Does scuba gear often seem severely overpriced ?

[KeithG]

I don't think that's how markup is calculated.

The link I included above provides a quick read on the topic. Including how to calculate it as well as a few industry specific examples.
http://smallbusiness.chron.com/normal-markup-percentage-80750.html

 

[Johnoly]

... I shopped brand new units and they are running 3 TIMES as much...

Wait till you see the price gouging on a wood casket, You'll never want to buy one.

 

[mcohen1021]

As an example, over the last year, I've purchased (2) used Scubapro S 600 2nd-stages (a gen 1 and a gen 2 version) @ about $ 150 each.

I would not have bought them for $10 each. But I don't like SP equipment AT ALL.

 

[BRT]

I wonder what my insurance company would say if I told them I was going to manufacture and sell something to keep people alive underwater?

 

[kelemvor]

For $2-3k, you can have top of the line in every piece of gear easily excluding drysuit.

Try that in almost any other hobby/sport.
Photography, skiing, sailing, shooting, etc.
Well, okay...maybe bowling.

No. Titanium regulators are generally "top of the line" in breathy thingies. They're around $1700 each. That doesn't include the FFM second stage you'll want if you're truly going top of the line. I bet it's more like $10k to put together a truly top of the line rig.

Most of us just settle for middle of the road gear like my s600/mk25 regulators (later replaced s600 with ffm).

"high end" bcd's can go for close to $1k by themselves. I've seen wetsuits in that price range. fins? Long blade or Force Fins can easily exceed $500 a pair (not that I prefer these).

You can put together a respectable rig for $3k but it's not going to be top of the line.

Back to the original question. Especially with scubapro, where you're paying for the name in addition to the product. Check out brands like deep6 that have a rep for selling quality products at rock bottom prices.
Also, brands like scubapro really put the screws to you when it comes time for service. Brands like deep6 allow you to service stuff yourself or at least you can have it done for much less.

 

[lowflyer]

Maybe some of the price has to do with covering the expense of law suits and liability legal advice. I don't know for sure about SCUBA gear, but if any of you have ever owned an airplane, you know what really high prices are for parts, and equipment, etc., driven by law suits as well as manufacturers' desire for profit.

 

[Bob DBF]

It's life support equipment don't you know.


Bob

 

[northernone]

It's life support equipment don't you know.


Bob

-humor in turn-

Oooh, so that's why I need to charge 36$ for a standard marine grade bolt snap at my dive shop. ; )

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Are we expressing we feel dive gear isn't good value for the money we spend on it? Or more so do we think the "big guys" are gouging us and getting unfairly rich?

Here's another angle:

Give me a 1970 conshelf reg set and a handful of orings and parts occasionally and I'll dive 99.999% of popular dive sites in the world. That's fair value to me. On equipment amortization it can't be beat in many other hobbies for dollars per hour use over decades.

Paid 6$ for my favorite fins, ~1500hours of bottom time on them (now I dive a variety). That works out to 4 cents per hour. Also not bad value

Cameron

 

[ystrout]

It does seem expensive. I've wondered what scuba company financials look like. I feel like they don't sell tremendous amounts of gear though since it is a relatively small industry. But I honestly feel that it is impossible to start a hobby for under $1K in equipment costs.

A few common hobbies that will rack up the bill
*Skiing/snowboarding equipment is easily $1K, plus the tickets/season passes
*Camping = few hunded for tent, camping equipment like stoves/grills, etc
*Surfing - $600 for board, $100 for leash and pad, $3-400 for wetsuit
*Target Shooting - Most rifles are close to $1K. Plus people get a few guns
*Video Gaming - the hardcore gamers spend $1K on a custom built computer. People who casually play video games spend $400 for a console and probably already have a $500 TV.

Spending that $1.5-$3K to get into diving sucks. But every other hobby feels our pain.

 

[Compressor]

Quality material does cost money. But you can shop around as well and buy either at discount (some brands let that happen) or buy good quality used and then proceed with your dives.

My rig includes 3 SP MK20s, S600, D400, G250 among others. All are old when I bought them in late 90s and early 2000. I took the time to take care of them and they take of me.