1fastcat:
What's next - oh yeah, the adapt to the new market or die crowd. Hmmmm...1st point - the ones who are doing it are the ones making the money - everyone should do it. Ok geniuses, let's live in your fantasy world and say that every LDS on the planet a. had the money to build an internet retail site, sales and customer support center and b. had the money to inventory all of the items that would be required to provide adequate product selection and delivery times (warehousing and inventory carrying costs), Your theory is that they would all prosper. Last time I looked the internet has lost the vast majority of e-tailers from the dot-com period, and the vast majority of purchasing is from the mega e-tailers or the portals that control who is on their sites (pricegrabber etc.).
If you reread the posts from Lamont and myself, you'll see we never suggested that all LDS could or should set up internet sites. The internet lost many e-tailers from the dot com boom because their business model was flawed and in many cases their management was naive. (who remembers pets.com purchasing a superbowl advertising spot).
1fastcat:
Let's examine the next portion of your fantasy world - one of your professors posted that market forces would prevail - the LDS that doesn't adapt will die, and the remaining LDS will be able to charge more for services, therefore increase profit margins, and survive. So, if I understand your logic, the same guy who will buy a mask on-line to save 15%, will pay me 100% more than I used to charge just because the competition has gone out of business. Gosh Wally, I haven't seen that trick ever work in the real world.
Linux is given away for free. Plenty of companies including IBM make money from services to keep companies computer systems running. Another example would be mobile phones. The networks give those away for free (or nearly free) in effect subsidizing the product. They have to make money on the services or go bankrupt. There are plenty of examples if you look.
1fastcat:
Yet another part of this "new economics" fantasy: They can lower prices on products and make it up by charging more for technical training and services. OK, let's start charging $1000 for OW certification and give away the equipment. Wow, there will be so many new divers signing up, I bet there will be a shortage on registration forms around the world. Oh, I forgot you're already certified, so who cares? How about the same $1000 for your Advanced/Rescue/DM etc training?
Oh- you want to charge me $100 for a regulator overhaul? Maybe you'll also spring for that $250 per person local dive boat that the LDS had to charter? (wow Wally, when the LDS doesn't sell all the spots, they still have to pay the skipper for the full charter fee - but that's not a risk/reward profit motive that we should have to pay for, is it?)
They don't need to give away equipment, but they would need to charge more for services. There's nothing wrong with the model. Resort dive shops make their money selling thrills and warm water diving experiences (not equipment). The LDS can find similar niches. Oh and I recall paying $135 to have my regulator serviced earlier this year. And yes it was worth the money.
1fastcat:
If at all possible, I will buy USA, and will always try to avoid buying "made in China". Why, maybe because my 25+ years of "real world" economics experience has taught me that America cannot thrive in the long term without a strong manufacturing sector.
Those of you who think that the USA will thrive and be prosperous by being a financial services, consumption based economy with offshore manufacturing, customer service, and r&d, just keep spending that home equity line. In the next 20 years, there will not be a buyer for your house that will pay you what you owe.
This one is really amusing. You are of course free to buy from whatever country you like as is your right. But to assume that if it is not made in the USA, then we're somehow doomed is to deny reality and history.
1). In 1970 the US economy employed about 25% of it's workforce in manufacturing. Today it's less than 10%. And yet the US manufactures far more with that 10% than they did in with 25% of the workforce in 1970. Despite the focus on China, America is the worlds biggest manufacturer in $ value. So much for the death of US manufacturing.
2). Pre industrial revolution about 97% of people worked the land (i.e. farming). Post industrial revolution it's about 3%. It makes as much sense for the US to retain low value added manufacturing as it does for all those displaced farmers to return to tilling the US fields with an oxen pulled plough.
The industrial revolution caused a massive leap in living standards over what had come before. It allowed people to actually have leisure time and yes take up scuba diving. Today the continued relative flexibilty of the US economy has allowed it to adapt to offer services and consistantly outpace (in terms of GDP growth), other more rigid developed economies (like Germany) who are still stuck repeating the mantra of "We must have lots of manufacturing". I look forward to the US continuing to lead.
Your tone indicates you're angry with people buying on the internet, but your sweeping statements aren't really helping your argument.
