I, too, buy everything through Kevin (floridapadiinstructor)
Best prices you'll ever find.
Best prices you'll ever find.
Purchasing PADI crewpacks online
- Thread starter kimchicowboy
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If you are trying to save money this plan could surely backfire depending on training location. MSRP for the 8 manuals listed on the '07 price list is $21-28. There are many levels of cost for the dive shop, center or instructor, depending on annual business and membership fees. In the middle levels the MSRP could be considered keystone-ish. At the highest level the cost is pretty reasonable. An independent instructor might pay just under MSRP. It is no secret that PADI is a Publishing House and small dive operators are a source of considerable profit for them. :11:
As a graduate of an instructor factory, one of my perk's is their level of cost (the really good one). I have DVD's of each specialty I am qualified to teach, which my students get to watch, so for most specialties the manual is all my student would need. My independent specialty course pricing is based on my cost, so if you have your own Deep Manual I would gladly knock $10 off your course price.
Courses like EANx and Multi-Level have additional required materials, but the pricing is similar so the end result is the same. If you want to get the materials in advance so you can prepare at your leisure, it might be cheaper to contact the training location you will use and pay for the whole course in advance. With a dive shop/center, buying cheap materials off ebay would only save you money if the dive shop/center has included a profit margin for the materials in their course pricing and will give you ~MSRP off the course price. :no
IMHO, an independent instructor with no cost agreement from the IDC shop would be the only place real savings would be likely. Many reputable dive shops already have very reasonable training prices, hoping to make their profit from gear and trip sales to their students. Any business has to have profit to survive; I profit from the service I provide.
Please note, I am using ebay as a term for most inexpensive sources for course materials. Last year I bought 10 unused Wheel versions of the OW crew pack for $10 each at a yard sale, and I passed that savings on to my friends. That's the kind of pricing that makes cents!
As a graduate of an instructor factory, one of my perk's is their level of cost (the really good one). I have DVD's of each specialty I am qualified to teach, which my students get to watch, so for most specialties the manual is all my student would need. My independent specialty course pricing is based on my cost, so if you have your own Deep Manual I would gladly knock $10 off your course price.
Courses like EANx and Multi-Level have additional required materials, but the pricing is similar so the end result is the same. If you want to get the materials in advance so you can prepare at your leisure, it might be cheaper to contact the training location you will use and pay for the whole course in advance. With a dive shop/center, buying cheap materials off ebay would only save you money if the dive shop/center has included a profit margin for the materials in their course pricing and will give you ~MSRP off the course price. :no
IMHO, an independent instructor with no cost agreement from the IDC shop would be the only place real savings would be likely. Many reputable dive shops already have very reasonable training prices, hoping to make their profit from gear and trip sales to their students. Any business has to have profit to survive; I profit from the service I provide.
Please note, I am using ebay as a term for most inexpensive sources for course materials. Last year I bought 10 unused Wheel versions of the OW crew pack for $10 each at a yard sale, and I passed that savings on to my friends. That's the kind of pricing that makes cents!
It hasn't backfired for me and in my experience most shops I've seen charge a fee for the course that doesn't include books so there is nothing to credit. You can pay $100 for their course plus $35 for their book, or you can pay $100 for their course plus $25 for the Ebay book. But it sure would be nice if we all could have an instructor like you that finds bargains on Ebay and yard sales for us. I'll bet extremely few students get $10 PADI Wheels from their instructor, though.
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