We have fixed a number of manufacture scewups and never received a penny. We are still dealers but do not stock or sell sherwood or Genesis.
The Great local dive shop vs. online debate
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noshow
Contributor
I live in an area of about 10+ LDS within 10-45mins of home. I should be able to find anything I need and then be able to support them. I think with some research online, the shops come in relativly fair and in turn get supported. If they do not (with my understanding that they are there to make money and are not a charity) then they will not get the business. Bottom line, if the LDS have the stuff one is looking for and come within reason to the "rock bottom" online prices, I feel the little extra $ is well worth the interaction, service, support each party gets... Some people however don't have this luxury, to each their own.
Tell that to the shops who quoted me $500 more for a drysuit than the one I bought from. That's what, a 50% markup or so?
Every dive shop quoted MSRP, then threw in a "discount", which varied by shop.
I wonder what the invoice price is on those $10.00 - $20.00 clear plastic computer screen covers.....
I agree: what Sherwood is doing to its dealers really does suck.
Retail stinks!!! The distributor wants to get rich by selling junk and running con games and the diver wants things for $10 over cost. Then they want someone there at the snap of the finger and all for a ten dollar markup on something that you paid hundsreds of dollars for and sat on for a year and a half. Then the thing doesn't work and the distrbutor wants you to fix it for free. I could make more money if I dug a whole, covered it up and waited for it to grow. All retail should go to diveinn. I should have no responsibility for it. I should teach and be paid a reasonable amount for it.
It will get me in trouble, but that has happened before, If some of you really want to know what the score is PM me. We can talk about what the stuff costs the lds, what the overhead is and how much time goes in to selling the average widget. Then you tell me what the markup should be. If you can make the numbers work then you can have the stuff for that price. FROM ME. I say the services that people expect from an lds can not be provided for what you want to pay. Show me where I am wrong. I am open to suggestions. Show me the numbers and you may get a really great deal!
It will get me in trouble, but that has happened before, If some of you really want to know what the score is PM me. We can talk about what the stuff costs the lds, what the overhead is and how much time goes in to selling the average widget. Then you tell me what the markup should be. If you can make the numbers work then you can have the stuff for that price. FROM ME. I say the services that people expect from an lds can not be provided for what you want to pay. Show me where I am wrong. I am open to suggestions. Show me the numbers and you may get a really great deal!
Hey, I have no problem with a reasonable markup at all. I'd be an idiot if I did. :shrug:
However....
- none of the shops had the suit in stock, so none of the shops had a single cent tied up in inventory costs on it.
- repairs on the suit generally require sending back to the manufacturer (or so I'm told), if it's something I can't handle myself. Might as well send it back directly instead of shipping it to the dive shop and letting them pass it along, so little or no post-sale hassle for the dealer.
- there was no significant time spent on dealing with the customer (I took responsibility for the fitting myself).
So what would you consider a reasonable markup for this?
I paid around $150 - $200 over low-volume invoice, more than that for high-volume pricing. Sounds reasonable for doing little more really than receiving the shipment and forwarding it to me. But....
Most shops tried to hit me for an extra $500 beyond that....$650 - $700 operating profit for doing nothing more than acting as a shipping point. Where's the value in that?
How would you feel if you were me?
And as a dive shop owner, would you go for the sure $150-$200, or would you try to hit a home run ($650-$700)?
However....
- none of the shops had the suit in stock, so none of the shops had a single cent tied up in inventory costs on it.
- repairs on the suit generally require sending back to the manufacturer (or so I'm told), if it's something I can't handle myself. Might as well send it back directly instead of shipping it to the dive shop and letting them pass it along, so little or no post-sale hassle for the dealer.
- there was no significant time spent on dealing with the customer (I took responsibility for the fitting myself).
So what would you consider a reasonable markup for this?
I paid around $150 - $200 over low-volume invoice, more than that for high-volume pricing. Sounds reasonable for doing little more really than receiving the shipment and forwarding it to me. But....
Most shops tried to hit me for an extra $500 beyond that....$650 - $700 operating profit for doing nothing more than acting as a shipping point. Where's the value in that?
How would you feel if you were me?
And as a dive shop owner, would you go for the sure $150-$200, or would you try to hit a home run ($650-$700)?
art.chick
Contributor
It has been previously pointed out to me on other threads that some towns have really unfair LDSs that need competition from the net to straighten out bad business practices, but my experience has been this: when I buy from my great LDSs (2 in particular), they stand behind the products, give reasonably-priced (sometimes free) repairs & maintenence without having to send stuff away. They sell me quality second-hand stuff (not the junk my friends have gotten on E-bay), and offer me deals for multiple purchases. They give FREE airfills to attract business! They offer classes & sponsor clubs. I already know I won't find that online.
So - from what I can see, most folk who are online averse reason that they want to see and try the goods. You can have it both ways.
I have recently been looking at dive computers. Nothing fancy, straightforward air-only wrist model. I'm pretty new to diving and didn't want to go crazy on first purchase.
Well, I looked at several LDS. Selected the Uwatec Sport Plus, then tried to get a decent price. Most quoted mrsp. Leisure Pro's price was 40% less. So, after I actually checked out the item, tried its features and made my decision, I bought from LP.
