LDS Charging to TRY ON wetsuits???

[Randy43068]

I'd pay 'em 20 - 25 to try on wetsuits IF they were a well stocked store. Then I would NOT feel badly telling them upfront that I intend to buy it at huge discount online, thank you very much. A 25 buck "try it on" fee isn't that bad compared to the savings of an online purchase and knowing that you're ordering the correct size.

If the LDS prices are inline with what an online price would be and they would apply the try-on fee to the price then I would buy it from the LDS.

Again, to me, shelling out 25 dollars to make sure I got the right size suit would be worth it to me.

 

[mike_s]

They charged me $8.00 and I walked out the same as I walked in, with a broken reg and no part, less the money I needed for lunch. .

and for $8 dollars, they not only lost a customer, but ticked a customer off who will tell other future paying customers about it.

The stupidity in the LDS dive business industry never ceases to amaze me.

 

[Randy43068]

Poor service and lack of business acumen isn't limited to dive stores. It happens in restaurants and other stores all of the time.

 

[deeper thoughts]

What's you plan now? How you're going to try on a wetsuit before you buy it online? Drive to Buffalo? Maybe search for an Ap for your I-phone?

Actually Leisure Pro has a great solution which my wife and I used. We ordered the items and they have a no cost service where you send it back until it fits. I bought an item that the LDS was selling for $195 for under a hundred dollars

Adapt or die lol

 

[The Chairman]

Someone posted in here: "You reap what you sow!" That applies to the LDSes as much as the divers.

If you ignore something, like your customers, they might very well go away. If you enjoin draconian rules you will help drive them away. The choice is yours, so choose wisely.

 

[dogglebe]

IMHO, if a store HAS to charge 25 bucks to try on a wet suit to stay in business then maybe someone picked the wrong business to buy.

The problem with this statement is that most of the LDS's have been around before the world wide interweb. The rules of play have changed over the years.

Another business that's feeling the internet pinch are the homebrew and winemaking supply stores (LHBS). People will pick their brains with questions and problems, only to buy their ingredients and equipment online. A friend who owns such a shop once told me that she was on the phone with someone wanting to learn homebrewing. After spending forty-five minutes explaining everything to him, she asked what he wanted to order. He replied that he was going to buy his stuff online because it was 10% cheaper.

LDS's have more overhead costs than the websites, but they also provide a service that the sites can't provide and that includes being able to try on and 'test' the equipment before buying it. Maybe if the LDSs said that the $25 fee could be applied to any purchase in the shop, there wouldn't be as many ruffled feelings. Maybe you didn't like the suits you paid to try on, but there's always something else to buy...

Consider this fee the two drink minimum of dive shops.


Phil

 

[mike_s]

The problem with this statement is that most of the LDS's have been around before the world wide interweb. The rules of play have changed over the years.

businesses, regardless of what they are, that don't change as world business practices change, will be left behind.

LDS's have more overhead costs than the websites,

I think you will find many arguments that contradict that.

Online stores have much higher overhead in what they stock most of them time. Since they have to lower their prices to compete, they have to increase volume in sales to make money. Being able to do that requires a higher level of inventory.

Then they also typically have more employees to take orders (over phone), package/ship, etc.


In this case Wetsuits are a PERFECT example. A local LDS might only have 10-15 wetsuits in stock, of different models, different thicknesses, different colors, and different sizes, for men or women. So chances of getting a Henderson 5mm Hyperstretch in XL-tall with Blue insets for female might be pretty slim in most LDS's, unless they also operate web sales.


Saying web businesses are cheaper is a common mistake made.... I mean, just because Scubaboard doesn't have a "store front" doesn't mean that it doesn't have expenses. It's got to pay rent for server space, bandwidth, capital equipment purchases, insurance, legal fees, business licenses, salaries, benefits, advertising expenses, shows, etc. I bet if Pete released his expenses, most of us would be surprised what it cost to run a "web business". (and I don't expect him to release them either).

 

[redacted]

The problem with this statement is that most of the LDS's have been around before the world wide interweb. The rules of play have changed over the years.

Interesting idea. But I tend to doubt that claim. I suspect that most LDSs in the USA came into operation under their current ownership while the internet (and Leisurepro) were already in operation. 3 out of 3 in my particular case.

 

[scubadobadoo]

The problem with this statement is that most of the LDS's have been around before the world wide interweb. The rules of play have changed over the years.

Another business that's feeling the internet pinch are the homebrew and winemaking supply stores (LHBS). People will pick their brains with questions and problems, only to buy their ingredients and equipment online. A friend who owns such a shop once told me that she was on the phone with someone wanting to learn homebrewing. After spending forty-five minutes explaining everything to him, she asked what he wanted to order. He replied that he was going to buy his stuff online because it was 10% cheaper.

LDS's have more overhead costs than the websites, but they also provide a service that the sites can't provide and that includes being able to try on and 'test' the equipment before buying it. Maybe if the LDSs said that the $25 fee could be applied to any purchase in the shop, there wouldn't be as many ruffled feelings. Maybe you didn't like the suits you paid to try on, but there's always something else to buy...

Consider this fee the two drink minimum of dive shops.


Phil

I hear ya but I am not talking about 10%. That's understandable and maybe even 20% or 30%. Like we all have said, "It's your money." I am talking about 50% to 100%. AND that price mark up isn't just compared to the internet but sometimes compared to the shop down the street. That's just silly. Moreover, many online shops allow you to try on the stuff before you buy it and with free shipping. Have you not read the last several pages? Problem solved. So where will I go when I need air you say? How about the good LDS that doesn't charge 25 bucks to try on crap and didn't open up on a shoe string budget one thousand miles from water in the middle of the frozen tundra with part time employees who are afraid to fill steel tank past 3000psi and only want to sell you Scuba Pro 100% above msrp or even at msrp.

I think we should start a poll to see how many people would charge to try on anything in any store. I am from NYC (where you are) and I can't write here what most NY'ers would tell a store that tried to charge 25 bucks to try something on regardless of their intentions.

Look, there are a lot of great dive shops out there but not all of them deserve to charge a two drink minimum especially if they don't even know how to mix drink so to speak.

Some LDS's have been around since before the interweb but most that were around and haven't evolved or aren't blessed with a great location are now gone and even more that started up won't last out the year. That sucks but who's fault is it? The customer or the business owners who fear the interweb and want to charge a "$25 interweb fear penalty?" Look I am all for following your dreams and taking chances but some people don't know the dif between fantasy and dreams. Chase your dreams but leave those fantasies in your head, on the internet or for on the weekend as a hobby.

Once again, I will point out that we are having this discussion ON THE INTERNET.

I think the problem here is that many think this is a LDS vs. online DS debate. It's not. It's not that personal and neither is the internet unfortunately and fortunately. We all want BOTH to exist and do well. It's a discussion about when and how the LDS will evolve into a global economy happening in the now to borrow from I think Sprint. The internet isn't all good, I agree, but it is here to stay. Charging 25 won't make it go away and neither will hating it or it's customers.

 

[The Chairman]

LDS's have more overhead costs than the websites, but they also provide a service that the sites can't provide

Phil,

Do you realize that MOST Scuba Websites are an LDS? Really: Scuba.com, Dive Right In Scuba, Dive Pro as well as others are LDSes that also sell on the internet. Even better, these actually advertise right here on ScubaBoard so they help pay for our play.