Shop loyalty to customers???

[livestodive]

Wind I agree with your last post wholeheartedly. Mike you will do well.

Its those who aren't doing as you are that hurt the LDS's. After one or 2 bouts with the other "type" consumers start going online. Thats where a co-op effort pays off. the LDS that does it the other way won't join because their service won't hold up.

I have watched as the large chains wallys and those for home repair have eaten away from the smaller chains for quite a while now. they had the buying power and once the snowball started the small guy was gone. I would hate to see that happen in this industry, as small as it is it won't take to big an interest to hurt a lot of good LDS's.


my pennys worth

 

[scubabunny]

Originally posted by sea nmf
Scubabunny,

I can understand if they buy out a Dive store for pennies on the dollar. But, jeez, how many would they have to buy out to continue to supply merchandise to online buyers like they do?

The other method contradicts what some LDS owners have said in this forum. They claim that the online dealers can SELL the gear for LESS THAN their cost. If this is true, then even if the online dealers purchased gear at just above the dealer's cost, they would be losing money by selling it at a lower price than they purchased it for. You can't stay in business for long doing that.

The online dealers price versus LDS is so vast that if it were true that the online dealers are getting it for just above the authorized dealer's price, there should be some room to move on the price at the LDS. However, the LDS owners say that the manufacturer sets the selling price at the LDS. If this is true, then how could the LDS (authorized dealer) sell it just above their cost to the online dealer???

Somewhere, something smells fishy.

Sea nmf, to answer your question of how can they get it cheaper, it is through Wholesale. That is also a way for non-authorized dealers to get their hands on gear. Our shop is a distributor as well as a dealer. And, we have a wholesale department that supplies other dive shops with gear from certain manufacturers.

I got an email (I'm in wholesale) from someone that wanted to buy 50 of one regulator, 50 of another regulator, 20 of each BC size, and 30 computers. It was from a "yahoo" address, and when I went on Yahoo I couldn't find the profile. I answered back that I needed to know where he was located and his shop's contact info. He came back with "I'm in the Marshall islands"...which is within our selling area...but I still didn't have any info. I asked him to fax me his business license...and needless to say, I never heard from him again.

For my shop to do wholesale, we need a business license and contact info. We check to make sure this really is a business..and then we can sell to them at dealer or wholesale prices.

We do buy gear at less than dealer prices..because we buy in volume. Most dealers, if they have a HUGE order can get a nice discount (and with this order...even at our pricing..we are talking about a $50,000- $75,000 order!)

If a struggling diveshop who is a dealer got that email...they would probably gobble it up! They could buy the gear at a HUGE discount...and resell it to Mr. Yahoo for still much less than dealer cost.

Scubapro already found many dealers that were doing this, and cut off their buying privleges. So, some of the gear is from buy outs...some are from shady dealers...and some are problably coming from inside the manufacturers.

Actually, it might be a good thing...if the manufacturer would face the music.

Hope this helps some.

 

[triggertravel]

If you can't beat them join them!

In reading all of the posts on this forum I empathize with, the Local Dive Shop (LDS), the Manufacturer (OEM), and the Customer. I am a customer for the purposes of this conversation, but understand the view from the Manufacturer and the Local Dive Shop from working in other non-diving industries in these roles.

Local Dive Shop

Rather than try to change the way the manufacturer treats the LDS, how about adapting the LDS to this new environment. If I had LDS shop I would do one or all of the following:

• Change from a Brick and Mortor environment to an online one that does not require a lot of overhead.
• Get out of retail and just enjoy diving.

One of our local dive shops is bitter at the customer for shopping online, bitter at the manufacturer for charging too much, and bitter in general because they have a "raw deal."

Why don't they do themselves, the dive industry, and their customers a favor and adapt to the new environment. I get much better service at Leisure Pro than I do at my LDS. Whether your on the internet, in a store, or have a catalog, it is all run by people like you and I.

The Manufacturer

The OEM is going to go where the profits are. Places like Leisure Pro and Diver's direct do A LOT of volume. I'm not sure if the talk about losing the warranty is really true but as a consumer I don't really care about my warranty if I am paying double for my BC.

One way our LDS has gotten around the restrictions put in place by the OEM on discounting is to put a package together. This can allow you to hide the % over a variety of goods and they will have no idea where the discount was applied.

The Customer

This new environment has been great for the diver. We are paying less, getting more, experiencing better service, and getting exactly what we want much quicker. When I talk to Leisure Pro I get an opinion based on my experience, my budget, and what is the best product rather than what the LDS carriers.

I will continue to support the person who gives me the best combination of service and fair prices, online or otherwise.

I wonder if the people that complain about supporting their local dive shop have ever booked a vacation online?

Please correct me or let me know if I am not seeing things as they are. I'm always in search of new ways to look at things!

Will
ut:

 

[triggertravel]

Under the LDS Section I forgot to add the main point. Join or form a group service provider or franchise like Diver's Direct to establish buying power.ut:

 

[metridium]

Originally posted by triggertravel

I wonder if the people that complain about supporting their local dive shop have ever booked a vacation online?

You mean you don't? I took a couple trips with one diveshop as part of the AOW process several years ago, but never again.

If I book things myself, I don't wind up on cattle boats or in the Hotel Cucaracha or flying on No-Name Airways. And, at the same time, doing things my way is usually less expensive than the dive shop offerings. For you, it must be the same, but in spades, eh?

 

[kwesler]

I think the local travel agent vs booking online and LDS vs buying online is a great analogy!

Ken

PS. I hear you can treat analogies with Claritin...