Why don't most brands sell service parts?
- Thread starter Etmutt
- Start date
Please register or login
Welcome to ScubaBoard, the world's largest scuba diving community. Registration is not required to read the forums, but we encourage you to join. Joining has its benefits and enables you to participate in the discussions.
Benefits of registering include
- Ability to post and comment on topics and discussions.
- A Free photo gallery to share your dive photos with the world.
- You can make this box go away
It's an acronym for Fear, Uncertainty, and Doubt. It's a common business tactic to spread FUD about competitors, unfortunately. Like when you go into a dive shop and every brand that they don't sell is described as junk that will kill you.
Eric Sedletzky
Contributor
I will never forget a certain dive shop just over the border here that was a "SP Platinum Dealer" (gives you a hint)... Then they became a "Big Blue H" dealer.... I stopped in one time asking them about HOG as it was catching on with the technical diver community. The answer, "poorly made cheap junk!" Funny how a few years later they became a retailer.... LOL
You, Sir, seem to be uncommonly blessed with really good dive shops!
On a smaller level, the whole not selling parts (see how I brought us back on topic?) Feeds into the the FUD of "it's life support equipment, leave it to professionals," and "it's life support equipment, if you tamper with it you'll die." If they made parts and manuals readily available and laid off the FUD, then the average diver wouldn't treat the gear as a magic talisman keeping them safe under water.... Then they might learn about the gear, which could lead to understanding. That would lead to them learning that most new models are the same 60s and 70s tech with a cosmetic change or two.... And we can't have that. Gear has had incremental improvements over the decades, but no real game changers... And if the average diver understood that, sales would drop drastically.
Respectfully,
James
It is really funny to see this happen in many industries. Many will disparage certain products/services/practices until they can make money of it.
Some people have zero ethics.
Eric Sedletzky
Contributor
At one time my LDS was the absolute worst example of what a dive shop should be. That’s what lead me to go the DIY route. There was a time when I swore I would never set foot in that shop again as long as that particular owner was there. But then he sold it to his general manager and it got better. Then the general manager wanted to retire so he left in in the care of his step son. The current guy is absolutely fantastic as you know (you’ve even benefited from their generosity). I have reciprocated with everything I learned in the DIY world specifically plates and tank cleaning tools, tank restoration, painting, etc. I’m also doing some cool T-shirt designs for them.
We work together and I feel like I’m finally “in”.
I might even start doing some reg servicing there.
The current reg tech (Jennifer) want’s to retire and they need someone. She’s also into vintage Scubapro and I turned her on to VDH. We always compare notes and geek out over all the cool old stuff. So it’s been great!
They are one shop that doesn’t spread FUD. They used to, but not anymore.
The old owner told me once that if I didn’t bring in my regs once a year I was really taking a chance with my life. He said that a reg not being used would wear them out faster than constant use.
Yeah OK
FUD it all!
I'll always recall the first time that I cracked open a regulator, as a teenage kid working at a long-defunct dive shop.
The old tech, a scary Navy guy who piloted a mine sweeper in doubya-doubya-two, gave us a couple of wrenches and screwdrivers, and a "have at it," until those first stages were disassembled to his satisfaction, and ready for the ultrasonic cleaner.
"Not much there" was my surprised response, when he asked me, even though I had seen the diagrams; and I was later told that that was what he wanted to hear. "No magic at all," were his words to us.
I heard something very similar when I had a friend visiting and we rebuilt a couple of her regulators -- a first time for her, seeing anything fully disassembled.
"That's it?"
Eric Sedletzky
Contributor
The first time I unscrewed an unbalanced piston the spring went flying and bounced around on the floor. I swore there must have been other stuff too as I scoured the ground because it seemed way to simple and not enough parts, but that was it.
It almost makes you feel like an idiot for believing SOME dive shops that you needed a note from god and a PhD to work on regs.
I got into DIY while I was in Korea... Bought a $25 Fleabay reg set to tear apart out of curiosity. I figured even if it never went back together $25 is cheap to learn about it. Got it apart, found VDH with their manuals, parts and videos, and started to learn how little things have changed since the Royal Aqua Master and the SP Mk5. I still dive those regs, lol.
Similar threads
