LDS Charging to TRY ON wetsuits???

[cruiser]

Charging shoppers to try on a wetsuit is just tacky.

 

[Randy43068]

It's even more tacky for a customer to use the LDS as a fitting room with no intention of buying from them.

 

[a22shady]

a fee for simply trying on a wetsuit is rediculous and personally I understand where they are coming from but Would never shops there again. Now my Shop I use does charge for certain things like "Trying" out a BC or regulators in there pool which is reasonable since your using there Tanks, pool etc. There is about a 50.00 fee but if you purchase whatever it is your trying they apply all the money towards the Item and if you go else where they keep what you paid but if your able to save 2x more than it makes sense and most wouldnt have a problem paying the money to find out thet like something. Again typically a Diveshop in this case will work with you in reason but a fee for simply trying something on is obsurd

 

[redacted]

Charging shoppers to try on a wetsuit is just tacky.

It reminds me of a mail order bride operation.

It's even more tacky for a customer to use the LDS as a fitting room with no intention of buying from them.

Have you forgotten your youth?

 

[scuba=dude]

I have heard alot of dive shop people saying they can't make it if they have to compete with the NET or they will die and the scuba comuity needs them.......OK to a piont.......I have been in alot of dive shops that the only thing they have to sell is 80/80 reef dives and little or nothing else. I don't dive reefs so there really not doing a thing for me, I go into a dive shop as I'm looking for some twiget or a nother mostly to not find it, then to have them tell me they can order it...I can do that too and I can get it faster and cheaper. So most of use know all that as well. Heres the one that takes the cake.......I go into a dive shop in Oragen and find a swivel that I was looking for and payed for it then and there $45, diver shop person there telling me all about how BAD it is for divers to buy on-line for all the BAD things that happen becuse the items can be Gray market, bla,bla bla, I go about my life then later that winter I want a nother swivel so I go on e-bay and find the same one for $23 bucks free shipping, I buy it and when it gets here it was sold to me from the same shop in Oragen that sold me the one for $45.......Ya I know all about overhead (I run a shop that I own) but I also know what greed looks like as well. Bottom line (the way I see it) if you have a LDS that you like then buy from them........but don,t be fooled into thinking that you are putting dive shops out of biz cuz you buy on-line. There are dozens of dive shops selling hoses and bursted disk kits and there rentla gear on ebay.....It's just like the old Wal-mart thing........wal-mart will drive use out of biz, But still the small shop it open (well the one's that where not greedy) and doing just fine.

 

[jlevine]

I can't see myself forking out $25 to try on a wet suit. I just bought a wetsuit at Scuba.com which is local to me. There was no charge to try it on. If department stores did that with regular suits, I'd have the same reaction. I do believe in supporting my LDS and have thus far bought all my "core" equipment (BCD, regs, computer) from an LDS.

 

[Gumby1965]

Most LDS make there money on courses and use the merchandise to just add on to profits, Unluckily for them I have never paid to try on a item, And I never will pay, note My 2 LDS that I go to lets you try on in store for free. So far they have had great customer service and like most everyone I want to get what ever I purchase locally but I want to save money also. They have matched almost every price I have seen on the net and without the shipping charges. So with that said I will still purchase gear at my LDS's, I have bought items off the web from scuba.com and leisure pro and was satisfied with what I purchased and knowing full well it will not have as good if any warranty at all.

 

[ndemeis]

Just read through the whole thread. How did Picses work out? I used them when I lived in Rochester for a few year as well as the shop in Canandaigua, whose name I can't recall. They were always nice, but I wish I used them for my training. I went to Aquatic center of Rochester just once. They wanted $210 for a used aluminum tank. I said I would think about it but it seemed high. Then the guy told me I was making a bad decision and it would be gone and I would be sorry and that I won't be able to find a tank for cheaper as that was the best price. This was back in 06.

