Biggest thing killing dive shops?

[Steve_C]

Other sports the same way. They all want the advantage of having the latest and greatest technology as a competitive weapon against their competition.
I don’t see this with diving,

For many divers Diving is not a competitive sport.

 

[boulderjohn]

For instance, shops are selling freedivers scuba suits for freediving instead of freediving suits. They have never even tried a freediving suit so they have no way of knowing how well they work. Same with BC’s, they stock the latest jackets and think that’s all there is, but have no idea what a BP/W is and don’t care. They have never tried one to contrast it to the jacket to understand why people like them. This spills over into fins and other stuff too, like hose routing/hose lenghts, etc.
They are very stuck and it’s hurting them.

There is a lot of truth in this in my experience.

In the cases I know, dive shop owners and management level employees rose to those ranks through standard recreational diving practices. Once they reached that level of leadership, they focused their lives on providing services for the diving world they knew. They make no effort to learn about the world outside that experience. Of the owners and managers I know, what I just wrote fits them perfectly. Their knowledge of what is current or trending in the scuba industry comes from the representatives of the brands they sell. They do not read ScubaBoard or any similar source for updated information on gear or diving theory and practice.

I remember a couple of decades ago going into a technology store to get a new computer. I was by no means a computing expert, but it did not take too many questions directed to the sales people to realize I knew more than they did. I left that shop, which went out of business not long after that. I imagine the same thing could be happening today with scuba. New divers get interested enough to read about the latest and greatest stuff and then go into a shop only to realize that they know more than the person giving them the "expert" advice.

If I want expert advice on scuba gear that I don't know much about, I contact one of the online distributors (Mike at DRIS). I would not dream of going to any of the local shops.

 

[scubadada]

There was a LDS located near me that put on monthly dive seminars in their shop training room. The seminars were free and occurred at a convenient time, soon after dinnertime during the week. The shop used modern communication methods to advertise the seminars like email and listing the events on their quality website. In general, the seminars were well designed and executed and were often quite educational. Attendance was quite good, often a dozen or 20 folks. Some of the topics I remember were decompression algorithms and dive computers, introduction to technical diving, local diving opportunities (Dutch Springs, NJ boat diving...), many more. The seminars kept people coming into the shop and probably even had some direct benefits with regard to gear and travel purchases. I made a few gear purchases from them and can verify that they had very competitive prices. The people who worked in the shop were all active divers, were very knowledgeable, and were willing to spend as much time as needed with customers. They had a very good service department and offered tank fills, gear rental, and training. The shop was very conveniently located off a major freeway, near a very successful REI store and shopping center.

This was my favorite LDS for several years until, unfortunately, they went out of business. Maybe the greater Philadelphia area just doesn't need or can't support very many dive shops, this was a good one, very sorry it went away

 

[boulderjohn]

For many divers Diving is not a competitive sport.

The word sport has many meanings.

• When I left Colorado last week, the radios were filled with ads for a big sporting goods show. They are talking about equipment you use to shoot animals and catch fish.
• The magazine Sports Afield is all about killing animals.
• Betting on horse races is still referred to as the sport of kings.
• Gambling of any kind is still referred to as a sport.

 

[Neilwood]

The word sport has many meanings.

• When I left Colorado last week, the radios were filled with ads for a big sporting goods show. They are talking about equipment you use to shoot animals and catch fish.
• The magazine Sports Afield is all about killing animals.
• Betting on horse races is still referred to as the sport of kings.
• Gambling of any kind is still referred to as a sport.

For me the following part of an often used definition is true:

an activity involving physical exertion and skill in which an individual or team competes against another or others for entertainment.

.

 

[Eric Sedletzky]

For many divers Diving is not a competitive sport.

I didn’t mean the activity of diving is competitive, I meant the shops selling the equipment must be competitive, and some of that is carrying the latest cutting edge equipment that their competition doesn't have.

 

[Eric Sedletzky]

I also think there is a lot of dive shop burn out, where owners have been battling online competition, oppressive manufacturer policies, the recession, daily survival. Many of them may not have the cunning business skills and drive that’s needed to always think two steps ahead. I think there is a point where they reach mental and physical exhaustion and they end up burying their heads in the sand and mentally shutting down. They set themselves up to become victims. Rapid changes are too much for some of them to handle. We’re all human and dive shop owners are no different.

 

[wetb4igetinthewater]

I also think there is a lot of dive shop burn out, where owners have been battling online competition, oppressive manufacturer policies, the recession, daily survival. Many of them may not have the cunning business skills and drive that’s needed to always think two steps ahead. I think there is a point where they reach mental and physical exhaustion and they end up burying their heads in the sand and mentally shutting down. They set themselves up to become victims. Rapid changes are too much for some of them to handle. We’re all human and dive shop owners are no different.

One of the problems that also occurs is people go into dive shops, check out the product, then go buy online. I want to strangle such people. This is just incredibly unfair and unethical (checking out the product and buying online, not the strangling part).

 

[Wookie]

I didn’t mean the activity of diving is competitive, I meant the shops selling the equipment must be competitive, and some of that is carrying the latest cutting edge equipment that their competition doesn't have.

We have 2 bike shops in Key West. Now, Key West is hard on bikes. Salt air rots chains and frays cables, bikes are a major mode of transportation, so bikes get stolen a lot, things just don't last here.

I ride a bike if my knee hurts, or if there is a bike event in town. I don't ride a bike as sport, or to exercise, or because I love the freedom of bike riding.

My wife needed a new front wheel. We went into the one shop, bought a $50 wheel, they mounted it and we rode home and hung the bike on the rack. 6 months later the spokes were broken and rusted out.

Took the bike to the other shop. For $75, we bought a wheel that they threw a warranty on that it wouldn't rot out for 5 years. They also told us that our cables were bad, and we needed to lube the chains. We walked out about $400 poorer. We will go back there forever, though, because they recognized that we didn't want parts that would self destruct in 6 months.

No, the other shop did not get a chance to make it right. Actually, they had a chance to make it right the first time. They did not get a second chance.

 

[mdb]

I also think there is a lot of dive shop burn out, where owners have been battling online competition, oppressive manufacturer policies, the recession, daily survival. Many of them may not have the cunning business skills and drive that’s needed to always think two steps ahead. I think there is a point where they reach mental and physical exhaustion and they end up burying their heads in the sand and mentally shutting down. They set themselves up to become victims. Rapid changes are too much for some of them to handle. We’re all human and dive shop owners are no different.

I think there is a tremendous amount of "Burned out" going on in the Dive Retail biss.

They have been doing it for years, they attempt to sell their store, very few, if any, buyers.
store closes.

This scenario has been played across the country for a decade or more, and continues.