SP pricing

[Aqua-Andy]

Don't you think it is amazing that consumers all over the U.S. and the world buy Scubapro dive gear from a dive shop ( @8000' - a thousand miles from the Ocean ) in a ski area?​

I'm pretty sure that if you have the funds to frequently fly to Colorado from all over the world, saving a couple hundred dollars off a reg set is not going to matter much.

Do you really think my 700+ posts are a feasible marketing ploy?​

Well that is how most of them sound.

 

[diversteve]

That's your fair assessment of your posts and you're entitled to it. In fact I welcome it here as that's the essence of what SB is all about.

I see you incessantly promoting your shop and ScubaPro within the context of many of your posts and find it annoying. Many of our other commercial entities are satisfied with links in their signature and let their well-reasoned replies speak to whether or not a member chooses to click those links and do business with them - not blatant self-promotion.

But if that's your marketing style, then so be it. Mod hat on or off it's still the way you're perceived - by me and other ^ members. Read back to some of your previous posts and review comments others (not me) have made later about them.

I'm a member first and a staff member second so bringing my mod status into this is irrelevent. I only did that to make it clear that I was not speaking for ScubaBoard in any official capacity in my previous comment. Sometimes it's hard for members to tell the difference.

As I stated previously I am an Atomic fan. Both partners originally worked at ScubaPro so in a way I'm also a ScubaPro fan. I do currently dive ScubaPro/Uwatec mini-gauges - and dove a Uwatec Sport Ultra for years - until it was time for the $150 battery replacement. Some of my smaller gear is SP also. So don't make incorrect assumptions based on what you read in my profile.

And the only other reg I seriously considered before buying my T2 was a MK25T/S600T - the A series wasn't out yet. Had I not felt the Atomic was a superior (and lighter) product, I would now be happily diving ScubaPro. My nearby LDS (where I certified and shopped for 20 years+) was a ScubaPro dealer so in buying the Atomic I (at the time) had to make a 40mile one way trip for sales/service support - bi-annually...lol. We're about to open a ScubaPro Platinum store here next month - I'm sure they'll have something I have to have. I know the owner and he's well-establiahed as a ScubaPro retailer.

If you're addressing me, I think I've obviously not been antagonistic towards ScubaPro - the very existence of this thread and my moving it here supports that.

I think it's more amazing that people buy millions of dollars of gear from a little shop in Texas called Scubatoys who rarely self-promote themselves here or elsewhere (except for listing new products) on their self-funded scuba forum - instead letting their service, pricing and performance speak for itself. But that's just me.

Do you really think my 700+ posts are a feasible marketing ploy?

Obviously in a large percentage of them you do...

 

[Scared Silly]

Why is a MK17/A700 price protected at 759.00 in the USA but I can purchase the same item from Europe, and shipped for free from an authorized dealer in Europe, for $595.00. And yes they are both in USA dollars.

Shops in the EU can ship products to the USA sans VAT which ranges from 17%-19% which is about $110. So if you bought the reg in the EU it would cost close to $730.

Here is a theoretical break down, none of which has to do with price protection, just simple business.

EU $300 mfg cost, 50% markup $600 plus 18% vat $132, ($732 * .82 = $600), total cost $732

USA $300 mfg cost, 20% importer margin ($375 *.8 = $300), wholesale cost $375, 50% markup, total cost $750.

So in reality the difference is that in the USA one is paying for the importing of a product being made in the EU, where as in the EU one does not pay importing but pays VAT.

However, it does not always work that way. I once bought a dry suit made in the USA that cost less in the UK than the USA. It was a great deal as I got the VAT back as well. In that case it had to do with supply and demand.

 

[parzdiver]

As I understand it, a manufacturer can set the MSRP and can set a minimum advertised price, but cannot force a retailer to sell for any minimum price. There have been many discussions about MSRP and MAP and that is what I have come away with. I know I have paid less for ScubaPro gear than 10% off MSRP and the discussion with the dive shop indicated they were only restricted on published prices, not actual selling prices.

I do have a question on someone in the US ordering something from Europe. Isn't the buyer responsible for any import duty on the purchase? While things probably go through without them getting charged, I am looking for the letter of the law, rather than actual practice. I have heard stories about things getting held in customs between US and Canada because of duties.

 

[redacted]

As I understand it, a manufacturer can set the MSRP and can set a minimum advertised price, but cannot force a retailer to sell for any minimum price. There have been many discussions about MSRP and MAP and that is what I have come away with. I know I have paid less for ScubaPro gear than 10% off MSRP and the discussion with the dive shop indicated they were only restricted on published prices, not actual selling prices.

I do have a question on someone in the US ordering something from Europe. Isn't the buyer responsible for any import duty on the purchase? While things probably go through without them getting charged, I am looking for the letter of the law, rather than actual practice. I have heard stories about things getting held in customs between US and Canada because of duties.

Well, I guess the legal answer in the USA is "Yes", the retailer can sell the gear he owns for any price he wants to. The manufacturer probably has no direct control over that. But he does control whether he chooses to continue supplying that retailer. So, follow the dealer agreement or no more soup for you.

In the EU, consumer protection laws leave the manufacturer liable if he withdraws a dealership based on what that dealer retails his products for..

I have never had to pay any duty on goods sent from Europe.

 

[Paladin]

In the U.S., a consumer has an option.

Buy Scubapro ( B.C., reg & computer ) and get free parts. Yes, the up front cost is more, but worth it for many.

Buy SubGear ( Scubapro's new line ), pay less money than in Europe - no free parts, only a 30 year warranty.

Or buy Aqua-Lung. Or Edge/HOG. Or Zeagle. You know, there are divers out there that actually prefer brands other than Scubapro.

 

[OldNSalty]

Buy SubGear ( Scubapro's new line ), pay less money than in Europe - no free parts, only a 30 year warranty.

Wait, SubGear? Did they really think that was a good name to go with? I guess they must have but this is the first I have heard of SubGear....the name makes it sound like a lesser brand...as in substandard... not something I would want to give consideration to.

Well, I need to go take the Nova in for an oil change.

 

[Paladin]

Wait, SubGear? Did they really think that was a good name to go with? I guess they must have but this is the first I have heard of SubGear....the name makes it sound like a lesser brand...as in substandard... not something I would want to give consideration to.

Well, I need to go take the Nova in for an oil change.

Is that a '72 Nova?

 

[OldNSalty]

Is that a '72 Nova?

Sí, es un 72 no ve

 

[Thalassamania]

As in: "no va." (Spanish for: "does not go").