Should OW Courses Be Expensive?

[psychocabbage]

Here, we have 2 NAUI instructors nearby and the costs are $250 for OW cert.
That gets you everything you need except personal gear. They both have their own supply of BCs and tanks for their students to use and rent if needed.

When we had the kids taking classes, the kids already have all their gear so its not a problem.

What I normally do when I am getting a friend into the sport is to explain that they can rent the gear or they can buy it all online and we will help them not get ripped off.

So far, its all good!

Lowering the prices is great..

BMX racing requires that you buy a membership which includes some insurance. but you still have to go get your gear (helmet, bike etc..) and that easily hits a few grand.

AutoX racing doesnt require but they want you to purchase a membership. Thats usually about $75 a year. Then you have to have a car to race.. Thats pretty expensive.

I dont see how lowering the price to play will hurt.

 

[TSandM]

We have a local shop that periodically does a big sale, offering OW classes for $99. However, I strongly suspect that that does not include written materials, and I'm SURE it doesn't include personal gear. It may also not include rental of exposure protection. By the time you nickel and dime all the additional costs, the total cost isn't much different from the fees charged by most of the local shops, but it sure looked better in the ad.

Last year, I worked fairly hard to send a potential student to a shop where I knew he would get a really good quality OW class. It was harder than it should have been, because their up-front cost is quite a bit higher. But by the time the student went through all the things that were included in that fee, and that were NOT included by other shops, he realized he would be paying very close to the same amount. He took his class where I suggested he do it, and I think he's been very happy about that.

As far as retention goes, I'm not even sure it's to the dive industry's advantage (except for the travel portion) to retain divers. I know I'm not much of an asset to my LDS, except that I refer people to them. I buy my fills on the all-you-can-eat plan and they lose money on me. I have the vast majority of the gear I will ever own, unless I have to replace things that wear out. What further instruction I take, most likely won't be taken through the shop. What good am I, compared with the new diver who's going to purchase his entire gear setup and a dry suit to boot?

 

[Sas]

What good am I, compared with the new diver who's going to purchase his entire gear setup and a dry suit to boot?

Don't underestimate the importance of your recommendations to other divers to use the shop. Especially in places were the diving community isn't huge, word of mouth goes a long way.

 

[String]

Simply paying more money for a course that obeys the same standards is not going to change the quality of instruction in the slightest.