LDS Charging to TRY ON wetsuits???

[Seraphimx]

Sigh... women are taking over the world, men by men....:shocked2:
We should now fight for Men's right instead of women's right.

 

[ScubaSeaMonkey]

My wife was searching for a wetsuit that fit well and was not exhausting to put on. I have bought all my major gear from my lds, and on almost everything I got prices that were as good as anything on the internet. But he didn't have a suit that my wife liked. We went from dive shop to dive shop trying on suits, with every intention of buying one that fit well wherever we found it. If the shops were charging $25 to try on a suit, it would have cost us probably $200 in try-on fees to find her a suit she liked. I understand the dilemma that the lds is trying to overcome, but they will just drive customers away charging to try on suits.

 

[jaycanwk]

This seems like a bad business practice. There will be people with no intention of buying a suit there, but there also will be people who just want shop around and may come back to the store if they liked the prices / service. You do not want only serious shoppers in your store, Word of mouth about good service, people seeing and impulse buying things other than the suit in the shop, and even simple exposure for those who are trying to buy online are all beneficial.

I see nothing wrong with this. If you are just shopping around then you won't need to try on a wetsuit. You can easily compare prices without trying a suit on. The only time you pay the $25 is when you try on suits, which at that point you are ready to buy anyway and the 25$ is refunded when you buy. To say this will discourage business, I'm not so sure. Those who would not shop there because of the try on fee would not shop there anyway because they are the ones who would try it on and buy it elsewhere.

Jason

 

[jaycanwk]

I could see making it refundable toward the purchase, but 25 non refundable? The last thing they would see is me walking out the door never to return.

Help me understand you better. The fee IS refundable when you make the purchase. It is not refundable if you don't make the purchase. It sounds like you are the very person they are discouraging because it sounds like you were not going to buy there anyway. You sound like the kind of person who would try it on then laugh at them as your walking out to go get your better deal online.

Jason

 

[jaycanwk]

If you charge $25 (even if refundable) to try on a wetsuit, you don't just lose all the customers that just wanted to check the sizing, you will end up losing some customers, who either wants to cross shop different brands from different shops, casual window shoppers who just might buy, or t e ones that just gets put off for having to pay up front to try something.

If you don't charge anything, you will get the above people along with the size testers. Unless the shop is so busy that you are actually losing sales with these people (attending them instead of somebody else, they use up dressing room where a real customer leaves), then you are providing a service that might potentially gain a customer, especially if you let them know you have no problem with people doing this, but do hope to gain their business somehow.

What reason would someone have to try on a suit if they were not ready to buy the suit??? I'm sure in a situation where you were genuinely ready to buy, and in good faith, could not find a size that fit you in that brand, then I'm sure they would refund it if you didn't buy it in that specific circumstance because you are not going to buy that brand anywhere else because it won't fit you anywhere else either.

Jason

 

[GrumpyOldGuy]

What reason would someone have to try on a suit if they were not ready to buy the suit??? I'm sure in a situation where you were genuinely ready to buy, and in good faith, could not find a size that fit you in that brand, then I'm sure they would refund it if you didn't buy it in that specific circumstance because you are not going to buy that brand anywhere else because it won't fit you anywhere else either.

Jason

You are making assumptions...

Where does it say they will refund your $25 if you don't think it fits?

Perhaps you try it one and discover it has some design aspect you don't like

What happens if the suit you think you want is no good, but in trying out some other (perhaps more expensive) ones are perfect. Now you simple decision becomes more complex.

Bottom line for me is the $25 fee tells me the LDS does not trust me, so I would be reluctant to trust them....

 

[jaycanwk]

You are making assumptions...

Where does it say they will refund your $25 if you don't think it fits?

Perhaps you try it one and discover it has some design aspect you don't like

What happens if the suit you think you want is no good, but in trying out some other (perhaps more expensive) ones are perfect. Now you simple decision becomes more complex.

Bottom line for me is the $25 fee tells me the LDS does not trust me, so I would be reluctant to trust them....

Well yes your decision does become more complex in your example and your right, it doesn't say that it will be refunded if you don't think it fits, or the more expensive one fits but you don't want to buy the more expensive one. However, if you are negotiating in good faith, I would like to think that the LDS owner is negotiating in good faith as well and would refund the fee in that situation...It's an assumption, yes.


"".....Bottom line for me is the $25 fee tells me the LDS does not trust me, so I would be reluctant to trust them....""

The thing is, in the age of online shopping, it isn't just the LDS, this is becoming the norm in other retail such as clothes.

Jason

 

[GrumpyOldGuy]

Well yes your decision does become more complex in your example and your right, it doesn't say that it will be refunded if you don't think it fits, or the more expensive one fits but you don't want to buy the more expensive one. However, if you are negotiating in good faith, I would like to think that the LDS owner is negotiating in good faith as well and would refund the fee in that situation...It's an assumption, yes.

Aye, good faith on both parties has been the key in traditional retail sales and is what I would prefer. The system is stressed with the on-line pricing for sure and there are a few jerks out their not using good faith. So this LDS has chosen a narrow tactical response to keep from wasting time with a a few slobs, versus a long term strategic response that addresses the underlying issues.

The thing is, in the age of online shopping, it isn't just the LDS, this is becoming the norm in other retail such as clothes.

I was not aware any other garment retailer was charging an up-front fee to try on clothing... do you have any examples?

 

[VooDooGasMan]

Well at least LDS are not charging to try dry suits, and undergarments.

I want to see a video, or picture of the dive retailer doing so.

This thread needs just one Image so we know what kind of person to look for when we walk in a LDS.

 

[jaycanwk]

I was not aware any other garment retailer was charging an up-front fee to try on clothing... do you have any examples?

There are a few high end fashion shops up here in Canada that do that. Not many mind you and I havn't been in any myself, but then again I'm not exactly the vanguard of fashion lol, but my aunt actually mentioned the other day that one of the shops she frequents does this.