On a side note I think there is a Darwin effect going on in the diving industry. The crappy shops will be gone left with fewer local shops but those will be the good local shops. I'm already planning which shops to visit right away when I move back to Boston. Those who offer more than just having the product on the shelves which I believe is how many a shop used to operate. Several shops I've seen say they will honour the price of any authorized online dealer. Others will give you free regulator service/bcd/computer etc service if you buy from them as well as parts. I'm also pretty sure if you go into most decent shops and say you want to buy from them they will be able to do something pretty close to the online price as many here have already mentioned. Even when I buy my next tank if they can throw in free air fills I would be in the shop a lot in the next year and would def pay more for the tank. I think that personally this could be a good thing for the dive industry but only a bad thing for those shops who choose archaic ways of conducting business. Adapt or die.

As for the trying on the in the LDS then buying I saw this when I worked in high end clothing. People would come in and always try the jeans on then buy them on ebay or online shops who sell last years merchandise. Then they would wear them in the store when they were trying them on. Like we didn't noticed. We always helped them and tried to convert them if we could but in the long run it was there choice in the end and we saw everyone who walked through the store as a potential sale. If we said give us money to try them on we would def loose some people as I can remember a few times they really liked the jeans the tried on or clothing. They left and came back to buy it. Probably cause they couldn't find it online but this would never have happened if they didn't have this option. And this was a rare occasion as well. Also saying it takes up sales staff time is somewhat true but for most salesman you can tell pretty soon whether someone is kicking tires or is serious, occasionally you'll be surprised. But if you aren't busy I would always rather help someone then sit around and do nothing and if you get busy you kindly excuse yourself and say you will be back and periodically check on them. No biggy there.

 

[oly5050user]

Most LDS make there money on courses and use the merchandise to just add on to profits, Unluckily for them I have never paid to try on a item, And I never will pay, note My 2 LDS that I go to lets you try on in store for free. So far they have had great customer service and like most everyone I want to get what ever I purchase locally but I want to save money also. They have matched almost every price I have seen on the net and without the shipping charges. So with that said I will still purchase gear at my LDS's, I have bought items off the web from scuba.com and leisure pro and was satisfied with what I purchased and knowing full well it will not have as good if any warranty at all.

LDS does not make money on classes generally..its in the mask/fin/snkl/boot sales,along with other gear purchased. The LDs I am associated with gives the class away for free if you purchase a regulator system,bcd,computer from them.The way it works is student pays for class tuition at the start,if they make the gear purchase the fee paid for the course comes off the bill.
A student can purchase before /during /or after class is completed.Of course this offer is extended to a reasonable period after class. After paying for insurance,pool fees,gear,transportation,etc, there is very little left over after a class to call the class itself profitable if at all.

 

[deeper thoughts]

I have heard alot of dive shop people saying they can't make it if they have to compete with the NET or they will die and the scuba comuity needs them.......OK to a piont.......I have been in alot of dive shops that the only thing they have to sell is 80/80 reef dives and little or nothing else. I don't dive reefs so there really not doing a thing for me, I go into a dive shop as I'm looking for some twiget or a nother mostly to not find it, then to have them tell me they can order it...I can do that too and I can get it faster and cheaper. So most of use know all that as well. Heres the one that takes the cake.......I go into a dive shop in Oragen and find a swivel that I was looking for and payed for it then and there $45, diver shop person there telling me all about how BAD it is for divers to buy on-line for all the BAD things that happen becuse the items can be Gray market, bla,bla bla, I go about my life then later that winter I want a nother swivel so I go on e-bay and find the same one for $23 bucks free shipping, I buy it and when it gets here it was sold to me from the same shop in Oragen that sold me the one for $45.......Ya I know all about overhead (I run a shop that I own) but I also know what greed looks like as well. Bottom line (the way I see it) if you have a LDS that you like then buy from them........but don,t be fooled into thinking that you are putting dive shops out of biz cuz you buy on-line. There are dozens of dive shops selling hoses and bursted disk kits and there rentla gear on ebay.....It's just like the old Wal-mart thing........wal-mart will drive use out of biz, But still the small shop it open (well the one's that where not greedy) and doing just fine.

We are lucky here in the Keys to have excellent dive shops(Conch Republic, Divers Direct, Silent World etc). I have received excellent service from all the above many times over.

I know what you mean about overcharging. I went into a dive shop(none of the above) and priced a mask at about 130 dollars if i remember correctly. Took out my iphone and found it for 39 dollars same mask. What would any reasonable person do? I bought 2 online!