So how much does an air fill really cost?

[SparticleBrane]

I'll bet the guys in cave country, even though they have some of the cheapest prices around, make $$ on fills. I'd bet 75% of their fills (at least) are nitrox, with trimix taking up a good portion of what's left over.

 

[terrasmak]

I am chatting with my dad about it now , my grandfather used to charge $5 a fill back in the day 1960's , i guess were luck the price hasnt gone up much. If anyone was around in Peekskill NY back then in the dive community you probably new him.

 

[UnderSeaBumbleBee]

Air fills in these parts are anywhere from $5-10 I am all for them making a profit. Just figure a reasonalbe price for your service and then I will decided if I can afford said service just like I do with every other area in my life. Some activities I feel I can afford, others I can't so I do something else with my money.

Anyway, I just wondered what the real cost was. It is the crying that they are loosing money every time I buy something that is getting to me. If you want me to keep doing business with you, don't make me feel bad everytime I come in the door.

 

[NorthernShrinkage]

I was always under the impression why tank prices were relatively low (low markup ) was due to the shop making the money off the fills vis and o2 cleaning ?

 

[spectrum]

Wow, Leah, that is at the high end.

At any price approaching $10 they have no business pleading poverty by any estimate I have seen.

At those prices a home compressor starts to be appealing especially when you factor in the runaround factor.

Pete

 

[TSandM]

I paid $500 for a year's nitrox at our LDS. In the last 12 months, I've done about 180 dives. That's what, about $2.75 a fill? And when these same guys had a sale a week ago, and offered the same deal for FOUR hundred dollars, I told them I felt guilty doing it, because they were already losing money on me. They smiled, big happy sincere smiles, and said it didn't bother them at all. THAT's the attitude I want from a shop, and that's part of the reason why I go there (while-you-wait Nitrox fills is another, as is the fact that they carry everything I use on a regular basis).

A shop that tried to make me feel as though they were doing me a favor by filling my tanks would not keep my business very long. I'm susceptible to guilt-tripping, and I don't like it at all.

 

[MacYankee86]

My LDS was $5/ fill for air. I always thought it was expensive...considering they had a really old compressor (which I assume they have paid off by now...) and they overcharged for everything else in the store...
Gordon