So Whats The Next Big Thing in Scuba

[Nightshade]

Companies will reduce the length of warranties on products to cut costs (I have seen similar occur in the computer industry). As a result, the "warranty" factor will become less influential in the purchasing decisions for some people. For instance, if a BC only has a one year warranty, a person may be more willing to "risk" an online purchase of a grey market item. In turn, online sales will increase.

 

[PhotoTJ]

I always looked at a warranty as betting the item will break.

 

[LUBOLD8431]

diverbrian once bubbled...


NAUI is the only exception that I can think of in a recreational training agency that isn't being dragged kicking and screaming into this type of diving.

Thats because NAUI is already there. They teach TECH classes and have for some time. Maybe you should check their website, as they have a full compliment of TECH classes.

PADI will be one step behind now... They are working on their TRIMIX program which should be ready to go soon...

The next thing will be PADI FULL CAVE!!!!!!

Now think about that for a minute... isnt that scary????

 

[LUBOLD8431]

PhotoTJ once bubbled...
I always looked at a warranty as betting the item will break.

I beg to differ... In the SCUBA industry, the manufacturer with the best warranties for BC's is SEAQUEST. They offer a limited lifetime warranty. They stand behind their products because they are a quality product, not crap...

With life support equipment, the warranty and what you get with it, tells you alot about the company and the product...

 

[LUBOLD8431]

Nightshade once bubbled...
Companies will reduce the length of warranties on products to cut costs (I have seen similar occur in the computer industry). As a result, the "warranty" factor will become less influential in the purchasing decisions for some people. For instance, if a BC only has a one year warranty, a person may be more willing to "risk" an online purchase of a grey market item. In turn, online sales will increase.

Actually, the opposite seems to be true for right now... I dont expect Scubapro to drop their warranty program anytime soon.

Aqualung actually discontinued their lifetime warranty program two years ago (2 or 3) and their was such a outcry from the dealers they reinstated it.

The lifetime warranty program will be here for some time... The LDS will fight to keep those warranties in place so the things you talk about wont happen. The LDS are losing some sales to the internet, and grey market, but in the end the consumer loses. They lose the service, and the warranty upgrades that are sometimes made available. Then, eventually, the consumer comes strolling into an LDS to service their air delivery because their online DS wont service them, or messed up trying to service them....

Havent you guys been reading the recent posts about LP messing up??? The online stores just beat us in price, but they cant ever match our service, or expertise.

I think the next thing you will see is LESS online sales. I know that is tough for alot of you to fathom. But, for me, it is something that I cant wait to happen. Genesis, please dont reply...

 

[Knavey]

LUBOLD8431 once bubbled...



I think the next thing you will see is LESS online sales. I know that is tough for alot of you to fathom. But, for me, it is something that I cant wait to happen. Genesis, please dont reply...

I would have to disagree with you there LUB...

Can you name one area in business where online sales are actually decreasing right now? I can't think of one off the top of my head, and that is during a "recession".

Lets face it...people are saving a bundle of $$$ on the internet. How is the LDS going to know that you didn't purchase your regs at the store in OH, or in VA or in Coz. They are still going to service them and charge them a few bucks more than they would a "regular" in their store, but they will still get serviced all the same.

I just took 4 regulators in for servicing to a LDS in my area. I have NEVER set foot in their store before, because I have only dived a few times since I moved back into town. They didn't give me the gestapo "Didst du purchesen these onlein?". They just serviced them. Efficently I might add. I liked the store, and so I tried on a couple of wesuits and bought one and my wife purchased one also. Store: 4 regs serviced, 2 wetsuits sold.

HOWEVER, I priced dive computers at the shop and guess what, I could buy them for several hundred dollars less...thats NOT a few bucks when you are buying 2 of them. It worked out to over $500 if I purchased from LP. I know the arguments, I have read most of the posts (including Genesis' arguments, which I agree with some of the time). But the dive store just could not compete in that arena.

I for one see online purchasing doing nothing but taking off. I do WAY more online shopping now than I probably should, but its not going to go away.

This is just my 2 psi worth of air...don't pay any heed to it if you disagree and we will just agree to disagree.

 

[LUBOLD8431]

OK, to avoid this post going into a full scale war of LDS vs. online, I will digress...

The one thing that I think will start becoming popular is online regulator servicing.

I might set up a website, you enter your info, reg type, and then send it in to me, you print out a claim tag right on your computer, and then you get it back in about a week.

Online reg servicing. Yeah, I like that. I just might start that up... ANyone wanna be the first??? PM me and I will give you the address to send it to... You will be happy you came in on the ground floor. Oh, and the price is $15 a stage, plus parts. Guaranteed 5 day turnaround for most brands...

 

[Knavey]

LUB,

You better watchout! You might have hit upon one of the things that Gen says the LDS must do...learn to adapt!

Just did a google search on "online scuba regulator servicing" and guess who the first return is...hehehe SCUBABOARDS.COM!!!!

Isn't this site great! It looks as if there are places out there that will do this already. But it never hurts to expand ones business now does it?

 

[plsdiver4377]

LUBOLD8431 once bubbled...
OK, to avoid this post going into a full scale war of LDS vs. online, I will digress...

The one thing that I think will start becoming popular is online regulator servicing.

I might set up a website, you enter your info, reg type, and then send it in to me, you print out a claim tag right on your computer, and then you get it back in about a week.

Online reg servicing. Yeah, I like that. I just might start that up... ANyone wanna be the first??? PM me and I will give you the address to send it to... You will be happy you came in on the ground floor. Oh, and the price is $15 a stage, plus parts. Guaranteed 5 day turnaround for most brands...

To some degree this is already going on. I just drove to Charlotte form Asheville (the owner of the LDS in Asheville is a jerk) to have a reg converted from DIN to Yoke and the owner said that he would have been glad to have me ship it to him, have the work done, and shipped back to me within 1-2 days of arrival in his shop.

With the type of service he is offering I would say he will get my business.

 

[diverbrian]

LUBOLD8431 once bubbled...



Thats because NAUI is already there. They teach TECH classes and have for some time. Maybe you should check their website, as they have a full compliment of TECH classes.

PADI will be one step behind now...

I snipped the rest about PADI to prevent the PADI bashing that would likely occur after this post if I did not. I was aware that NAUI was one of the first to certify in this area.

I actually went with IANTD because they work with two shops in the local area (although the one shop is actually PADI and the other is actually SSI, they deal in IANTD classes to certify beyond recreational). The one NAUI shop in the area doesn't have the best reputation in the area and the SSI shop is closer and has a staff that has been diving since before I was born. I have nothing against NAUI, but it wasn't right for my situation. For me the best instructors here just happened to be SSI, so I have to deal with the limitations.

The point of my last post was simply that it isn't the training agencies pushing tech diving. Most of the recreational training agencies would be thrilled if nobody took any additional risks by never diving below 100 ft and always came up about ten or twenty minutes short of NDL's on every dive with about 2000 psi in their tanks. Their liability would be less and they could get more divers to take training.

It took some time to get some of the recreational agencies to accept nitrox as they didn't like the idea of non-professionals diving a gas that could lead to oxygen toxicity at depth. Then they started losing business to NAUI and the tech agencies that would handle Nitrox certification. How long will it be before ALL the major agencies are forced to handle tech diving to prevent losing business to agencies like GUE and IANTD when they run OW courses?

Just my stupid opinion, take it, comment on it, or forget about it! That is certainly your choice!