Free air fills? How many shops offer this?

[Aqua Marine]

Come dive with us in Florida and I'll give you a free air fill if that's what it takes to earn your business.

Air fills are generally a loss leader, you need to have air for every dive and if you are in the store, you may find something else to buy. If you are in the store everytime you dive, chances are better that you will need something.

We do more training, trips & gas fills than we do retail but the focus is the same.

take a class, go on a dive, the air is yours. but if a shop was to charge for air with the intent to make a profit you would probably see rates double (or more). What they charge only helps to cover the cost it takes to make it

 

[almitywife]

i havent paid for a fill for nearly 10 years... was shocked to find out how much nitrox costs these days

i doubt shops are making a fortune from fills... but at least it helps pay for the running costs of the compressors... and while the tank is filling we wander around the shop looking at cool stuff and talking about dive trips

 

[ehuber]

Asking for free air is like ordering tap water in a bar. Just because they have it readily available doesn't make it anywhere close to free unless you want to drink it out of the toilet.

 

[plot]

$5 a fill I think.

Most shops try to break even on air-fills. There is no profit in them.... just gets people into your store on a regular basis around all your merchandise and flyers for trips.

 

[WeekendDiver]

I pay 14 bucks to fill a pair of 130 (260cuft) with air. Nitrox up to 40% is 17 for the same 260cuft.
my guess is that the biggest cost in fills is labor, not just to haul and fill the tanks, but to deal with all the maintanance stuff as well

 

[deepedge]

Eight bucks a fill, but they are the monopoly here.. but heck.. when you thing about it.. with the cost of insurance etc as noted.... cheap... Oh... Just know that 'any old compressor' isn't safe for diving.. Must be one certified for breathing gas.. or else.. well, as I understand, air with oiled compressors can be fatal!!... Comments?

(in the old days we got tanks filled at fire stations.. they fill thier scott packs with breathable gas... )


Parham.. AKA deepedge..

 

[divemaster_jim]

$4.50 at my LDS, I only get free air 'cause I work for them from time to time.
One of the reasons I started working in the store.
FWIW they charge by the cuft there for nitrox too.
I do like the idea of free air to drive business in, I'd like to see it here.

 

[pir8]

Actually my local shop offers free air (not nitrox) period. I'm pretty sure its regardless of whether or not you buy the tanks from them. But it got me wondering how common that is out there and what the going rate for an AL80 fill would be...

I've never heard of a shop that truley gives its air away for free.

 

[Rainer]

I've never heard of a shop that truley gives its air away for free.

I dive out of the same shop, and yup, air fills are totally free. Now if only they would bank Nitrox...

 

[JahJahwarrior]

Three local shops...one of them gave me a card with prices of stuff on it. They are the middly priced shop, $5 a fill. I think the one closest to me is $7 (employees do NOT get free air or even a discount, so they drive over to the cheapest place to get fills. I'm not joking.), the one furthest is $4. Middly shop offers a 12 fill card for $40, for 32% the card price jumps to 85, 95 for 36%. Individual nitrox fills are $8.50 for 32 and 9.50 for 36. Basically, with a card you get 2 free fills of nitrox, but with an air card you get 4 free fills. ??

To rent tanks is generally aout $2 more than fill price. I'm about to buy a tank, I think, so I'm going to see if I can talk down the guy closest to me. The employees tell me he won't budge if you just complain, but might if you show data of other shops and see if he'll match them. I like the guy, but he can charge alot because he has a few loyal customers, so he does. He actualy gets such a good deal on alot of his stuff that he could very easily undercut all of the other local stores, but he chooses not to. And he has the gall to put up a sign that declares he's got the cheapest scuba stuff in Florida! But he is close....