cornfed once bubbled...
I find it hard to believe that they trying to stop the undercutting. If they were serious about it they would simply let LDS sell at any price they wanted while still offering their warrantee.
As I said above, I agree. If I thought the manufacturers were smart, I would say they are even in favor of it. Short-term, they sell more product at the same margins. Longer-term, they will completely disintermediate (replace) the sales channel and go direct to consumers. They can't do it directly and risk upseting the LDS -- so they let LP, et. al. do it for them. Then they go in and take out LP by offering direct to consumers at the prices above what they charge LDS but below what LP can offer AND they have mfg's warranty.
By doing that the LDS could (if they choose to) sell at prices competitive to those online and offer personal service. By sticking to these stupid price fixing schemes the manufactures are killing the shops not the consumers.
Cornfed
At least with Zeagle, LDSs can sell at any price, they just can't advertise at any price discounted by more that 15% of MSRP. Obviously that hamstrings the LDSs ability to use the internet to sell AND most LDS don't serve a large enough market to offer competitive prices.
LP, et. al, don't have pools, retail shop space, classroom, liablity insurance, multiple sales staff (qualified or otherwise). Therefore their margins can be much thinner. This completely ignores the economic advantage achieved by way that much of LP's inventory is acquired -- at fireside sales as LDS go out of business OR 'underground' from LDS trying to get greater volume discounts.
Its easy to say "..just sell at prices competitive to online and offer personal service." With the economic advantages LP, et. al. have, it just isn't possible. New divers MIGHT value the personal service enough to warrant slightly higher prices, but those prices won't be enough to sustain the entire overhead of an LDS.
I continue with my hypothesis that over the next decade equipment sales and repair will come direct from the Manufacturer/assembler (e.g. DELL). Education will be a combination of internet-based and independent instructors. Travel will be internet-based. Air fills will be handled by automated fill station at your local sporting goods retailer who wants foot traffic for their mass-market goods.
The other possiblity is that some mass-market retailer (Wal-Mart, Sport Chalet, Sport xxx) will survive and grow bringing enough scale and variety to cover their overhead and allow lower prices. Of course, why they would dedicate expensive retail floorspace to low margin products, when they can sell high margin goods escapes me....but maybe someone in mgmt likes to dive.
Otter
did you check with other places like diveinn?
