WHY Dive shops make you Feel GUILTY ???

[pilot fish]

Agreed, dude..

phewwwwwwwwwwwww.

Remember the last line of Casablanca?

 

[pilot fish]

You should check the FD's air testing report.

Air that's perfectly good to breathe at 1 ATA may be a completely different story at 4 ATA.

Terry

ATA boy

 

[wedivebc]

Our LDS's certified over 1000 divers last year. My guesss is that 90% of them purchased ALL their personal gear from them. At $65 for a mask I can purchase at LP for $25, THAT is a LOT of business, and THAT is why I'm rather convinced they will NOT lower the prices. They get new divers in all the time, they are NOT Dive Gear shopping savvy, they do NOT know what they need, or what will fit, and they DO purchase from the LDS.

All that said, I drive 1/2 each way to GET to the LDS, and there are about a dozen within that distance... if a couple go under I have little concern as there are MANY who are doing a booming business in our area. The owners drive the cars to prove it!!

I live on an island that is 300 miles long and has less than 750,000 people. There are about 15 dive stores that I can think of to "service" that population. If one of them go under they leave a big hole to fill.

 

[RonFrank]

There are way more than two sides ... every shop, every online retailer, every employee, is an individual. Ultimately, regardless of who you choose to do business with, the quality of service you get depends on the individual ... not whether they work at a brick-n-mortar business or an online one.

And, as a consumer, it's up to you to educate yourself on your purchases, rather than relying on an employee of a business who's trying to sell you something to do it for you.

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

That is where management CAN to come into play. They should establish policies that ALL the sales reps follow so they present a unified front rather than one of division and confusion or mistrust.

As for the education part of it... absolutely 100% true. I don't make any major purchases without doing a bit of homework first.

 

[miketsp]

First off, the LDS SHOULD put new regs, and BCD's, on the bench, and check them out. This is going to result in them NOT being exactly in the condition they came from the manufacture.

Second, most LDS's have rental equipment, and generally they perfer to let the customer try that. However they ALSO have return policies JUST LIKE ONLINE Vendors. So is there a chance that what you purchase from EITHER an LDS OR an Online vendor is going to be opened or slightly used... possibly. However most retail shops sell return gear as open box (which means you generally STILL pay a LOT more then online prices) however I've definately got some stuff from LP that was NOT in a sealed box. The contents did NOT appear used, but it could have definately been on display (A knife).

Third, for the most part who cares? I certainly would return merchandise that looked used, but if it has been in the water once does that really detract from the value?

Who cares? I do.
Many regs nowadays come from the manufacturer O2 clean to 100%. Somebody tries it on dirty air, blows water into the first stage and then puts it back into the box and returns it. Outside it looks perfect.
If I buy a used reg, the first thing I do is have it serviced. I don't expect to have to service a new reg for at least 12 months.

I would expect at least the same standards in dive gear as I have found in other lines. Electronics for example.
I have some equipment at home which I bought in the USA in a major electronics outlet for 50% of the usual price because it was returned equipment. Equipment that somebody bought with the option of returning it in 2 weeks for a full no questions refund. Even though it was returned absolutely impeccable - it just sat on somebodies shelf for a week, the shop was prohibited to sell it as new. At least that's what the salesman told me. Apart from a label on the box saying "returned" there was no way I could tell it was used. It had gone back to the manufacturer for retest and repacking and came with a new warranty card.

I would expect no less for life support gear.

 

[pilot fish]

Who cares? I do.
Many regs nowadays come from the manufacturer O2 clean to 100%. Somebody tries it on dirty air, blows water into the first stage and then puts it back into the box and returns it. Outside it looks perfect.
If I buy a used reg, the first thing I do is have it serviced. I don't expect to have to service a new reg for at least 12 months.

I would expect at least the same standards in dive gear as I have found in other lines. Electronics for example.
I have some equipment at home which I bought in the USA in a major electronics outlet for 50% of the usual price because it was returned equipment. Equipment that somebody bought with the option of returning it in 2 weeks for a full no questions refund. Even though it was returned absolutely impeccable - it just sat on somebodies shelf for a week, the shop was prohibited to sell it as new. At least that's what the saleman told me. Apart from a label on the box saying "returned" there was no way I could tell it was used. It had gone back to the manufacturer for retest and repacking and came with a new warranty card.

I would expect no less for life support gear.

That is an excellent point, Mike. That is why you need to be extremely careful when you buy life support scuba dive gear.

 

[scubapro50]

I guess most of the people complaining about prices won't be happy until WAL MART starts selling scuba gear in their sporting goods department ... we can then expect the "lowest price everyday" and absolutely nobody in the store to know anything about the equipment or how to use it.

 

[kidspot]

I guess most of the people complaining about prices won't be happy until WAL MART starts selling scuba gear in their sporting goods department ... we can then expect the "lowest price everyday" and absolutely nobody in the store to know anything about the equipment or how to use it.

You mean your Wal-Mart doesn't yet? j/k

 

[jonnythan]

I guess most of the people complaining about prices won't be happy until WAL MART starts selling scuba gear in their sporting goods department ... we can then expect the "lowest price everyday" and absolutely nobody in the store to know anything about the equipment or how to use it.

You know... I'm totally fine with that.

I wish they sold everything that way. I automatically don't trust anyone who has a vested interest in selling me something, so I get my advise elsewhere.

 

[lairdb]

I like my local dive shop, and have never paid "Full Retail Price" for anything there. However, I am a little turned off by the fact that they feel they should mark everything up to the point that the customer has to ask why things are so expensive. Can you imagine if you actually walked into a local dive shop and the prices were compareable to internet browsing? I would probably die of a heart attack. My problem is, that someone coming in that is looking into getting into diving is so turned off by browsing and the outrageous prices, it makes it hard to even trust the LDS. If you went into the grocery store and lettuce was $12 a head, wouldn't you wonder if you could trust that store when the guy comes up and says "Oh, don't worry about that, we can cut you a deal on the lettuce." I mean what else have they "lied" about?

Yes, that is a real pain. It's like buying a car.

No, it's like buying a car used to be. The pendulum has swung, at least for a while -- some businesses have figured that out, and are doing fair business with the informed buyer, others haven't and continue to base their business model on suckering the public*.

(N.B.: While Mencken may have been right, I'd still rather deal with the first type of business.)