Price of download cable VEO 250

[Central Fla]

Dear Oceanic,

I was wondering how the price of the USB cable can be 1/3 the price of the computer. After being in the avionics business for years I think this cable price is a bit like soda at a fast food restaurant, simple opportunity.

It should either be included with the original unit or priced cheap, 100 bucks for a USB cable with some diodes and maybe ferrite rings and even a chip is out of line.

In the case I am incorrect about it's make'up forgive me, but it is likely the cost of manufacturing this is pretty cheap.

Just so that you will know. I am a big fan of your products, I am not trying to Oceanic bash.

Central Fla

 

[Racket]

I wish they were like scubapro and use IR for data transfers.

 

[eliminator]

for sure someone out there is making a killing on those data transfer cables..... but look at the prices scuba gear in general. Like hundreds of dollars for fins, $50 for even the most basic snorkels, etc...I think you get the point

elim

 

[under water]

If you got it from Scubatoys you can get the cable for $50 minus scubaboard discount.
If you didn't get it from them, it's probably still pretty reasonably discounted from list.
But yes, it is way overpriced for what it is.
Oceanic used to use IR, but even that was proprietary.
The Aeris and the Oceanic cable are the same. Thank goodness for that. I can use the one I got for my Atmos-2 and use it with my Pro Plus 2.

 

[scubatoys]

And not to try to justify the price... but I went and got a a usb cable, and they are in the 40 dollar range. ( http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp?skuId=6801133&st=usb+cable&type=product&id=1091099783522 ) And the oceanic and aeris cables are not just straight through cables. There is a chip in one end that does some of the work of the translation of the data between the computer and the PC. If that was built into the computer - the price of the computer would have to go up - and that would not be fair to those (like me) who don't really care to download their dives. Also, it would increase the size of the units by a bit.

Another thing to consider is that they make their software a free download. No charge. Well, someone had to write that stuff... they put a CD in each package. There are costs associated with that, and they have to be reimbursed by the price of the cable as well.

So in the scheme of things, we sell it for about $10 more than what I paid for a usb cable, and I'm pretty sure there are a heck of a lot more usb cables sold in one day than there are computer download cables in a year.

So if you're saying the cable costs 1/3 of that of the computer, maybe the question is not why are the cables so expensive, but how can they make a profit selling the computers so cheap?

 

[Racket]

So in the scheme of things, we sell it for about $10 more than what I paid for a usb cable, and I'm pretty sure there are a heck of a lot more usb cables sold in one day than there are computer download cables in a year.

Who in their right mind would pay more than $10 for a usb cable?

 

[under water]

Racket has a point..
$40 will get you this usb cable..

http://www.jr.com/JRProductPage.process?Product_Code=IOR+GCS632U&JRSource=PriceGrabber.datafeed.IOR+GCS632U


It really comes down to 3 things.
1. Captive market. They give out the software so that you will buy the hardware (cable). Seems like standard accessory marketing practices.
2. economy of scale.. how many of these can they sell. Fewer can mean higher costs (to a degree) If you really want to bring costs down use a standard format across manufacturers. A la USB, etc
and
3. profit margin. For the mfg, the label and the retailer.
I know ST reduces their margin significantly but it still doesn't detract from the $99 MSRP that some people pay.
Also regarding the chip in the computer. I doubt that adding that function to the chipset that is already in the DC would be a large cost. I don't think you would need a dedicated chip, since the DC has to handle the incoming signal anyway.
Anyway for me, paying the $50 (thank you Scuba Toys) and using it on 2 DCs makes it an OK deal.

 

[scubatoys]

Who in their right mind would pay more than $10 for a usb cable?

Ok... no one ever accused me of being in my right mind. Sometimes I'm left minded. I just have to decide if I feel artistic or logical.

 

[Jim Lapenta]

I bought the download cable for my veo and never use it. Too many problems for me with the software and my desktop and laptop. Now it's sitting in my laptop accessories bag and first 30 bucks will take it. Shipping should be no more than 5. I don't know where the disk is since I didn't even bother to load it onto my new system. Like Larry it's just too much bother to download the dives and since I keep an accurate log unnecessary.

 

[Deoje]

I bought the download cable for my veo and never use it. Too many problems for me with the software and my desktop and laptop. Now it's sitting in my laptop accessories bag and first 30 bucks will take it. Shipping should be no more than 5. I don't know where the disk is since I didn't even bother to load it onto my new system. Like Larry it's just too much bother to download the dives and since I keep an accurate log unnecessary.

I wish you had posted this earlier. I ordered a cable last week I would have taken yours. Oh well.