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@Cds1785 I had very similar situation as you. Ordered from a store in Florida online and Zeagle took much longer than expected. I was not able to use new BPW since it arrived after my dives. Not LDS fault and left me unimpressed with Huish.
I do happen to. Let me know, I'm in no hurry to sell them, but they aren't doing me any good either. I think they have 4 or so dives on them. The diver who owned them embolized and I took them and his 40's off his hands as a favor. I'd rebuild them fresh, and ask $600 for the pair, plus shipping. The hoses will be what you get, although they are 10 years old, they've been stored in a regulator bag all that time.@Wookie i ended up buying a new in box T2x for a $1000. I really wanted the T3x but couldn’t justify that at the time. I had him order the Ti2 octo which is I believe is AA’s newest octo.
If you have a M1 in din or possible 2 I might be interested in that sooner then later for sidemount.
vestAs they consolidate and destroy it may offer new companies, like deep 6 the opportunity to fill those empty slots in the market. Just like Atomic springing from corporate conservatism over materials the Deep 6 business model may come to rule the industry, or not.
vest
Hmmm.. They and I play in a vastly different scale and business model. I actually can see the Deep 6 model carving a niche but maybe I am thinking small but don't see us ruling the industry. I do expect and am seeing more suppliers moving towards our model as part of their overall plan, so that is both a validation and a challenge for me.
I don't think that Huish is trying to destroy any of the brands they bought. They are taking calculated risk with mostly companies that were effectively over but may have has certain products or market share that made them attractive on a pennies on the dollar basis. Some of those bets will pay off, many won't and that is the nature of that type of investing and speculation.
What i think we are seeing more is the effort to support the products of the companies they bought is a much more complicated exercise than anticipated. Heck, even for me, growth has been a serious challenge the last 18 months or so.. taking on a bunch of brands, few hundred dealers, a few tens of thousands of SKU's that are active and a few tens of thousands more to support legacy products of the brands bought.. logistical and supply chain nightmare. They need to find a happy place between what they can support and what can't while keeping people happy, which is tough, especially in a activity that the darn Open Water course materials told new divers that when you buy gear and look after it will last forever. It doesn't and never has and let's be honest, quality bleed is real and a challenge. Especially with the declining margins we have experienced in the industry the last 15 years. (I am talking at the brand level, not just retail margins). Gear has NEVER been cheaper in diving, never. We are about 40% down at retail inflation adjusted prices since the 90's. That impacts material choices. Frankly, one of the reasons for my model is that I want to get higher margins to combat those pressures, so I can deliver better products at price points that aren't completely priced out of the market. (example, MK10+ g250 in 96 when I sold a TON of them were $600 retail, in today's dollars that is $965, but I can get a Mk25 G250 today new at $785...and Scubapro has held prices better than most brands..)
The industry is much smaller than even what many players in the industry believe.