DGX Valve & Manifold Quality

[tbone1004]

That would certainly help, but if they are the same quality, then that's an insane markup by the popular companies.

I did find this 5 year old post claiming that the same company "ODS" makes them and the Dive Rite manifolds, which could be good news, but the same manufacturer doesn't mean the same quality/materials. I know nothing about ODS and can't find much by Googling it.

ODS makes regulators and parts of regulators for almost every manufacturer out there. Atomic, Oceanic, Hollis, Dive Rite, HOG, Deep6, the list goes on and on. They are quite legit.
Remember that on the DGX brand stuff, it is basically the same as the brands selling direct, so they are cutting out one level of profit that has to be made plus all of the cost of shipping stuff around. For a Dive Rite manifold to be sold, it has to come in from the manufacturer *Asia or Europe depending, I think Blue Steel in Europe still makes theirs*, shipped to Dive Rite, stored in their warehouse, have an order fulfilled and shipped to one of their dealers, then be stored in the dealers inventory, then sold to the customer. That's a lot of cost just in shipping and handling alone, plus the fact that DR has to put enough of a markup on there to make money. DGX and Piranha take the parts in direct from the manufacturers so you are cutting massive amounts of cost out of the product and they still make as much or more profit than the manufacturers do on those parts.

 

[Jcp2]

It could be that the parts are made in the same facility but those that have meet higher quality standards are sold to branded companies and those that do not meet those standards are sold as generic components. That’s typical for many other industries. It’s hard to say without knowing for this scenario.

 

[TuckerIdaho]

ODS makes regulators and parts of regulators for almost every manufacturer out there. Atomic, Oceanic, Hollis, Dive Rite, HOG, Deep6, the list goes on and on. They are quite legit.
Remember that on the DGX brand stuff, it is basically the same as the brands selling direct, so they are cutting out one level of profit that has to be made plus all of the cost of shipping stuff around. For a Dive Rite manifold to be sold, it has to come in from the manufacturer *Asia or Europe depending, I think Blue Steel in Europe still makes theirs*, shipped to Dive Rite, stored in their warehouse, have an order fulfilled and shipped to one of their dealers, then be stored in the dealers inventory, then sold to the customer. That's a lot of cost just in shipping and handling alone, plus the fact that DR has to put enough of a markup on there to make money. DGX and Piranha take the parts in direct from the manufacturers so you are cutting massive amounts of cost out of the product and they still make as much or more profit than the manufacturers do on those parts.

^^^^
This, when you add in a bunch of people in the middle, they all want their cut one way or another, therefore markup goes through the roof quickly when you're the 3rd or even 4th person trying to make a profit.

 

[tbone1004]

@vinsanity oh and for reference, the markup from the diveshop is between 50%-100% for most gear.

 

[SlugLife]

@vinsanity oh and for reference, the markup from the diveshop is between 50%-100% for most gear.

Oh, but some people in the dive community are super-adamant about "support your local dive store" as if they're a charity.

I get they have bills to pay, but so do online retailers, and (perhaps most importantly) people like myself. Anyone who earns my business and behaves ethically will get my business when it comes time to buy something.

The dive-shop markup locally does vary quite a bit depending on which dive-shop, product, and even changes from one month to the next. But I do often see this 50% to 100% markup.

 

[tbone1004]

Oh, but some people in the dive community are super-adamant about "support your local dive store" as if they're a charity.

I get they have bills to pay, but so do online retailers, and (perhaps most importantly) people like myself. Anyone who earns my business and behaves ethically will get my business when it comes time to buy something.

The dive-shop markup locally does vary quite a bit depending on which dive-shop, product, and even changes from one month to the next. But I do often see this 50% to 100% markup.

that is standard markup in this type of industry, REI, Dicks, etc. as well as the mom and pops, it's in line with where it is supposed to be. You should only support your LDS if they deserve your business, and most of them don't.