Do you pay double just to support LDS?

[k ellis]

Bartering is totally acceptable in my mind. Any good salesman will drop the price a bit to keep business. Sure they lose a mark-up, but at least they get some of it.

Kind of reminds me of an old saying i heard years ago. When debt collectors start calling just turn the ringer off and call the people who you owe. Since a collections company takes as much as 25 percent of the take when they collect often times the person who is owed will negotiate a fair price since they are going to loose either way.

 

[smootie]

I've been shopping for equipment locally, and have found that all the LDSs will drop their prices, but only to the extent that they are allowed to by the manufacturer. It appears that Oceanic, for example, allows only a 10% discount excluding special promos. Grey market goods can be discounted more steeply.

 

[Insta-Gator]

My LDS is very good about matching or getting very close to the online prices on most stuff. Plus, items that require good fit and/or warranty, I purchase at the LDS. Small ancillary items I will order online.

 

[jar546]

Computers, BCD's, Regulators, Drysuits-LDS for service and warranty
Wetsuits, mask fin snorkel, most accessories- LDS or online

Tell the LDS you are price shopping but would prefer to buy from them if they are competitive. Some LDS's just don't get it and are poor business people, some do and realize the benefit of knowing how to compete.

LDS's are often held buy a manufacturer's price schedule. Bundling equipment can help to eliminate that.

I have personally purchased 80% of my equipment from the LDS but when they are out of stock or don't carry something I buy wherever I need to.

 

[Diversauras]

Be sure to tell your LDS that you couldn’t care less how much it costs to keep a 300,000 thousand dollar compressor running, or the cost of changing filters or the up front costs or storing the O2 needed to make the Nitrox, or the rental tanks or the 30,000 dollar initial buy on spare parts to service customer and rental dive equipment. Oh and make sure that that you tell them that you don’t want to pay to keep their staff on hand or the rent or insurance to keep their doors open or the pool clean.

When a student walks through the front door wanting an OW dive course you should think about what he or she is getting for the 250 or what ever the going rate is today. The instructor pays several hundred a year into insurance, or maybe the shop pays it for him, remember that the gear used in training has a value of a couple of thousand maybe, BC, tanks, an assortment of weights and belts, regulators that work properly even though they are regularly abused by students that don’t yet know better. Remember the cost of getting to the dive site and the time involved in the teaching of the class and the time to make the dives with students, both pool and open water. To make a profit on dive classes it would be logical that the classes cost thousands, not hundreds, make sure you tell the LDS that this is not your problem and that you don’t want to pay for any of this…

Think about how much it is going to cost to have you own compressor and all the associated filters and storage banks and how much it is going to cost to trailer all this to the dive sites because when you kill off the LDS that is what you are going to have to do.

Just sayin…

 

[Randy43068]

To the OP's question:

In a word, no.

I shop the Internet for used gear, and sometimes new depending on what I'm looking for.
There are some things I'll get from the local dive store, depending on how badly I need something. But in general, my first priority is to be a good steward of MY own money. I'll bet that LDS doesn't pay the highest prices just to support other businesses. They shop for the best bargains, just like you and I should be doing.

 

[RJP]

Do you pay double just to support LDS?

I don't support my LDS at all.

I do however shop there... because they support me.

 

[CT Sean]

Be sure to tell your LDS that you couldn’t care less how much it costs to keep a 300,000 thousand dollar compressor running, or the cost of changing filters or the up front costs or storing the O2 needed to make the Nitrox, or the rental tanks or the 30,000 dollar initial buy on spare parts to service customer and rental dive equipment. Oh and make sure that that you tell them that you don’t want to pay to keep their staff on hand or the rent or insurance to keep their doors open or the pool clean.

When a student walks through the front door wanting an OW dive course you should think about what he or she is getting for the 250 or what ever the going rate is today. The instructor pays several hundred a year into insurance, or maybe the shop pays it for him, remember that the gear used in training has a value of a couple of thousand maybe, BC, tanks, an assortment of weights and belts, regulators that work properly even though they are regularly abused by students that don’t yet know better. Remember the cost of getting to the dive site and the time involved in the teaching of the class and the time to make the dives with students, both pool and open water. To make a profit on dive classes it would be logical that the classes cost thousands, not hundreds, make sure you tell the LDS that this is not your problem and that you don’t want to pay for any of this…

Think about how much it is going to cost to have you own compressor and all the associated filters and storage banks and how much it is going to cost to trailer all this to the dive sites because when you kill off the LDS that is what you are going to have to do.

Just sayin…

15 posts before the "where will you get your air?" comes up - not too bad. So what you are saying is you'll gladly pay the 100% over retail because the LDS really needs that extra money?

 

[vladimir]

Be sure to tell your LDS that you couldn’t care less how much it costs to keep a 300,000 thousand dollar compressor running, or the cost of changing filters or the up front costs or storing the O2 needed to make the Nitrox, or the rental tanks or the 30,000 dollar initial buy on spare parts to service customer and rental dive equipment. Oh and make sure that that you tell them that you don’t want to pay to keep their staff on hand or the rent or insurance to keep their doors open or the pool clean.

When a student walks through the front door wanting an OW dive course you should think about what he or she is getting for the 250 or what ever the going rate is today. The instructor pays several hundred a year into insurance, or maybe the shop pays it for him, remember that the gear used in training has a value of a couple of thousand maybe, BC, tanks, an assortment of weights and belts, regulators that work properly even though they are regularly abused by students that don’t yet know better. Remember the cost of getting to the dive site and the time involved in the teaching of the class and the time to make the dives with students, both pool and open water. To make a profit on dive classes it would be logical that the classes cost thousands, not hundreds, make sure you tell the LDS that this is not your problem and that you don’t want to pay for any of this…

Think about how much it is going to cost to have you own compressor and all the associated filters and storage banks and how much it is going to cost to trailer all this to the dive sites because when you kill off the LDS that is what you are going to have to do.

Just sayin…

When I go fill up my gas tank, should I ask the guy how much capital he invested in state-of-the-art pumps? How much it costs to maintain the underground tanks? How much it costs to comply with relevant OSHA regulations? Because for a few decades I've just compared the price to the gas station across the street and acted accordingly.

 

[Randy43068]

Good point. I'll go where the compressor cost is lower. I don't need that kind of complexity for air.

Be sure to tell your LDS that you couldn’t care less how much it costs to keep a 300,000 thousand dollar compressor running, or the cost of changing filters or the up front costs or storing the O2 needed to make the Nitrox, or the rental tanks or the 30,000 dollar initial buy on spare parts to service customer and rental dive equipment. Oh and make sure that that you tell them that you don’t want to pay to keep their staff on hand or the rent or insurance to keep their doors open or the pool clean.

When a student walks through the front door wanting an OW dive course you should think about what he or she is getting for the 250 or what ever the going rate is today. The instructor pays several hundred a year into insurance, or maybe the shop pays it for him, remember that the gear used in training has a value of a couple of thousand maybe, BC, tanks, an assortment of weights and belts, regulators that work properly even though they are regularly abused by students that don’t yet know better. Remember the cost of getting to the dive site and the time involved in the teaching of the class and the time to make the dives with students, both pool and open water. To make a profit on dive classes it would be logical that the classes cost thousands, not hundreds, make sure you tell the LDS that this is not your problem and that you don’t want to pay for any of this…

Think about how much it is going to cost to have you own compressor and all the associated filters and storage banks and how much it is going to cost to trailer all this to the dive sites because when you kill off the LDS that is what you are going to have to do.

Just sayin…