Support my LDS? Really?

[robbcayman]

Supplier policies doesn't explain disparity in pricing. If the online stores are breaking the supplier policies then their supply should be cut off to them. My retail stores do have companies we buy from that have extremely strict MAP requirements, that doesn't mean we can't compete with the online stores, the MAP requirements are enforced and the online stores also are required to sell for a certain amount.

Retail is retail, to say that the dive shops can't compete and that I can't compare them to other businesses falls flat when you look at it.

I see dinosaur managers/owners every day that would rather have two feet in the grave rather than adapt or be open to change, and eventually those businesses will fail because competition gets rid of the weakest.

Dive shops that supply air and who are active in their local community shouldn't have any problem selling enough to be profitable and grow.

I have shown you multiple reasons why the LDS struggles against many of the online giants. I think we can both agree that the antiquated model of the LDS charging customers retail prices will hamper and may ultimately do them in. I just have a hard time in seeing how they can be price competitive. Look at the purchasing power of Best Buy and they are getting killed by Amazon. Now, let's put Amazon against Joe's scuba shack and you can see the disparity even more so. You and I both know that the vast majority of people aren't paying taxes on online purchases and that's another dagger that kills the LDS. Oh well.. agree to disagree.

PS: Welcome to scubaboard.

 

[Eric Sedletzky]

I just went to an LDS about 2 hours away in Sacramento. This particular LDS is also a big internet retailer. The shop is called the Freediveshop.com.
They actually have a physical address which customers can go there and buy stuff.

I spent about 2 hours there trying on suits and getting stuff to rebuild one of my spear guns. Hella nice poeple, they helped me find exactly what I wanted. We talked about diving the north coast, we compared notes on mutual friends.
They are in an industrial area way off the beaten path because doing internet business they don't need store front so they can drastically save by being in a suite way in the back of a business park out on the edge of town where half the units are empty and rent is cheap. But, being a specialty shop, everybody into that sort of diving knows about them and they come from hours away just to buy stuff and look through their warehouse and hang out with them.
I walked out of there with about $600 dollars worth of stuff for about $450.00.

Maybe the freediving world is different and people are friendlier, but I don't see why this wouldn't work with some scuba gear added.

 

[seriousdiver]

I have shown you multiple reasons why the LDS struggles against many of the online giants.

And I feel most of those reasons are unsubstantiated and/or flawed because they work off the assumption of the e-tailers not having to play by the same rules.

1) Sales Tax, the E-tailers will all be paying it in the next couple of years(within one year amazon will be enforcing sales tax on ALL of the states), and even if they aren't enforcing it the customer ultimately IS required to pay it.

2) Overhead: Often E-commerce has overhead equal or more than brick and mortar stores, they also have to compete against the crowd that "supports" their Brick and mortar stores. Perception is 9/10ths the battle and hence why not every joe shmoe can set up a E-Commerce site and rake it in. There are millions of small brick and mortar stores that do quite well, there are very FEW online stores that do great, and it isn't because the ecommerce sites have it "easier" than the brick and mortar stores

I think we can both agree that the antiquated model of the LDS charging customers retail prices will hamper and may ultimately do them in.

Yes/no, traditional retail models CAN thrive assuming they adapt slightly, you don't have to throw out the baby with the bath water, you need to be able to adapt while sticking to your heritage. Getting rid of bad policies doesn't necessarily mean getting rid of the entire business model.

Being price competitive isn't difficult. As you said, purchasing power doesn't mean much because almost any decent size business can meet the purchasing power nowadays, factories are dying for new customers to keep the output going. Amazon kills best buy because Best Buy has terrible customer service and refused to COMPETE as far as the actual retail prices go.

Now, let's put Amazon against Joe's scuba shack and you can see the disparity even more so. You and I both know that the vast majority of people aren't paying taxes on online purchases and that's another dagger that kills the LDS. Oh well.. agree to disagree.

Let's put Amazon against Joe's Scuba Shack!

On average Amazon has higher prices than many scuba stores I've looked at and frankly my prices in MY stores(which have smaller margins than scuba gear and more restrictive supply agreemenets) are LESS than Amazon.

Amazon is NOT an amazing place for prices, about 7/10 items are actually MORE expensive on Amazon than I can find elsewhere and in brick and mortar stores.

I bought a jar of Nutella off of amazon last week for a friend to ship to her college, in the grocery store it was $3 less.

Like I've said, a GOOD LDS will thrive, a bad LDS has always had the writing on the wall, but before there just wasn't enough external pressure to put them under.

Doom and gloom is reserved for the bad operators and at the end of the day that is a GOOD thing.

There is no such thing as a bad market or one where there aren't customers, there are only bad Operators and strategic blunders.

It all comes down to Customer Service,Customer Service,Customer Service,Customer Service,Customer Service, and maybe some Customer Service

 

[redacted]

I have shown you multiple reasons why the LDS struggles against many of the online giants. I think we can both agree that the antiquated model of the LDS charging customers retail prices will hamper and may ultimately do them in. I just have a hard time in seeing how they can be price competitive. Look at the purchasing power of Best Buy and they are getting killed by Amazon. Now, let's put Amazon against Joe's scuba shack and you can see the disparity even more so. You and I both know that the vast majority of people aren't paying taxes on online purchases and that's another dagger that kills the LDS. Oh well.. agree to disagree.

PS: Welcome to scubaboard.

Perhaps the dive shop should establish an alliance with Amazon to establish a high volume, lower profit segment.

Maybe dive shops should refocus their profit making segments to gas, training, and service where there is less competition from online venders.

Or they can succumb to the fittest.