My LDS cracks me up

[PhotoTJ]

...I wonder if they'd be better off moving away from big-ticket gear sales, and focusing instead on fills, tanks, odds and ends, clothing, training, rental gear, travel and service.

Heck, I wonder if a lot of shops wouldn't be more successful doing something like that.

-Brandon.

Won't work, A fill breaks even at 6$, (filter, compressor service, and electricity), travel makes a tiny margin, and training will only work if everyone in the industry raises prices. (won't happen) Service works, but only if people actually get their regs serviced. Rental gear makes a little, odds and ends a bit, (but it's kind of hard to know what odds and ends to stock), and clothing is a tough racket, as well, no one can predict fads.

I don't know what the answer is, either.

 

[Divin'Papaw]

One of the things that really bothers me about the diving industry as a whole is that it appears that certain vendors, be they LDS or internet, only carry certain brands. For example, if you're an Oceanic dealer, you don't carry AquaLung/SeaQuest/Suunto or ScubaPro. If you're an AL/SQ/S dealer, you don't carry Oceanic or ScubaPro. Etc. Now coming from Indiana where there isn't a huge # of LDS', maybe the problem is the small numbers. But except for LeisurePro, it appears to be similar online.

Is that something the manufacturers enforce, or is it economics? Also, if I'm just too new to this and mistaken, feel free to point that out as well.

 

[CBulla]

that's the strange thing about dive shops in general.. dive shops are so specialized, in what they sell, and also in the way they treat their customers, that you just can't expect anything remotely close to a regular shopping experience. The only store that had "standard" retail service style was a shop that was coupled with a section that sold general "beach" gear like bathing suits and resort wear.

Thats what my buddy at Pete's Discount Scuba has started to do here.. he has a shop on the beach that sells general beach gear, snorkeling stuff, and very little dive gear - the fact of the matter being very little diving can be done off the beach for a VERY long way thus its catered towards Spring Break crowds. On the flip side it still does have enough gear and parts in it to be a functional shop for those out that direction, in fact, the only shop for about 12-15 miles either way you travel from the beach.

 

[MXGratefulDiver]

Either I'm very lucky to have a good LDS, or you are all going to the wrong place. My LDS (Underwater Sports in Federal Way) offers competitive prices and friendly service. I don't get accosted with suggestions for what I need. Instead, I get maps drawn for me of local dive sites I've never been to, showing me how to see the cool stuff. I get stories about dives that turned out great, or problems solved. I get good training for my AOW classes. I get my tanks filled. As I've said before, I have yet to find an Internet store that will fill my tanks.

Do I pay a little more? Yes. Am I willing to pay a little more? Yes. I have yet to feel like I was being gouged.

Call me lucky, but I'm happy with my LDS.

Walt's a class act who's a real scuba diver and has been an icon in our scuba community for decades ... he understands diving and divers, and knows how to deal with them. He's also simply a heck of a nice guy.

Can't say that about every LDS owner or manager you run into.

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

 

[PhotoTJ]

...But except for LeisurePro, it appears to be similar online.

Is that something the manufacturers enforce, or is it economics? Also, if I'm just too new to this and mistaken, feel free to point that out as well.

That is manufacturer enforced. LP buys closeout items, and stock from LDS that are going out of business. Some companys have a buy back policy, which is why you never see their product on LeisurePro. (Atomic) They say that they carry it, but they are always out of stock.

 

[cerich]

That's because, for the most part, dive equipment manufacturers control what lines of gear a dive shop can carry (i.e. if you carry so-and-so, we're not going to allow you to carry our gear), and how much they can sell it for (i.e. you're only allowed to discount 10% off of MSRP).

I know of no other retail business where the wholesale manufacturer/distributor has such a stranglehold on the local business. It's the major reason why most dive shops are struggling to stay in business.

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

Bob, as a rep I have never told a dive shop what lines of gear they may or may not carry. Nor have I ever been asked to for any of the lines I've repped for. All I have control over is who I sell to.

I could go on for hours on the second paragraph you wrote, but to put it simple, when someone opens a independant business they make a business plan, not a vendor.

Best,

Chris

 

[cerich]

One of the things that really bothers me about the diving industry as a whole is that it appears that certain vendors, be they LDS or internet, only carry certain brands. For example, if you're an Oceanic dealer, you don't carry AquaLung/SeaQuest/Suunto or ScubaPro. If you're an AL/SQ/S dealer, you don't carry Oceanic or ScubaPro. Etc. Now coming from Indiana where there isn't a huge # of LDS', maybe the problem is the small numbers. But except for LeisurePro, it appears to be similar online.

Is that something the manufacturers enforce, or is it economics? Also, if I'm just too new to this and mistaken, feel free to point that out as well.

Generally it is the choice of the dive shop. They may have a brand loyality (quite often the case)or in smaller markets they may concentrate their buying with one major line. This allows them better pricing and terms(simple volume, not because they don't have another brand).

 

[ScubyDoo]

Any decent dive shop will only try to sell you what you actually need. Its thier responsibility as professionals to better understand and make qaulity recommendations based on input from the customer as to what type of diving they will be doing. Sometimes that involves making recommedations that a customer may not have considered...sometimes it doesnt. Many times a customer knows exactly what they want...even if it makes no sense. I would always give my recommendation..and if the customer didnt accept it...so be it.. You give the best advice you can based on your experience.

 

[photohikedive]

I am a loyal LDS kind of guy (when I didn't buy used). First to the shop where I got certified, because I felt like I knew the staff, and that they knew me. Then to a shop that was just down the road from work. I feel that any time you walk into a dive shop as a stranger, they have no qualms about selling you whatever crap they can push on you. They must figure, "he's a visitor, and we will never see him again, so sell while we can." Once they start seeing you as a regular, as a person, not just as tourist money, then they seem to relax.

I love to chat, I can spend half the day in the LDS talking to the guys, and would often joke that they let me, because the more time I was talking, the more money I spent. Which was true. I don't know about the rest of you guys, but I feel that when I have a rapport with the owner of a dive shop, I am more willing to spend the extra few dollars by buying from him, instead of from online. If I only buy online, then he closes down, and where will I get my air from? Or that last minute emergency item?

That being said, I soon will be starting over. Moving to another state soon, and will not have that friendship with the LDS for some time, I am sure. So, where do you guys shop, when you are buying online?