Padi Fees
- Thread starter ljpm
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It is clearly supposed to be "knickers in a knot" or "panties in a twist". You cannot say "knickers in a twist".... it simply removes all credibility from the statement.
LOL .For what it's worth, I don't have a problem with the price I have paid for my cards, (e-card or physical). I'm sure PADI could do it for less, however, I have no assumption that any business would actively try to reduce their profit, especially with the cost of operating a business constantly going up. Lets assume you need to replace 4 cards in your lifetime and for easy math, we will call it $50 per replacement...... So you spent $200.00 replacing cards. Is that even visible in the amount you spend in even one year on diving? For me it certianly isn't.
Lastly, PADI doesn't force anyone to replace cards. In fact, all PADI operations can use dive check to verify certification if someone forgets their card, so ..... if you don't want to spend the money you don't have to.
The beef I have with the e-card cost is that you're already in their system. Why charge so much?
Musicgirl
Contributor
I'm also a PADi pro and know that they need to fine-tune their business model. There was time they must have had a computer glitch, because I got several emails congratulating me on my AOW and rescue diver and sent me a new temporary cards to my email AFTER I was already an instructor (like more than a year after I already had the certifications). lol... it just made me laugh.
I thought about emailing them to ask when my card was coming just to get a back-up, however I'm very anti-plastic. Considering their project AWARE partnership and conservation advocacy, they certainly add a lot of plastic to this world. I get a new card for every specialty instructor certification I get (I think I have around 13 cards now)....I've never shown any of them to anyone ever. I'll likely be cutting them into new guitar picks soon, because that would be way better use for the plastic than filling up space in my dry bag.
I thought about emailing them to ask when my card was coming just to get a back-up, however I'm very anti-plastic. Considering their project AWARE partnership and conservation advocacy, they certainly add a lot of plastic to this world. I get a new card for every specialty instructor certification I get (I think I have around 13 cards now)....I've never shown any of them to anyone ever. I'll likely be cutting them into new guitar picks soon, because that would be way better use for the plastic than filling up space in my dry bag.
I'm certainly not qualified to answer this, but my first thought is - "why not?".
Every pricing structure in every business in the world is simply a balance of what a vendor has determined the majority of their consumer base will be willing to pay. Clearly PADI is balancing that ratio, and they are getting what they consider their fair share or more of the market at that price. As a business, if you can sell something for $1 to a million people, or sell it for $2 to 900,000 there is a clearly better decision.
To draw a correlation - earlier this year it was determined that Nestle pays approximately $3.71 for 1,000,000 liters of water from the Canadian Supply. They take roughly 3 million liters a day to bottle and sell. Figure out what you are paying for the roughly $0.04 of water to fill 10,000 bottles. Next time you are upset about your PADI card price go buy a bottle of water and you should forget all about it. I don't think Nestle is doing anything wrong either...... heck..... I wish I was smart enough to think of it.
My point is, don't demonize a company for earning profit because you think the price is to high. You have done your part by choosing SDI instead. Once the price reaches an unfair level, so will the majority, and the price will correct. That is their business model - it is meant to make money, and it will work for them (or not).
Perhaps they earmark a high percentage of their fee to development of their app, or processes, or most likely - advertising, which in turn would help sell more of those $50.00 cards. Most certainly the size of the database, and would require significant cost to maintain and support. If most people would get to AOW at best, that means for roughly $100 per person, you are going to provide access to and maintain that database for LIFE. (Remember, you can't loose and e-card). Heck, most of us spend that per month on our cell phone.
Kris, that's not a good analogy. I used to work for a brewery and I can tell you that the process of bottling and all the costs associated with it are MUCH higher than the beer itself. You also have cost of distribution... pay the truck driver, pay for gas etc. ...
IMHO there are comapies that are trying to offer a good product for a fair price and there are companies that try to squeeze their customers as much as they can.
Hi Bennno,
Thank you for that point. It is precisely why it is a great analogy. It is easy for people to jump online and frame specific facts to support their position that pricing might be to high, and make a good argument, however, there are many factors that we do not know, or may not consider that could substantially change the overall picture.
I believe every lasting company is trying to offer the best product they can for what they consider a fair price...... and everyone will have a differing perspective on what is "fair", but very few will have enough information to make a competent judgment.
If there's something about the business model that demands charging for e-cards, then why is at least one other agency able to do it at no cost?
I don't know what SDI charges to replace physical cards. My LDS actually prints the cards themselves when you are originally certified, so I had it in hand a few days after being certified.
I don't know what SDI charges to replace physical cards. My LDS actually prints the cards themselves when you are originally certified, so I had it in hand a few days after being certified.
Perhaps that "other agency" is using a different business model. I should have clarified when I stated -
That is their business model - it is meant to make money, and it will work for them (or not).
I was referring to "PADI" specifically when I said "their". Just because someone, or a specific company does something for free, does not mean that everyone must or even should.
Lastly.... I have failed to mention, and it would be remiss of me to not add to my first post, it is also completely acceptable to use "boxers in a bunch".
Why has the choice PADI has made to charge any amount they feel appropriate for anything they offer got your <choose your favorite idiom previously listed > ?
No one is forced to use them or pay their fee. You have the choice to use the no cost company instead.
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