Purchasing own equipment online/lds?

[Swan1172]

So let me get this straight.

The manufacturer sells to the LDS

The LDS then sells to Leisure Pro at a small profit--at least a small profit I would think. I don't think they would sell it at cost or a loss--it would put them out of business

Leisure Pro then sells at a great price to people like me.

Then the LDS says they can't compete with how cheap LP is selling the stuff when the LDS sold it to LP in the first place?????

So if LP is getting all this stuff from people like these 15 LDS's why can't they just sell to me at a good price. Then the LDS should not have any problem competing.

Sorry Dive Right, I am just not buying the lines you are selling in this thread. I am sure you run a fine shop and do a great job for your customers.

Leah,

I think there are a couple of points that you are missing here which deal with the way that an LDS buys from a manufacturer. All of this involves sales volume, pricing and margins.

For the sake of argument, let's assume the manufacturer has an authorized retailer agreement with an LDS and sells equipment to the LDS at somewhere in the neighborhood of 50% of the retail price. The LDS then marks the product up to the manufacturer-established MSRP and sells the product. As part of the agreement, if the LDS buys more than $10K of equipment in a given period, the manufacturer discounts the price even further, to say 40%. So, it makes sense for the LDS to buy as much equipment as possible to get the lowest possible price.

However, the LDS must also be able to sell that product, or it risks having a large amount of money tied up in inventory. Most LDS's operate on a fairly thin margin, so they don't have the luxury of being able to have a lot of inventory sitting around the shop. This is the perfect example of where Leisure Pro would fit into the picture.

So, the LDS contacts Leisure Pro and offers to work with them. The LDS then buys a large volume of equipment from the manufacturer at the 40% discounted price and sells some or all of it to Leisure Pro at 50%, making a nice, quick profit. Leisure Pro then marks the product up to 75% of MSRP, makes a profit and sells it to you for 25% less than you would have paid at the LDS due to their pricing agreement with the manufacturer. You get a great deal, Leisure Pro makes money, the LDS makes money and the manufacturer makes money.

 

[Cheekymonkey]

Now thats a sensible concept of it.

 

[h90]

just a stupid question: does it make a big difference if some online company gives me the warranty or if it is the producer?
If inside country the online store must help me and outside country anyway also the producer will not help me.
so is it that important?

 

[Midnight Star]

just a stupid question: does it make a big difference if some online company gives me the warranty or if it is the producer?
If inside country the online store must help me and outside country anyway also the producer will not help me.
so is it that important?

Choose the way that works best for you.

 

[Swan1172]

just a stupid question: does it make a big difference if some online company gives me the warranty or if it is the producer?
If inside country the online store must help me and outside country anyway also the producer will not help me.
so is it that important?

Like I said earlier in this thread, surveys have shown that more than 50% of divers could care less about a warranty, regardless of who is making it. How can you justify $50-$100 per year to keep your regulators inspected just to maintain the warranties? Doesn't it make more sense to just bite the bullet and pay when something needs to be repaired or replaced? Also, does a lifetime warranty really make sense if it costs you enough in annual inspections to buy new in a few years?

 

[Cheekymonkey]

I guess it really depends what kind of shape people keep their regulators in.

 

[Swan1172]

I think also depends on whether you think the manufacturer will continue to support your equipment down the road. There are an awful lot of divers that had their Dacor regs serviced annually only to find out one day that they could no longer get parts. How useful was that warranty?

 

[Cheekymonkey]

Yea no kidding that would have been a day of tears .

 

[ReefHound]

I guess it really depends what kind of shape people keep their regulators in.

Some consider annual servicing to be a prerequisite to keeping a reg in good condition. How you take care of it is more important, in my opinion. I'd rather have a reg not "serviced" in three years that was diligently rinsed and dried and stored well than one that was annually serviced yet abused.

 

[h90]

Like I said earlier in this thread, surveys have shown that more than 50% of divers could care less about a warranty, regardless of who is making it. How can you justify $50-$100 per year to keep your regulators inspected just to maintain the warranties? Doesn't it make more sense to just bite the bullet and pay when something needs to be repaired or replaced? Also, does a lifetime warranty really make sense if it costs you enough in annual inspections to buy new in a few years?

Yes understand, depending on the usage and price/discount specialy on a cheaper reg I could buy a new in just a few years and have new reg and not an old serviced one....
(or if not fully the price difference is just small).