How much would you be willing to pay?

[Winterpeg]

What would I pay for a class like that NOW, or what would I have been willing to pay for it when I got certified? ..... I certainly would not have been persuaded to take a long, involved and expensive course to learn to do something I wasn't sure I'd continue doing at all ......THAT'S the problem. It's only a very rare student who is so sure he wants to be a diver that he's willing to do a long, complicated class . . . and pay for it.

I stand behind my original comments, but maybe TS & M said it better. I know I got good value for my money, and I did appreciate it. I also asked the instructor about paying for the extra pool sessions, and was told specifically that they did not charge extra. I also know that if the up-front OW class price had been substantially more I probably would have passed on taking the course in the first place, as up here in the frozen landlocked north diving is not a common sport and I was not all that committed before I took the training. I am not disputing TwoBitTxn's claims, but I think initial commitment probably depends on a number of factors; age and geography are two that jump to mind.
Since completing my OW I have made several purchases at the shop and am now working on my AOW and Nitrox courses.

 

[TwoBitTxn]

I also know that if the up-front OW class price had been substantially more I probably would have passed on taking the course in the first place...

Now we start approaching a common theme in the answers. Thank you winterpeg.


The OW class has become a true introductory class. Dummed down to the point that it serves to introduce people to diving and give them a chance to see if they like it. If they do, most commonly, they continue on. If they don't, they generally quit diving. Part of the reason people don't enjoy it is the OW class in many cases fails to adequately prepare many for diving. To do so would require a longer class, more time in the water, more skills, thus be more expensive. While there is a small portion of the public who would pay for a more expensive class, the majority wouldn't. They don't know what they are purchasing and see no value in a longer class. Any business exists to make money and continue to exist. This fact can be bemoaned all day, but to change it would have significant ramificaitons on the industry as a whole. Both positive and negative.

Thanks for the answers. I won't change in my attempts to turn out better OW divers in the time I have alotted to me to do so, but I at least understand the market just a little better.

TwoBit

 

[vshearer]

Here's what I did: took OW and AOW in the Caribbean for 300$

Loved every minute of it

I did the same thing at Lucaya, GB. after having dove for years without a C card. Was babysitting a boat for an owner for several months. It simply made sense as just buying the dives alone was nearly as much. Had a blast and learned what I didn't know. Scuba instruction is cheap in my opinion, but as has been said here so many times, it is the instructor.

 

[Winterpeg]

The OW class has become a true introductory class. Dummed down to the point that it serves to introduce people to diving and give them a chance to see if they like it. If they do, most commonly, they continue on. If they don't, they generally quit diving...... While there is a small portion of the public who would pay for a more expensive class, the majority wouldn't. They don't know what they are purchasing and see no value in a longer class. Any business exists to make money and continue to exist. This fact can be bemoaned all day, but to change it would have significant ramificaitons on the industry as a whole. Both positive and negative.TwoBit

I totally agree (unfortunately). But I still can't help thinking that geography has something to do with it. In warmer climates and coastal areas there are more places to dive and more opportunity to do it, so one would think that there would be more incentive and awareness to want to learn, and instructors would be able to command more $. Up here, it is just not that common except for those of us who can afford to take winter vacations. There is not a lot of recreational diving and not even a lot of commercial diving compared to cities with large waterfronts (I couldn't believe when I saw a Miami phonebook how many pages of dive shops and instructors there were, and how many commercial divers to service marinas and offer to search for lost valuables off docks!).
You would have to compare it to something regionally popular up here, like ice hockey. Parents here spend thousands of $ to suit their kids up and attend tournaments and get professional coaching and think nothing of it. I doubt hockey coaches down in Texas could charge as much and get away with it. And even if families were willing to pay, there would not be as many arenas with ice to play in or as many opportunities to play.

