The Great local dive shop vs. online debate

[metridium]

DiverBuoy wrote...

1. Consumers (majority of posters on this thread) want best price at all cost. They are convinced that the LDS will eventually have to give in to the pricing that Internet only dive shops (IDS) have.

Still can't bring yourself to admit this is a Leisure Pro thing, eh?

DiverBuoy wrote...
2. Manufacturers are almost solely to blame. No question running brick and morter involves greater overhead - which doesn't hinder a pure IDS.

Only if you're talking about LP; other online shops in this thread tend to have HIGHER overhead costs than pure "brick and mortar" shops.

DiverBuoy wrote...
The discussion came up that Scuba Pro has been hurting competitively with Mfgs that have turned their attention to really pushing high volume product through Internet vehicles.

Color me savagely delighted.

 

[dotyj]

My shop owner knows I buy from eBay and other online sources. I run everything past him first.

I also buy from my shop owner. Mask, fins, snorkel, dive wheel, training.

I spend more money at my LDS than I do online.

I work for a school district in a non-teaching position. The pay is horribly below market value for what I do. I can not afford to spend all my scuba money at my LDS. Heck, it took me three months to pay for my training.

 

[MSilvia]

I just got an Apeks reg and second online, and got a great deal (though not as good as Raxafarian). Since it wasn't from a "trusted" source, I took it to my LDS for tuning and pre-use service. I also bought a pony and SPG while I was there, and had my tanks VISed. It would be awfully hard for him to complain about that.

 

[PA/NJdiver]

I work for a shop that if you buy any gear on line, and you let the shop owner know about it, he doesn't want you in the store. We have had several people call about buying on line vs. his shop, and he does not want to deal with you. I don't understand this logic. If they need a regulator services or air fills, they still have to walk through the shop. They still have the potential of buying something just like MSilvia did. To me, it's short sighted on his part. I haven't discussed his reasoning yet, but I'm sure it will be an interesting talk.

 

[MSilvia]

I'd love to hear his reasoning. Alienating divers sounds like a good way to burn bridges and put yourself out of business to me.

How does he feel about divers who buy from other LDSs?

 

[Welshman]

I'd go with Mo2vation. Be upfront but don't rub the guy's nose in it. So you bought something online. Rumour has it that you live in a free country.

Regards

 

[MikeFerrara]

Right or wrong, shop owners are frustrated and feel their backs are against the wall. They feel the need to lash out. The services divers come to the shaop for just happen to be the ones that we don't make much for. Air service ect. It may be due to a flawed business model but it's true. If I had enough regs to service and tanks to visual to keep me busy all day I would be closed in a month. We make the money if we sell stuff thats it. Training, if it don't sell equipment it's a waist of time. Air, I'll never sell enough air to get back what the compressor costs. I have to have air to be called a DS (need it to get some dealerships) and I need it to fill tanks for students. When someone comes in for a fill they are just putting hours on the machine that I need for myself. Travel, the only reason to sell travel is to keep people diving so they buy gear all we get on travel is a free spot. travel costs us money if it don't sell gear. If the travel we sell creates sales for the online stores we won't bother. Now how hard (in a frustrated state of mind) is it to just tell someone to stay out of your shop.

I don't know about other shop owners but there are two things keeping me open. The first is that if I close I loose all I invested with no chance of ever getting anything back. The second is the few customers who do find value in what we do and want us here. If I can come to terms with loosing my life savings and breaking the hearts of a few I AM OUT OF HERE.

As for the vacation divers who buy gear online and buy a bottle or two of defog per year and maybe have one reg serviced (usually not though because they buy brands online that I can't service) during the year or come in for a tank fill or vip for their once a year local quarry dive why is it I would care if they never came in?

Some say we don't understand business. that's not true. I understand all too well what is required to make money in the recreational dive business. It just isn't something we really want to do. I will say that when we got into this we didn't know what we were getting into though.

It does no good to be pissy with the "customer" but go loose your life savings and see if it doesn't piss you off a little.

 

[subdude]

"I received it as a gift." This is not a lie since it was a gift to yourself.

subdude

 

[The Chairman]

to cover up for doing what is your choice. My LDS does not even carry the gear I want to buy. How on earth can they sell it to me? OTOH, if I don't buy from them what I can, I may be spending some time on that ol' bicycle pump a fillin' my tanks! I can feel my arms burn now!

 

[MSilvia]

You might care if, as is the case with several of my friends, he was a poor/cheap diver who had buddies who love to spend money on dive gear. If my social worker friend Brian told me that such and such a dive shop had told him not to come back, that shop would lose my business as well, and all my diving friends would definately hear about it. No matter where they buy their gear, divers are a community, and word gets around.

If one diver doesn't make you any money, is that worth losing the business of his friends? The guy you just kicked out might be the one who would have brought in 3 friends the next month for OW classes and a few thousand dollars worth of gear, if you had been friendly about selling him a $5 clip for the $300 console he just bought online.

I have two friends getting certified in the spring, and they both came to me for recommendations about what shop to go to. Guess which one I sent them to... yup, it's the one who gives me the same high quality service wether I go in for an o-ring, gear service, or a new set of doubles.

MikeFerrara once bubbled...
As for the vacation divers who buy gear online and buy a bottle or two of defog per year and maybe have one reg serviced (usually not though because they buy brands online that I can't service) during the year or come in for a tank fill or vip for their once a year local quarry dive why is it I would care if they never came in?