Now, we've had the discussion about why LDS need to charge a ton more than online shops. The manufacturers have agreements with the LDS's in which they must sell above a certain price. It guarantees a certain level of profit for each piece of gear sold at the LDS, and they don't need to get into price wars with shops nearby, but on the other hand, they're losing piles of students who notice the 1/2 cost of buying online.
I understand how the LDS's are in a fairly tough bind. I would like to know however why the manufacturers do not open up their pricing structure. I don't see how these pricing rules help them out much. Everyone involved in the business wants to see the LDS's stay around. You need air fills, you need gear maintenance, and I'm sure you'd like to have a shop there to buy a quick mouthpiece replacement before the dive you're doing that afternoon.
So why doesn't one of the manufacturers just cancel their pricing wavers? The dive shops won't get nearly as much profit from the items (since they would need to compete with each other), but on the other hand, they could compete with the online shops. If I saw the gear being sold at the LDS was the same cost as the online shops (or close), I would certainly buy from the LDS for the maintenance they can perform.
What am I missing? I don't know much, inform me.
I understand how the LDS's are in a fairly tough bind. I would like to know however why the manufacturers do not open up their pricing structure. I don't see how these pricing rules help them out much. Everyone involved in the business wants to see the LDS's stay around. You need air fills, you need gear maintenance, and I'm sure you'd like to have a shop there to buy a quick mouthpiece replacement before the dive you're doing that afternoon.
So why doesn't one of the manufacturers just cancel their pricing wavers? The dive shops won't get nearly as much profit from the items (since they would need to compete with each other), but on the other hand, they could compete with the online shops. If I saw the gear being sold at the LDS was the same cost as the online shops (or close), I would certainly buy from the LDS for the maintenance they can perform.
What am I missing? I don't know much, inform me.