Phuket - Price Negotiability

[gcarter]

The rates are quite reasonable. Asking them to take a hit is uncool.

Nobody is being asked to take a "hit".

You always pay full pop whatever you buy, never negotiate discounts, never even ask?

Thanks for your opinion, also unresponsive, just unnecessarily judgemental.

 

[gcarter]

Can you actually specify exactly which day trips you are looking at from Phuket? What sites are you trying to get to?

Of course some trips will be more expensive - do you know how far away from Phuket some of those dive sites are?

Which trips I am looking to take is irrelevant to the question asked.

I am aware of the distance of some of the sites. I fail to see the relevance to the question asked: do the ops negotiate on price?

I have negotiated discounts in the Philippines. Florida Keys. Massachusetts. Dominican Republic. Honduras. Mexico. Cuba. It is not a foreign concept to the industry.

I have negotiated other things in Thailand on a previous visit, including excursions.

I fail to see why this question should generate such a pile-on.

 

[WetPup]

It's NOT irrelevant. Ops who go to some of the more distant dive sites are going to have fixed costs that are not negotiable. If you're looking to dive closer to Phuket town then you may have more wiggle room.

To be frank, Wayne has a point. Diving in Thailand is already dirt cheap by SE Asian standards. Trying to negotiate below that is going to lead to dive ops cutting corners. Given the already dodgy reputation of a lot of Thai dive ops, do you really want to get yourself into that situation?

The pile on is justified IMO.

 

[gcarter]

It's NOT irrelevant. Ops who go to some of the more distant dive sites are going to have fixed costs that are not negotiable. If you're looking to dive closer to Phuket town then you may have more wiggle room.

To be frank, Wayne has a point. Diving in Thailand is already dirt cheap by SE Asian standards. Trying to negotiate below that is going to lead to dive ops cutting corners. Given the already dodgy reputation of a lot of Thai dive ops, do you really want to get yourself into that situation?

The pile on is justified IMO.

I disagree. It was a question. If the answer is that they do not, that is sufficient.

Nonetheless, it is clear that this has been a waste of time.

 

[Centrals]

No dive operator will admit to offer "discount" openly.
Diving rate is certainly NOT cheap in Phuket. But there must be various reason for that eg. distance of the sites, food, picking up divers from various places etc etc.
However, the big discount in hotel room during off season really offset the diving cost.

Wouldn't it be more prudent if the question was raised between concerned parties ie Op and the dive operator?
I am not picking a fight but I do believe the original question was un-necessary in here. Personal opinion ONLY.

 

[gcarter]

No dive operator will admit to offer "discount" openly.
Diving rate is certainly NOT cheap in Phuket. But there must be various reason for that eg. distance of the sites, food, picking up divers from various places etc etc.
However, the big discount in hotel room during off season really offset the diving cost.

Wouldn't it be more prudent if the question was raised between concerned parties ie Op and the dive operator?
I am not picking a fight but I do believe the original question was un-necessary.

I realize that dive operators are not going to offer discounts if they don't feel they need to.

That is why I thought I would ask here for peoples experiences first. A common opening reply is that there are no discounts, even though they may be regularly given. That is what negotiation is about. If I know they don't, I won't bother. If I know they do and have a sense for the level they will normally go to, I will negotiate accordingly.

If they are in the practice of allowing discounts, it will be built into their rates regardless of whatever other costs are in their cost base, and will already be a factor in their profitability calculations. If one site is more costly for them to service than another, they will also factor this in.

I am inclined to pay a fair price for service. I am not inclined to pay more than necessary. Asking about other peoples experience is a perfectly rational approach to determining what I should expect to pay.

The price of hotels is also irrelevant and a separate issue. Having been to Thailand before I am fully aware of the fact that I can spend as much or as little as I want for a hotel, and I know what to expect at each price point. What I pay a dive operator has nothing to do with what I pay a hotelier.

Lectures about how I am uncool for asking them to take a hit, or how I am going to be responsible for the degradation of the Thai diving industry, or how it is unnecessary to dare to ask such questions are unhelpful.

I am disinclined to carry this conversation further.

 

[stevenl]

Better hurry, diving prices will be raised significantly very shortly.

 

[vovanx]

there is a big difference between coming into a dive shop and asking "hi! could you give me a discount?" and "hi! I want to order a 10/20/whole-month dives package, could you give me a discount?"
first is definitely uncool, second is totally OK

 

[Centrals]

I am pretty sure everything is negotiable between the seller and the buyer.
If I am looking for a bargain in this case discount in diving, I will direct the question to the operator rather than coming to SB.
You will never find out if you never ask but do ask the right person.

 

[Barmaglot]

Better hurry, diving prices will be raised significantly very shortly.

Do you mean the difference between low season and high season, or a general increase across the board?