Welcome to ScubaBoard, the world's largest scuba diving community. Registration is not required to read the forums, but we encourage you to join. Joining has its benefits and enables you to participate in the discussions.
Benefits of registering include
Ability to post and comment on topics and discussions.
A Free photo gallery to share your dive photos with the world.
I don't actually see a problem with this.They're allowed to make a few bucks on parts. If you object, you're always welcome to have it serviced somewhere else.
When I was doing electronics service for a side job in college, 100%+ markup on parts and supplies was common, and just about covered the cost of getting and keeping the parts in stock.
I understand the motivation for making a profit. Nothing wrong with that. It's when someone shafts another that I object to. Both the price and the qauntity are out of the park. I'm just going to write it off to a learning exercise this time and use ST or Wayne next time.
I understand the motivation for making a profit. Nothing wrong with that. It's when someone shafts another that I object to. Both the price and the qauntity are out of the park. I'm just going to write it off to a learning exercise this time and use ST or Wayne next time.
I do my own service now, but usually when I had service done in the past there was one price posted per stage. Most first stages do not require repacking with lube, which requires additional time and effort. I have never packed a first stage with lube (not needed in Florida) so I defer to tbone and fishpie as to the time and amount of lube needed. However I have removed lube from some of my eBay "treasures" and it was a time consuming process. Granted I am not a pro and I was probably over careful so it probably took longer than necessary. My point being is that the $55 probably accounted for more than just the material cost of the lube. It also included the labor to clean and pack the regulator, unless there was a separate upcharge for that. Not to mention general overhead.
The main problem I see here is lack of communication between you and the dive shop. You should have known the cost of the service upfront and had a chance to either accept or reject.
You can use Scuba Toys or Dive Seekers or any another online shop, but once you factor in the cost of shipping both ways, I am not sure of the savings.
A NJ shop should be buying this stuff in bulk for $5 to $10 per oz. Half the price they charged would have been reasonable. This is like the hospital's $10 band-aide. Talk to them - just for the fun of it.
FYI: I shipped the reg to a store in the mid-west so I had to pay shipping costs both ways. DiveSeekers is in NJ and not that far - I should just have gone there.
Part of the problem is the variability of the charges. Just make it clear up front what the approximate charges will be and I'll be cool. The game seems to be low-ball the stage costs and screw the customer on the extras. Like I said, I learned my lesson and will stay away from this place.
I think I know the shop you are talking about. I have done some business with them in the past and my experience has been positive. I would definitely use them again. My recommendation is rather than feel screwed, contact the owner and inquire about the charge. It could be a mistake, as I don't even see them carrying christolube on their website.
OK OK-I'll call-totally agree with you-always had good experience with them-f/b later.
Gestuurd van my iPhone met Tapatalk
---------- Post added February 13th, 2015 at 07:46 AM ----------
Does every B1/B2 Atomics reg need to be packed with this much grease? I don't use it for cold water- have a MK17 for that. Atomics is used almost exclusively for Caribbean.
Of course I paid for the service. I'm objecting to paying over $50 for a full 2oz syringe of Christolube. Cost price is around $22 wholesale and I was charged more than twice that amount. That's OVER 100% markup.
I find it interesting that people will scream about paying 100% or slightly over for a tube of grease, but yet they don't mention paying the 100% or more markup for the reg when it was new, or scream about the every year or two year service scam.
I kind of think it's mis-directed screaming.
Why not just find parts and grease on the net and do it yourself when it needs it (which will be less that 1 or 2 years if you keep them clean inside).
The problem is not just the ~100% markup. Most retailers have similar markups over wholesale cost. In this case, the markup is in relation to retail cost amounting to a 300% markup over wholesale.
I find it interesting that people will scream about paying 100% or slightly over for a tube of grease, but yet they don't mention paying the 100% or more markup for the reg when it was new, or scream about the every year or two year service scam.
I kind of think it's mis-directed screaming.
Why not just find parts and grease on the net and do it yourself when it needs it (which will be less that 1 or 2 years if you keep them clean inside).
The problem is not just the ~100% markup. Most retailers have similar markups over wholesale cost. In this case, the markup is in relation to retail cost amounting to a 300% markup over wholesale.
I looked at the Trident Price List, I don't see how you are getting such a high mark-up. The price of Christo #129 is $22.95 and the price of #111 is $30.59, Tribo #66 is $20.17 and Tribo 71 is $30.75.
This site uses cookies to help personalise content, tailor your experience and to keep you logged in if you register.
By continuing to use this site, you are consenting to our use of cookies.
