Why should I support my LDS?

[N2DeepInAz]

That is just not a reasonable question.

The question should be, " How far will I have to drive to get an air fill?" And the answer for most of us, even if you just randomly eliminated half of the LDS is probably less the 10 miles more than you drive today. I'd like to see Darwin do his thing.

Why do you need an LDS?? Because they make it easy. Especially if you are unwilling to learn about gear and don't want to waste time shopping.

You may not think it's a reasonable questions but it's a valid question. Also appears you didn't read my entire post. If my LDS closes, I'd have to drive 16 more miles out of my way just to get fills. I consider myself a very consistent diver, I dive on average of twice a week. Those miles would add up quickly and most likely eat into my diving budget.

Most people/divers are fickle. If they have to drive more than a few minutes they will give up because it's not convenient any longer. We live in an instant gratification world now. If kids can't get what they want right away they look elsewhere. Where else is there to go if all the LDS's are closed because no one purchases gear from them any further? All this cause people want to save a couple bucks.

It's the equivalent of driving two miles past the first grocery store to save a nickel on a loaf of bread at one further away.

 

[N2DeepInAz]

Anybody that wants to dive and doesn't have a place to get tank fills.

By the time you've bought some stage bottles, a half dozen tanks, a drysuit or two, three or four (or more regs), a few pair of DS underwear, maybe some doubles, a BC, a BP/W and all the other stuff that people eventually buy, blowing $4K on a compressor to save a 3 hour drive for tank fills doesn't sound that far out of line.

Right now, I can get great fills at my LDS, and there's little chance of them closing, however if they did, I certainly wouldn't give up diving.

Terry

I really don't think you're looking at this from a newer or vacation diver perspective. Based on the equipment you listed above you are not in the 'average diver' category. You have been doing this far too long and accumulated more equipment than most new vacation or occasional divers will ever dream of. So the cost of a compressor would never even cross the 'average divers' mindset as they don't dive with the frequency you do.

If the LDS isn't there to help these people they will move on to another sport and give up diving all together. The sport cannot survive without a continued influx of new divers. We need the LDS as much as they need us.

 

[RJP]

The sport cannot survive without a continued influx of new divers. We need the LDS as much as they need us.

What you are suggesting then is that it is the responsibility of the customer to keep the retailer in business.



It's silly for any retailer to believe this, but it's downright absurd for a customer to feel this way.

Trust me, no one is more loyal an LDS fan as I am. However, let's be clear: I do not "support" my LDS any more than I "support" my favorite pizza place or the guy who cuts my hair.

support - to bear or hold up; to undergo or endure, esp. with patience or submission; to sustain under trial or affliction; to provide aid or assistance; to tolerate

All of these places offer high-quality products and top-notch services from people I know and trust at a price that I find to be commensurate with the value I receive in exchange for my hard-earned money. That CREATES my loyalty, it is not CAUSED by my loyalty.

And knowing the individuals at my LDS (The Scuba Connection) - and my favorite pizza shop (Joe's Pizza) or where I get my hair cut (TRU) - they wouldn't have it any other way.

 

[a22shady]

If my LDS is not willing to support me as a Diver and a Good Customer. I would have no interest in supporting them. I guess for me I have a few dive shops in which I do business and each has there advantage's and have their value in certain Area's

As RJP has said I also Used "The Scuba Connection" www.diveseekers.com or
www.tscscuba.com
Which is a top of the line shop and Training is second to none. While they might not always have the lowest prices on gear they do their best to work with you. When it comes to other things "Service and Training" you would be hard to find one better. So you have to find that happy medium where it's worth it in your mind to pay for what you’re getting. If you feel it's not then look elsewhere.

 

[vladimir]

The sport cannot survive without a continued influx of new divers.

Who cares about "the sport"? As long as I have dive gear (and the stuff I have might very well last me the duration) and there are oceans, how is the sport going to die for me?

 

[RJP]

Who cares about "the sport"? As long as I have dive gear (and the stuff I have might very well last me the duration) and there are oceans, how is the sport going to die for me?

Indeed!

The sentiment of "supporting the sport" becomes by extension supporting other divers in addition to the retailer.

Marx Scuba Supply
"From each diver according to their ability..."

Established 1818​

 

[Belce]

Indeed!

The sentiment of "supporting the sport" becomes by extension supporting other divers in addition to the retailer.

Marx Scuba Supply
"From each diver according to their ability..."

Established 1818​

You miss the point of supporting, if you were not interested in supporting you would not be on this forum and we would never of had you even read here...

you are not walking your talk

 

[Thalassamania]

Humor is reason gone mad.

 

[RJP]

You miss the point of supporting, if you were not interested in supporting you would not be on this forum and we would never of had you even read here...

you are not walking your talk

There is no "point of supporting" to be missed. It's irrelevant.

I'm not here for anyone else but me. Neither are you. I'm here because I enjoy ScubaBoard. No other reason. So are you. If you think any differently, you're deluding yourself.

Don't get me wrong, this is not a bad thing. I'm not saying "screw you" to anyone by saying this, but rather conveying that the idea that someone else may benefit from my participation here, or my getting a hair-cut, or buying a pizza, or taking a scuba class, is entirely secondary to - and merely a pleasant byproduct of - my own satisfaction.

This is not some self-centered, hedonistic construct; it's the basic physiologic reality of the human condition. We seek situations that are pleasurable to ourselves and avoid situations that are not pleasurable. It's essential to our very survival and everything we do.

 

[RJP]

Humor is reason gone mad.

"I wouldn't want to train with any agency that would certify divers like me!"