Zeagle?

[diverralphee]

Hi Everyone,

I'm a new diver near Dallas and have really been bitten by the bug and want to purchase my own gear. My instuctor has a Zeagle Ranger that he swears by. I am interested in the Zeagle brand and probably will go the Ranger in talking with my LDS the owner is slowly letting their Zeagle dry up. I ask him about this and he said that he feels that Zeagle has really let down their established dealer network due to the introduction of the "Brigade" at Scubatoys.com. He says this is against Zeagle's previous stated intent of not selling via the internet. The Ranger BC is a lot cheaper at Scubatoys rather then the LDS. So maybe someone from Zeagle could explain what the official response is?

Thanks,
Ralph

 

[mike_s]

If you're in Dallas area.. then ScubaToys is a LDS to that area...
So you could still buy it local.

why send a PM to Scott Zeagle

I'm sure he'd be glad to post a reply here....

 

[jonnythan]

It sucks for your LDS, but it's good for consumers for manufacturers to remove restrictions they place on resellers.

 

[redacted]

It sucks for your LDS, but it's good for consumers for manufacturers to remove restrictions they place on resellers.

It only sucks for the bad ones who need to have protection and can't deal with competition.

 

[jonnythan]

It only sucks for the bad ones who need to have protection and can't deal with competition.

I did say HIS LDS

 

[Debraw]

We sell Zeagle in the Arlington area and we (as an LDS) don't feel that Zeagle has let us down. The Brigade is a great idea and Larry invented it, why shouldn't he profit from it? I just picked up Zeagle in the last few months and I could not be happier! We sell Zeagle competitively priced with the internet and we are very happy with our results. It's time LDS's get a clue, the internet is here to stay.

 

[ScottZeagle]

Ralph,

I think Debra answered the question as well as I could. The internet is a viable marketing tool, and Larry and many others have embraced it and used it to their advantage.

As for the Brigade - ANY ZEAGLE DEALER can have a "special" BC made for their store - not just Scuba Toys. The problem is, not every dealer wants (or simply is financially unable) to carry that much stock. Larry doesn't order Brigade BCs 1, 2, or even 25 at a time. He buys in bulk!

Hope this answers your question....

Scott

 

[DiveMaven]

Frankly, I'd wonder about your LDS's business model and practices when he blames one product (the Brigade) that is hurting their entire Zeagle sales. Why don't you wander down to ScubaToys and check the place out? Maybe after walking through the store and talking with their employees (and maybe even chatting with Larry), you'll understand why they are so successful. You also will have a great opportunity to try on a bunch of Zeagle BC's, not just the Ranger, and Larry will probably let you even try them out in his pool so you can pick just the right one. Heck, you might even like the Brigade and buy one for yourself! :05:

I'm so thankful for Larry being able to sell Zeagle on-line. One things for sure, I wouldn't have my Zena BC or my Envoy regs if that were the case since my LDS wanted almost twice what I paid at ScubaToys.

 

[diverralphee]

Everyone thanks for the info. I guess it was my misunderstanding that Zeagle does not or did not allow internet sales. I was under the impression that orginally Zeagle did not allow internet sales but by all the posts that is no longer the case. I think what my LDS is that he is pissed because Zeagle has changed their policy towards internet sales which has cut down his profit margin due ScubaToys buying the stuff by the hundreds if not thousands and flooding the market with gear that they can sell a lot cheaper then he can. This is all good for ScubaToys.com and of course Zeagle who can blame them if someone has hundreds of thousands of dollars knocking on their door I would probably change my policy as well.

I'll drop by next time I'm in the area.

Thanks,
Ralph

 

[ScottZeagle]

We changed the internet policy almost 3 years ago.

The Brigade has only been around since sometime in 2004, and Scuba Toys has been a Zeagle dealer since 1999, if I recall correctly.

Sounds like "sour grapes" to me...

Scott