tkoinfla:
Imagine a world where everything is ought online would'nt that e just great! We all could save tons of money on our sport of scuba. No longer would we be held hostage by our d**n local dive shops all of us would be free to sit and look at our beautiful equipment that would never wear out or ever need service because all those dive shops would be closed and after our first dive we would never be able to get an air refill or even spend a relaxing afternoon just hanging out with the people who love this sport so much that they actually try to make a living from it. Not only that but most of us would never be able to afford to dive even the first time why you ask well not everyone can have a job working on the internet some one has to make the stuff we buy and ship it but I guess in the dream world that some poeple live in its ok to trash the local shops and buy cheap online then turn around and demand that those good for nothing dive shop owners crooks that they are service our equipment fill our tanks and they had better be d**n quick and happy to do it.
SUPPORT YOUR LOCAL DIVE SHOPS AND YOU HELP SUPPORT OUR SPORT!!!!!!
SOS, different day.
1) Buyers have become more educated in what things cost to produce. We are now appalled at 100% (or more) markup on merchandise. When the LDS has the guts to tell the manufacturers "Quit telling
me how much I can discount your gear. I'm a businessman. I know the price I need to sell in this market." Instead, they bend over and try to work a business model that is broken. I'm heartened that my LDS is now offering Oceanic in addition to Scubapro (Two totally different manufacturer's marketing policies in play). Guess which brand I'll gravitate toward?
2) LDS's should be making more more on classes, and a reasonable profit on merchandise. $50 to service my reg? No problem. I expect it takes at least an hour to do it properly. $50/hr x 40hrs wk x 52 weeks a year = $104000. Not bad for one segment of your business (And don't tell me they don't do this 40 hrs/wk. I am sure not every regulator takes an hour to disassemble, inspect, and re-assemble. Currently, my dive shop has a 3 week lead time on service). $10 for an air fill? Much cheaper than maintaining my own compressor. I haven't (yet) started shopping the other sources of air, though (commercial vendors, Fire Depts, hydro facilities) all of which are likely more convenient than my 12pm to 4pm dive shop's hours.
3) Most of the online dive stores (at least the ones I deal with, and even LeisurePro) have brick and mortar stores as well. They are
someone's LDS. They have just seen a business opportunity to expand their market. That is their right. That puts them out of your "online is evil" mentality.
4) I expect that most LDS's open because the owner enjoys the hobby. The owner and his staff receive intangible and tangible benefits from owning a dive shop. If they want to be businessmen, then those intangible benefits may be compromised by the need to develop, market, and oversee the shop. I'm sure when a trip is conducted the group leader gets lots of perks for bringing 8 or 10 or 20 divers to a resort/liveaboard/dive boat.
5) I don't dive near my house. The nearest dive site is over 100 miles away. I find the owner of the Dive Store where I have dive the most to be much more personable, reasonable, and convenient than my LDS. Can I call him my LDS, even though he's 250 miles away? I've spent more there than I have at the one 14 miles away. Or should I just write a check at the beginning of each year to "subsidize" the closer shop's ability to stay in business.
6) Gross generalizations of "All LDS's are excellent" and "All Online Shops are Evil" are just ill-informed, inflammatory, and wrong.
