The changing Scuba Industry

[redacted]

That's a silly assumption. It's called adapting to compete against the online warehouses that have little overhead.

Most small retailers in any industry have had to adapt and change to stay competitive. The ones that don't usually go out of business.

But it's the new culture. People go into the shop to see and touch that reg or dc and then go buy it online to save 10%.

So doesn't it make sense to just match that price for those who ask and capture the sale right there.

???? LITTLE OVERHEAD ????

You must be kidding. Consider LeisurePro. They probably carry a stock volume that is well over 100 times the size of your LDS's stock. And they warehouse that stock in the NYC metropolitan area. That has quite a cost. Of course, they also sell alot which makes their operation quite efficient compare to your LDS.

It is not a 10% cost difference. It is often a 40% cost savings.

 

[wetb4igetinthewater]

DEMA hates ScubaBoard

I attended the last day (Saturday) of DEMA 2016. I did see an unattended booth for ScubaBoard there.

 

[dmaziuk]

Great. How deep is it rated for? User changeable battery? The display looks a bit funny...

(Yeah I got your point about computer cost going down, just being silly... - and pointing out that these days the chipset is probably not the most costly thing in a good dive computer to begin with...)

What I said was somebody with a 3D printer. Or go for Petrel- or Ratio-type body machined out of a block of derlin and a slice of lexan. It would cost me more than the software and licktronicks because I do those for the day job but I've no ready access to that other stuff and haven't touched CADs in decades. Somebody else's mileage may well vary.

Edit: a 480x320 TFT display is fifty bucks.

 

[cool_hardware52]

To me, that only means that particular LDS has been ripping you off before. Any business needs to operate with profit. If they are making profit now, or they would shut down, that means they made excessive profit before.

No dive shop I know of is raking in the money. Some engage in aggressive marketing practices I find distasteful, but most are small businesses trying to keep their doors open, their bills paid and their staff employed. Perhaps they could have done other things to maintain or expand their sales, but most are either in the business because they love diving, or they got downsized out of corp America when middle aged and thought they could take their saving and run a shop based on their hobby. Most are not skilled retailers, and most are *very* capital constrained.

Offers to meet online pricing is part of their effort to delay the day they turn off the lights.

Tobin

 

[Wookie]

I attended the last day (Saturday) of DEMA 2016. I did see an unattended booth for ScubaBoard there.

Do you feel that burn?

I love Pete, Elena, and Howard. I also have enough sense to know that ScubaBoard serves a fraction of a percent of active divers. Yes, I am always surprised when I hear "Wookie?" in the grocery store, and in the world on internet diving, ScubaBoard is the 800 lb gorilla, but let us not fool ourselves. A lot more folks pay $450 a year to be a DEMA member than pay $100 a month to be a SB business sponsor.

No disrespect intended.

 

[scubadada]

Do you feel that burn?

I love Pete, Elena, and Howard. I also have enough sense to know that ScubaBoard serves a fraction of a percent of active divers. Yes, I am always surprised when I hear "Wookie?" in the grocery store, and in the world on internet diving, ScubaBoard is the 800 lb gorilla, but let us not fool ourselves. A lot more folks pay $450 a year to be a DEMA member than pay $100 a month to be a SB business sponsor.

No disrespect intended.

I'm sure they feel they must

 

[CuzzA]

???? LITTLE OVERHEAD ????

You must be kidding. Consider LeisurePro. They probably carry a stock volume that is well over 100 times the size of your LDS's stock. And they warehouse that stock in the NYC metropolitan area. That has quite a cost. Of course, they also sell alot which makes their operation quite efficient compare to your LDS.

It is not a 10% cost difference. It is often a 40% cost savings.

You mean the Leisure Pro that shares the building with Adorama store front? I'm talking about online warehouse sellers that have no store front. Being in Florida I've had the opportunity to explore some of these warehouses.

 

[cerich]

You mean the Leisure Pro that shares the building with Adorama store front? I'm talking about online warehouse sellers that have no store front. Being in Florida I've had the opportunity to explore some of these warehouses.

most even warehouse online stores spend more in a month on ads than a store front LDS spends on marketing in a year and over a year the online store ad buys are more than the difference between storefront and warehouse rent. The idea that a online business is cheaper than a storefront is false unless the online is really, really small from teh spare bedroom or big enough for scale of efficiency ..and NOBODY in diving is that big

 

[The Chairman]

I attended the last day (Saturday) of DEMA 2016. I did see an unattended booth for ScubaBoard there.

They love my money and the 'show' is the only thing they do half right. I've tried to support them, but that will be my last booth. I'm done.

 

[The Chairman]

Do you feel that burn?

I love Pete, Elena, and Howard. I also have enough sense to know that ScubaBoard serves a fraction of a percent of active divers. Yes, I am always surprised when I hear "Wookie?" in the grocery store, and in the world on internet diving, ScubaBoard is the 800 lb gorilla, but let us not fool ourselves. A lot more folks pay $450 a year to be a DEMA member than pay $100 a month to be a SB business sponsor.

No disrespect intended.

We are the best kept secret in the industry. Yet, we have the divers you're looking for. This had been a hard year. It shouldn't be.