Instead of thinking of it as place people dive locally, or leave from to dive elsewhere, what's keeping it from becoming more of a place people from elsewhere travel to for a dive trip?

I get that it's cold water; so is the Galapagos. I don't expect California to knock Cozumel, Bonaire, Roatan, Belize or the Florida Keys off the top of the local charts, so to speak. But the seasoned diver who's been at least 3, maybe 4+ of those places, might be open to try something different. Yes, it's cold. Therefore, you've got kelp. And sea lions & harbor seals are a nice appeal. Diving in a different ocean is a perk!

If you're cold-tolerant and hit southern Cal. the right time of year, you can get by with a 5-mm wetsuit & gloves, plus hood (my hood & boots were 7-mm). Not so much, go 7-mm all the way. You don't have to be dry suit-capable to enjoy some California diving. It's expensive out there, but skip land-based & go multi-day live-aboard, and it's relatively cheap! More rustic than Caribbean live-aboards, but cheaper.

I doubt it'd be most dive tourists' frequent repeat destination. Not a Buddy Dive Resort (Bonaire), CocoView (Roatan), Rainbow Reef Diver Center (Key Largo), Scuba Club Cozumel, etc... But every few years for a mixed group or new & repeat divers, all seasoned? Why not?

Richard.

 

[dhaines429]

Online sales are taking a lot of business from LDS. Around here they will do thier best to match but sometimes just isn't possible. And with the LDS they carry their few brands with each one favoring a different set of suppliers which is fine if you want to he kitted out as a walking billboard from Scubapro or some other brand. Most experienced divers have gear from a variety of manufacturers that they have found works for them.
The used market also takes some of the sales from the shops as well. Around here everyone is watching what comes up on the buy and sell pages to find good deals on used gear.
Then there are those that have their own fill station and are doing fills for people that they know that again wats into LDS business.
Even with courses theses days there are a lot of freelance instructors offering training cheaper and with more flexible scheduling than the LDS.
So I don't think LDS will dissapear completely I do think they are going to have to rethink their business models.

 

[tridacna]

It is being required now for general diving in some places

Yes...but not by PADI. ANY store can ask you to complete a medical for any reason. PADI only requires a doctor’s sign off for training. Finis.

 

[Eric Sedletzky]

I wonder why I don't see California marketed more heavily as a dive destination for tourist divers from elsewhere in the U.S. Instead of thinking of it as place people dive locally, or leave from to dive elsewhere, what's keeping it from becoming more of a place people from elsewhere travel to for a dive trip?

I get that it's cold water; so is the Galapagos. I don't expect California to knock Cozumel, Bonaire, Roatan, Belize or the Florida Keys off the top of the local charts, so to speak. But the seasoned diver who's been at least 3, maybe 4+ of those places, might be open to try something different. Yes, it's cold. Therefore, you've got kelp. And sea lions & harbor seals are a nice appeal. Diving in a different ocean is a perk!

If you're cold-tolerant and hit southern Cal. the right time of year, you can get by with a 5-mm wetsuit & gloves, plus hood (my hood & boots were 7-mm). Not so much, go 7-mm all the way. You don't have to be dry suit-capable to enjoy some California diving. It's expensive out there, but skip land-based & go multi-day live-aboard, and it's relatively cheap! More rustic than Caribbean live-aboards, but cheaper.

I doubt it'd be most dive tourists' frequent repeat destination. Not a Buddy Dive Resort (Bonaire), CocoView (Roatan), Rainbow Reef Diver Center (Key Largo), Scuba Club Cozumel, etc... But every few years for a mixed group or new & repeat divers, all seasoned? Why not?

Richard.

California is generally a little more advanced diving than some of the warm water places. The charter boats are cheaper but they are also much more DIY. Like you said, they are also a little more spartan. There is little to no babysitting, no in-water DM’s, do what you want. They barely check your cert card, you just write down your info, they never check a log book. Divers are expected to know how to dive and it is presumed you know that you are solely resposible for yourself and your safety.
There is no butt wiping or pampering.
For many divers this is too much to handle.