Deceptive LDS practices..RANT...

[scubadoguk]

Its a bad day being ripped a new one is not nice and the store will see that when the sales all walk but, if they close its a specialist store and there will not be anyone rushing in to fill the local void so they can give air and maybe a lesson. the Internet wont do that either, anyone want to buy a compressor fill for the guys and charge $5 for a fill to make up the money you put out to buy the compressor but hey you will have a number of new Buddy's.
No I feel no sympathy for a greedy b'stard but do worry about where it will lead, I would love to have the cash to do business but I can't afford to stock a store pay utils and such good luck on the hours you have to put in.
Lets be honest internet would be great if you only had to buy gear but you don't! the store is much more than just a place to buy gear.

 

[lairdb]

Just a bit of clarification. With most manufacturers it's a MRRP, minimum required retail price, not MSRP. Also, note it's a Minimum, retailers are authorized to sell the gear at any price above MRRP they choose.

I rather suspect he's looking at MSRP, not MRRP, for two principal reasons: first, that I've seen exactly the same practice in my area (yes, from M_S_RP), and second, that MRRP are per se (Dr. Miles Medical Co. v. John D. Park & Sons Co., 220 U.S. 373, Albrecht v. Herald Co., 390 U.S. 145, State Oil Co. v. Khan, 522 U.S. 3) unlawful and when examined have been held to be illegal vertical price-fixing arrangements except under extremely stringent circumstances (United States v. Colgate & Company, 250 U.S. 300 at 307), leading to the conclusion that it's fairly unlikely for him to have found a list of explicit MRRPs.

 

[justleesa]

another thing to consider are his costs.....the guy might have costs up the ying yang and they need to be paid too....you also get more service, help and tips in a shop then most online shops could ever offer.

 

[rjchandler]

The store is disclosing the MSRP and marking it up?

 

[Mick_O]

I doubt any of the other LDS's do things much differently.

Wow, I must have been to a unique shop - aside from some mis-information about certain brands being overpriced but lacking the quality, there was not a lot of push for purchasing gear from them - at least not to our group. And the instructors did absolutely no pushing. Again, dunno if that was specific for our group or not.

One of the benefits of a brick&mortar store (this goes for most stuff - home theater equipment for instance) is that you can go back to them and get repair done. No need to pack stuff up in a box, have to run to the nearest mass parcel conveyance facility, pay shipping, wait for it to be sent back...but when it comes to stores jacking up their price - well, if they're not the only game in town, previous experiences tell me people eventually catch on.

 

[Atticus]

As an instructor I like to support the store I work for. I also am unwilling to say that online goods are "dangerous knock offs that will kill you" because, well, they generally are not.

I do believe there is real value in creating a relationship with an LDS, and part of that means buying merchandise from the store.

I support a stores right to mark up their goods as they see fit. Maybe they are in a higher rent district and in order to provide those goods they charge a little more. I don't have any problem at all with a store owner making money. Just don't lie to your customers to do it.

What I do have a major problem with is the "you didn't buy that from us so you're a bad guy" mentality. That's no way to win business. Or my personal favorite from when I was getting started - you bought that from someone else so now you are going to pay (msrp - wholesale + service cost) for your first annual! Needless to say I was not happy.

 

[jbisjim]

What I do have a major problem with is the "you didn't buy that from us so you're a bad guy" mentality. That's no way to win business. Or my personal favorite from when I was getting started - you bought that from someone else so now you are going to pay (msrp - wholesale + service cost) for your first annual! Needless to say I was not happy.

Very True, there is another LDS in my area that does that.

I too have no problem with my lds making any money, and I know she is very honest and tells people if she can not get that product at that price.

I try to support my LDS as much as I can. The service makes it worth my while.

 

[RonFrank]

The store is disclosing the MSRP and marking it up?

I just went to a few of the manufactures, or other online DS sites, and found what the MSRP was on a few products.

It was only after a few times in the shop that I realized that ALL personal gear was marked up approx 20% beyond the MSRP.

I don't have any issues with what they want to charge, that is their business. What upset me was the idea they sold that students are getting some kinda price break.

$69 for a Genesis Panview mask that one can purchase at LP for $23, or at most online DS for $39-49 (w/o purge) is IMO highway robbery. I have zero clue what the MSRP on this mask is, but $59 is a good guess, and in fact as high as ever seen them other than the LDS.

Ron

 

[archman]

20% markup?? Whoopty-doo, I figure that's the AVERAGE for most dive shops. I've known places go well up to 30%, heck I know of one that exceeded even THAT.

As for discounts on OW students, that's a big fat fib. For many shops, those newbie divers represent the bulk of cash sales. The only "deals" you'll typically get are slightly reduced rates on complete dive packages.

OW students in most dive shops can be compared to cruise ship tourists hitting a seaport. It's open season on your pocketbook.

 

[Otter]

I just went to a few of the manufactures, or other online DS sites, and found what the MSRP was on a few products.....

Which manufacturer's website did you go to and check prices? Or were they 'other online DS sites' that are comparing their version of MSRP to their price?

I am not going to rehash what has been said through hundreds, if not thousands of posts on here about online vs. LDS....That being said, there are many factors that go into the retail price of a product including, but not limited to...product cost (heavily tied to volume -- small shops PAY MORE than higher volume shops), overhead etc...

As with most durable goods, margins are quite high...much of the the gear you buy now will last 10-15 years or longer. I have hundreds of dives on my $30 booties...so the guy 'grossed' $15 (100% margin) 4 years ago....same with my mask...where gasp he might have made $30.