Starting a Dive Shop

[MikeFerrara]

For those of you out there with dive shops, how much stock do you have that you cannot sell, and basically give it away at cost? Do the manufacturers buy back product that does not sell? Do you just auction it on Ebay?

I would be interested to know how it works,

Thanks

I closed my shop last year. I still have a bunch of stock left that I haven't been able to sell anyplace. ebay was a bust. Well, I've been selling off a piece at a time real cheap mostly to friends.

There is no way that any manufacturer would ever buy anything back EVER! On the contrary they love to do things like push real hard to sell you something that's soon going to be obsolete. Nothing like having a stack of computers or regs that have been replaced in the manufacturers line. Oh, and the reps don't go out of their way to tell you which products are going obsolete either. If they did you would just wait for the new stuff and they would be stuck with the old.

If you open a shop..realize that the manufacturers sales rep is not your friend.

 

[MikeFerrara]

Thanks for the responses - not a bad crop of answers!

By "dive shop" I didn't just mean sales and service. I realise that margins, overheads etc etc are tough, and I don't just want to be a retailer. Using the internet I would have thought was a given these days. Besides, the fact that these posts are on the net shows how computer savvy divers have become.

But realize that the biggest name brands still forbid their products to be sold on line or mail order. They also restrict the price and they're getting more strict about enforcing it.

You can't compete on the basis of price if you play by the rules set by the manufacturers.

Service? Also realize that you won't be able to service any products for which you aren't a dealer. So...have lots of divers in the area who own SP regs? You want to service them? You need to buy a SP dealership and let SP run your business.

My preference would be to run a couple of shops, and also do local dive trips. Training I see as a necessary evil - it's not something I particularly want to do, but have no justifiable reason not to. I think that would be the stage where my business really starts to become governed by someone else's rules. I'm also reluctant to join the 'must-get OW divers' conveyor belt.

That's how equipment is sold. 90% of the equipment sold in a local shop is sold to 10% of the new divers. If you're going to meet the volume requirements of scubapro and/or aqualung you'll need to pump tons of divers through. That combined with your attitude toward teaching "a necessary evil" doesn't instill a whole lot of confidence in the training department.

So I think the question remains - whether to open a new shop, or wait for an old one to come on the market?

I think if you really studdy it you'll see that the smart thing to do is to run a business like liesurepro...no compressor to maintain...no teaching liability...no pricing or internet restrictions on sales...just buy it and sell it. The problem is finding out how they get their product because all the manufacturers deny selling to them.

 

[MSP Rescue Diver]

I closed my shop last year. I still have a bunch of stock left that I haven't been able to sell anyplace. ebay was a bust. Well, I've been selling off a piece at a time real cheap mostly to friends.

Have you considered contacting Leisure Pro to see if they'd buy your old stock?

Marc

 

[chrisch]

I had the chance a number of years ago to buy into my LDS. I did not and regret it as they have done well. The secret is not to like diving much..

The guy who worked in the shop selling dear rarely if ever dived, except for a few holiday trips. He was a good retailer, a good salesman and a poor diver.

The guy who did training understood that the more OW certs you got the more gear you sold. No matter that with half the OW course done and 3 logged dives Joe Diver was parting with his cash for Zeagle wings..

I am a marketing consultant in the "real world". As such I would advise you that the thing you need is called a "unique selling proposition". If you haven't studied marketing you will know this by its street name - "gimmick". That is you need something the competition haven't got. Dirt cheap (online) prices, superfast servicing (while you wait) or mega training deals. (Buy $2000 gear and get training free..)

I have been diving for nearly 20 years and have yet to figure out what would make MY business work. Coming from the Uk the first problem is where? A big city with lots of potential customers or near the sea and diving? Best UK shops are all away from the sea - London etc. Or buy abroad - where? Where can you buy cheap - say Eastern Europe, but where is the money? Germany, Switzerland etc.

The only "secret" I can past to you (for free - hire me as a consultant if you want business advice!!) is to work for someone else for a while and then you will see first hand if it is for you. As a Dm you should get the chance to work (usually for nothing) in your LDS. Pump some gas (EAN not unleaded!!) and talk to customers.

Maybe you will see an opening and be successful. I hope so for you. Maybe you will think no-way. If the latter at least you have only lost some time but no money.

Best of luck.

Chris.

 

[MikeFerrara]

Have you considered contacting Leisure Pro to see if they'd buy your old stock?

Marc

I did. They told us they would be interested in a good sized lot of regulators or computers but that's not really what we have.

We contacted many many dive shops and just asked for offers. Most claimed to be short of cash and others just didn't respond. Others didn't carry those brands.

 

[mempilot]

Mike,

Why not post a list on SB and see what you get from this group of 20k divers? Maybe just put it in a Word doc with contact info and attach it to a post.

 

[MikeFerrara]

The guy who did training understood that the more OW certs you got the more gear you sold. No matter that with half the OW course done and 3 logged dives Joe Diver was parting with his cash for Zeagle wings..

I am a marketing consultant in the "real world". As such I would advise you that the thing you need is called a "unique selling proposition". If you haven't studied marketing you will know this by its street name - "gimmick". That is you need something the competition haven't got. Dirt cheap (online) prices, superfast servicing (while you wait) or mega training deals. (Buy $2000 gear and get training free..)

That's about how the business works. It's unfortunate for diving and good for the agencies and gear manufacturers.

It's also why so many experienced divers have little use or respect for dive shops.

It's why just about every good instructor that I know is an independent.

It's why there isn't a single dive shop that I know of that I would recommend to a diver looking for training.

Dive shops need the suckers who don't know any better yet.

Still they work ok for some vacation divers who don't know or care what kind of training they get as long as they have fun on vacation.

Which brings me to another piece of advice for some one wanting to open a shop. Don't try giving an avid diver the same line of BS that you give the newbies that walk in off the street. You'll quickly be spotted and lebeled.

Once in a while when I have time to kill in some place like Chicago I'll check out a few shops just to see what things are looking like these days. You wouldn't believe some of the stuff they try to pull over on you.

 

[MikeFerrara]

Mike,

Why not post a list on SB and see what you get from this group of 20k divers? Maybe just put it in a Word doc with contact info and attach it to a post.

I've been meaning to run the idea past Netdoc since I just haven't got it done yet.

 

[dave the diver]

"The only "secret" I can past to you (for free - hire me as a consultant if you want business advice!!) is to work for someone else for a while and then you will see first hand if it is for you. As a Dm you should get the chance to work (usually for nothing) in your LDS. Pump some gas (EAN not unleaded!!) and talk to customers.
"

Best advice yet - work experience is probably the best way I can see of getting a taste of the local market.

 

[Cudabait]

Sooo ... any of you guys got any advice on starting up a dive shop. Is it best to start a new one, or wait for an existing one to come up for sale? Sales/service and training? Or trips? Or no training?

I'm toying with ideas and would be grateful for any advice.

Hey, Dave...

You might try this question in the Instructor to Instructor thread on the board. As a divemaster you qualify to post there.

Regards,