 

[barkeep3514]

here in key west a local can get cert. for about 350.00 but the tourist will pay as much as 750.00per person so it varies every where. the person that really want to learn to dive will find a way to learn

 

[barkeep3514]

diving can be an expensive sport and cold water diving is more expensive. dry suits are not cheap so that may be a concern with cold climates i know i would have paid alot more to get my c card was just lucky i guess

 

[OldNSalty]

I totally agree (unfortunately). But I still can't help thinking that geography has something to do with it. In warmer climates and coastal areas there are more places to dive and more opportunity to do it, so one would think that there would be more incentive and awareness to want to learn, and instructors would be able to command more $. Up here, it is just not that common except for those of us who can afford to take winter vacations. There is not a lot of recreational diving and not even a lot of commercial diving compared to cities with large waterfronts (I couldn't believe when I saw a Miami phonebook how many pages of dive shops and instructors there were, and how many commercial divers to service marinas and offer to search for lost valuables off docks!).
You would have to compare it to something regionally popular up here, like ice hockey. Parents here spend thousands of $ to suit their kids up and attend tournaments and get professional coaching and think nothing of it. I doubt hockey coaches down in Texas could charge as much and get away with it. And even if families were willing to pay, there would not be as many arenas with ice to play in or as many opportunities to play.

Actually, the pseudo-science of economics does not support your proposition. Because the barriers to entry for scuba instructor are so low, if there were any shops with instructors driving BMWs then that state would not exist very long. Shortly, more people would enter the market as instructors, move down south and drive the price to the floor.
Scuba instructor is a great example of the free market at work 
I do not know what they charge up north but down here I have seen the range of instruction cost go from $99 to almost $500 but normally all fall into the $200-$250 range.
As to what people are willing to pay-for here it is between $99 to almost $500 with most falling into the $200-$250 range. 
Perhaps to get to the true meaning of the OP’s original question; when/if my wife and kids decide to get certified I will look for a long, involved course and would probably be willing to pay somewhere close to a grand (but not for a 4 pool sessions, 4 dives and your done course)

 

[In10se]

As a non-diver I would not have seen the value in a more complex curriculum. I paid for my wife and I to get trained for OW, so it was a doubled initial expense.

I'm completing my AOW now and then going immediately into nitrox, and looking at S&R as soon as a class is open after completing my nitrox.

I'm a dive junkie that cannot get through the week without getting wet at least once if not three separate days of that week. I had no idea I was going to get sooooo addicted to this. On the days I'm not diving I'm thinking about diving and what upgrades and adjustments need to be done to my gear. I'd pay much more now, knowing what I know, for that basic OW class; however, at the time I took the OW class a higher price ... and I moved from group to private instruction half way into the basic class at a greater cost ... would have just sent me to another LDS for instruction.

The old line about hindsight being 20/20 applies very well here.

 

[Calle Roo]

An LDS in the valley does trips to San Carlos for $500.00 which is 2 nights and bus ride, and they throw the OW training in for free if you do it accelerated in 1 weekend which was like 4 hrs of classroom time total. They even do the confined training in a 5 ft deep pool in their backyard, and when the students got there, they had no idea how to even put air in the BCD or knew why they would add and remove air.

The training I saw preformed was ridiculous. These students when they get in OW are going to freak, and I actually saw one of the students lose it at 30 ft at the lake and rocket to the top and never came back for day 2 of certs.

Edit: Oh yeah, after seeing this training preformed, Iam willing to pay up to $300 per specialty being, they run $150.00 here in the valley.

 

[Brian Sharpe]

What would I pay for a class like that NOW, or what would I have been willing to pay for it when I got certified?

When I got certified, I knew absolutely NOTHING about diving (but somehow, I had HEARD of PADI). Nothing. Nada. Squat. Standards? Agencies? Non-silting kicks? Hah! I wasn't sure I wanted to learn to dive in the first place.............

I think you hit the nail on the head.

It's a catch 22, if the entry cost it too high many prospective divers wouldn't (pardon the pun) take the plunge. With the low cost of an OW course the schools can't afford to spend an inordinate amount of time on training students.

In retrospect I'd be willing to pay more for a more rigorous course and when I feel ready for my AOW and other courses cost will not be the deciding factor in choosing my trainer.

I forget who put forward the idea but on another thread it was suggested that the OW c-card be treated something like a learners' permit requiring the new diver to make a reasonable number of supervised dives before being let loose with his or her buddy - as a recently certified diver I think that would be a great idea.