They delivered within 48 hours, matched the manufacturer's warranty and saved me big bucks.
I'm a little more hesitant about regs and such, but if I can size a BC and select the one I want at an LDS - and they don't make a competitive offer on price - it's going to be Leisure Pro every time.
I have recently been looking at dive computers. Nothing fancy, straightforward air-only wrist model. I'm pretty new to diving and didn't want to go crazy on first purchase.
Well, I looked at several LDS. Selected the Uwatec Sport Plus, then tried to get a decent price. Most quoted mrsp. Leisure Pro's price was 40% less. So, after I actually checked out the item, tried its features and made my decision, I bought from LP.
They delivered within 48 hours, matched the manufacturer's warranty and saved me big bucks.
I'm a little more hesitant about regs and such, but if I can size a BC and select the one I want at an LDS - and they don't make a competitive offer on price - it's going to be Leisure Pro every time.
I can give you a recommendation on Leisure Pro based on my own first experience of using their service.
Ordered an Uwatec Sport Plus computer and had it in 48 hours. All boxed up safely, full warranty to match manufacturers - and 40% cheaper than any LDS would sell it to me.
I love the Leisure Pro website. It's easy to search, quotes clearly and your selections are simple. One criticism, some items lack illustrations (but I've usually checked them out at an LDS anyway!)
I expect to use LP for a lot of small items.
Ordered an Uwatec Sport Plus computer and had it in 48 hours. All boxed up safely, full warranty to match manufacturers - and 40% cheaper than any LDS would sell it to me.
I love the Leisure Pro website. It's easy to search, quotes clearly and your selections are simple. One criticism, some items lack illustrations (but I've usually checked them out at an LDS anyway!)
I expect to use LP for a lot of small items.
I am all for buying online but not after abusing the trust that a LDS is giving you. Everytime you touch their merchandise, everytime you play around with it you damage it. As soon as you play with the computer the value drops by about 30% if not more. The markups that they charge are to pay for the merchandise that you and others like you damage (i.e. through use and testing), to pay for staff to explain to you how things work, cost of inventory that they keep on hand so that you can buy and walk out with the merchandise immediately etc etc. Now I agree that if they can't make their business model work that is their problem. However you cannot have it both ways, you are abusing the trust that the LDS is giving you.
One of the key skills that a LDS owner must have is to be able to quickly identify who is jerking them around and not waste too much time with those people. I highly recommend a book called "high probability selling" which is all about identifying whether a customer is going to buy or not and then allowing yourself (LDS owner) not to waste much time if they aren't.
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So - from what I can see, most folk who are online averse reason that they want to see and try the goods. You can have it both ways.
I have recently been looking at dive computers. Nothing fancy, straightforward air-only wrist model. I'm pretty new to diving and didn't want to go crazy on first purchase.
Well, I looked at several LDS. Selected the Uwatec Sport Plus, then tried to get a decent price. Most quoted mrsp. Leisure Pro's price was 40% less. So, after I actually checked out the item, tried its features and made my decision, I bought from LP.
They delivered within 48 hours, matched the manufacturer's warranty and saved me big bucks.
I'm a little more hesitant about regs and such, but if I can size a BC and select the one I want at an LDS - and they don't make a competitive offer on price - it's going to be Leisure Pro every time.
One of the key skills that a LDS owner must have is to be able to quickly identify who is jerking them around and not waste too much time with those people. I highly recommend a book called "high probability selling" which is all about identifying whether a customer is going to buy or not and then allowing yourself (LDS owner) not to waste much time if they aren't.
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So - from what I can see, most folk who are online averse reason that they want to see and try the goods. You can have it both ways.
I have recently been looking at dive computers. Nothing fancy, straightforward air-only wrist model. I'm pretty new to diving and didn't want to go crazy on first purchase.
Well, I looked at several LDS. Selected the Uwatec Sport Plus, then tried to get a decent price. Most quoted mrsp. Leisure Pro's price was 40% less. So, after I actually checked out the item, tried its features and made my decision, I bought from LP.
They delivered within 48 hours, matched the manufacturer's warranty and saved me big bucks.
I'm a little more hesitant about regs and such, but if I can size a BC and select the one I want at an LDS - and they don't make a competitive offer on price - it's going to be Leisure Pro every time.
Achen - I respect your view, you're clearly entitled to your own opinion. Frankly, I doubt that damage occurs frequently - or anything but rarely - to computers and other gear checked out in an LDS. I'm absolutely certain that I would not buy anything on which my life potentially depended without knowing how it works, what it does and that I'm comfortable with it.
If it gives you any comfort, I invested heavily yesterday in an LDS, where I bought a BC, Reg and Console. Yes, I paid over the odds against an online purchase, but I have exactly what I wanted, know it fits and that I can get servicing and support.
So why, after what I said earlier? Because I'm human and rational choices aren't always applicable.
Enjoy your diving!
If it gives you any comfort, I invested heavily yesterday in an LDS, where I bought a BC, Reg and Console. Yes, I paid over the odds against an online purchase, but I have exactly what I wanted, know it fits and that I can get servicing and support.
So why, after what I said earlier? Because I'm human and rational choices aren't always applicable.
Enjoy your diving!
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