I don't believe any women have shouted out on this. And, um, yeah. That's called SHOPPING guys. You know, that THING you HATE doing on a Sunday afternoon?
I'm in the market for a new dress. I know I need a dress. But, I'm not sure what I will like. I go to Macy's. I try on several dresses with the help of a sales associate. I then go to Dillards. And, again a lovely sales associate brings me several dresses. On Monday, an e-flyer comes in from Kohl's and I find a similar dress to the one in Macy's. I go online and I buy it. It qualifies for free shipping and I get the dress not only discounted (it is Kohl's after all) but the email also included a 10% coupon.
Am I wrong for doing this?
From what I can tell, a great many online dive retailers are also Bricks and Mortar. ScubaToys in Texas. DiveRightInScuba out of Illinois. These are traditional SCUBA retailers that have harnessed the power of the Internet and online retails sales. I don't live in either state, but I have bought from both. And, in both instances, I had phone support and incredible customer service. Both retailers will also work with online customers regarding fit. I had fins ordered and sent back to ScubaToys twice after I tried them in a local pool. You lose instant gratification, sure, but, if you are not out for instant gratification, the purchase experience is satisfactory and it works.
I know that there have been people that have gone to look and test drive a new car at Harry's GM on Main but ORDERED the same car from Larry over on South. Why? Larry threw in air freshener and a bug strip.
Competitive SHOPPING has been around for decades. It is not unique to the scuba industry. Would you tell a person who shopped for an HP laptop at Best Buy that he should lose sleep if he buys the same laptop from CompUSA that was cheaper? Is it the online that is problemsome, or is that the person used one to gain knowledge and then used that knowledge to make the best investment?
If retailers feel they are losing business to online sources, then they should hire a web developer to put their product line on their website and allow paypal/mastercard/visa purchases. Market themselves to a greater population than their local dive community. I ordered from DiveRightInScuba after a Google search for replacement SiTech rings.
There are plenty of online retailers that have quality customer satisfaction and will work with you to make the best purchase decision.
It's funny. The same thing happened in the camera industry. All the mom and pop camera outfits went out of business because of online retailers. I always buy my camera accessories online. But, if I wanted to go in to their store, I could. It would take a plane ticket to NYC, but the two stores I order form online are there. Solid buildings. Why, and more importantly, HOW, do they end up with the lion's share of online business and the local guy goes out of business?
I'm sure in some business school think tank, people are trying to solve this puzzle.