LDS Disillusionment

[MikeFerrara]

MikeF- thanks for the reply. This all sort of ties in with where I think things are headed, at least as a logical conclusion to market conditions. Is there anything in particular in a dealer's agreement that requires you to operate exclusively as a dive shop in order to sell gear?

Not that I remember. Some ask what other business are run at the same location so they might say no to some things. They do insist that you be a full service shop. The shop that was in town before me was also a camera store and the next closest shop is also a video business (weddings and stuff)

I understand your feelings on classes but am personally guilty there. As someone new to the sport once and lacking any friends that dove I let price guide me when it came to training. Maybe if SSI meant Scuba Students International.......

I did too sort of. When I got certified there were 2 shops in the phone book. I called the closest one and they didn't answer the phone. I called the next and booked a class. I had already been diving for a while and I was in a hurry to get a card. I paid extra because they didn't have a class running and I told them that I wanted one anyway. LOL but I made no effort to figure out if it was going to be a good class.

 

[rjchandler]

You make it sound like it is going back to where it all started. Mail order was about the only place to get equipment and then you had to find someone to teach you how to use it.

 

[MikeFerrara]

You make it sound like it is going back to where it all started. Mail order was about the only place to get equipment and then you had to find someone to teach you how to use it.

I think it is sort of. Maybe not all internet because even LP has a show room.

The only dive shop I ever buy anything from is in Florida and I'm in Indiana.

 

[fashionablylate]

The one question that has been nagging me through this thread:
If the manufacturers insist that their authorized dealers sell for a given minimum, and the manufacturer won't sell to an unauthorized dealer (who could then sell below the manufacturer's minimum)...where the hell are companies like LP getting their merchanidise?

I posed this question to the owner of my LDS, and this was his answer, which I found surprising, though perhaps I shouldn't have been surprised at all.

Companies like Leisure Pro get their equipment from (dun-dun-dun!) LOCAL DIVE SHOPS! AUTHORIZED DEALERS!

So how is it done?

Leisure Pro comes along and whispers to Joe Dive Shop Owner, "We will buy one million dollars worth of Cressi regulators from you. We'll help you get your cost down to almost nothing from the manufacturer, we take the inventory off your hands. You continue to sell at your "authorized dealer" minimum price, and substantially increase your profit as a result of your lowered initial cost. We'll also provide you with a sum for your service."

And, the LDS, Authorized Dealer, signs the deal, making things much better for himself, and simultaneously screwing all of the dive shops that operate with "integrity".

-Andrew

 

[Whitelightnin]

The one question that has been nagging me through this thread:
If the manufacturers insist that their authorized dealers sell for a given minimum, and the manufacturer won't sell to an unauthorized dealer (who could then sell below the manufacturer's minimum)...where the hell are companies like LP getting their merchanidise?

Sorry, but that is not how they get them. Almost all major lines of gear (I know, there are exceptions) are made overseas. The companies in the USA ( cressi sub, scubapro, ect) have exclusive distribution rights IN THE USA. However, there are distributors in other countries also. LP simply buys from the overseas distributors & them imports the stuff themselves. That is how the "manufactures" in the USA know if it came from LP or somewhere else. The serial #'s are not ones that they themselves distributed so they must be "grey market". Since they didn't sell it & made no money on it, they won't waranty it.

James

 

[yknot]

Sorry, but that is not how they get them. Almost all major lines of gear (I know, there are exceptions) are made overseas. The companies in the USA ( cressi sub, scubapro, ect) have exclusive distribution rights IN THE USA. However, there are distributors in other countries also. LP simply buys from the overseas distributors & them imports the stuff themselves. That is how the "manufactures" in the USA know if it came from LP or somewhere else. The serial #'s are not ones that they themselves distributed so they must be "grey market". Since they didn't sell it & made no money on it, they won't waranty it.

James

A somewhat simplified and incomplete explanation. Warranties are not generally offered by distributors but rather by manufacturers. In the case of goods sold by LeisurePro, unless these products are counterfeit then the manufacturer certainly made a sale and profited by it, whether these items were destined for retail sales in Europe or the US. BTW, LP has only been accused of selling counterfeit goods once that I know of. The reason that the distributors deny warranty service for some products is an attempt to maintain a monopolistic hold on certain products thru their authorized dealers.

 

[rjchandler]

white and fashion -- they probably get the gear both ways.

 

[yknot]

Not all brands prohibit internet/mail order sales. Has it occured to anyone that LP is actually an authorized dealer for at least some of the products they sell?

 

[MikeFerrara]

Not all brands prohibit internet/mail order sales. Has it occured to anyone that LP is actually an authorized dealer for at least some of the products they sell?

I doubt it.

All the lines that I carried required a dealer to be a full service dive shop meaning that you had to offer gas fills and instruction. I haven't heard of any one taking a class at LP.

Most of them also have pricing restrictions and LP would be busted in a heart beat because they're not even close.

 

[outlawaggie]

I doubt it.

All the lines that I carried required a dealer to be a full service dive shop meaning that you had to offer gas fills and instruction. I haven't heard of any one taking a class at LP.

Most of them also have pricing restrictions and LP would be busted in a heart beat because they're not even close.

According to LP they are an authorized Tusa Rep. Don't know if its true. just FYI.