The cost of Padi

[drglnc]

And how many fail "Discover Scuba"? I have seen some train wrecks coming out of that program.

well, discover scuba is not a class you can pass or fail, its an experience to see if your interested in takeing a class.

as far as padi pricing and the whole put another dollar in, keep in mind the only money padi makes is on the books,pics and members fees

all the money from classes go to the instructor or dive shop, the book prices range from place to place, in padi america its like 25 for the book and 15 for the pic. then the shop or instructor adds the mark up the shop i work for charges 180 for open water and that includes the book and pick. way to many people blame padi for an instructors greed.

 

[espenskogen]

I phoned around a few more dive shops yesterday and the cheapest AOW manual that I could get was 2400thai baht. Although this is a lot cheaper than the 3075 thai baht the dive supply were charging , it is still a 30% increase from late last year.

I would also like to say that if Padi have not increased the price by what would be a normal 5 or so % percent , since deciding that everyone has to buy the book ( the pink form that goes back is included in the pack ) , then I humbly apologies to Padi and everyone that took offence by my posting.
It was honestly not my intention to do any padi bashing , and I am and will remain a padi member.
I agree with having to have the manual and think that padi provide a valuable service to the diving community , But also think that padi should keep in mind that they started out as an organization to provide good training and make diving safe for us all , and not to make as much money as possible

The pic card don't come in the manual - The instructors have to order them separately from padi.

E

 

[Pez de Diablo]

I don't see anyone saying that Catherine.

I was simply pointing out that PADI does allow renewed members to use their logo, clip-art, etc, at no additional cost, as long as it is used within their guidelines. There is a licensing agreement that details that on the PADI website. If your friend are renewed PADI members, they can go online and see it in the Pro section of that site.

Feel free to have them PM me and i can explain how they get on.

Absolutely. I have a PADI logo on my website - no problem.

In the agreement to use PADI clipart, it tells you how you can and cannot use the logo and other stuff from them. Here is a paragraph from the user agreement:

To provide its members with the ability to advertise, promote and indicate the source of origin of the PADI services, certifications and products they provide, PADI Members are hereby granted a license to use the forgoing marks on promotional materials only, specifically printed, film or video formats, and software, fixed media, such as floppy disks, hard drives or CD-ROM, or any interactive digital or broadcast media or methods, including, but not limited to, internet or World Wide Web Sites.

<snip>

This license shall be personal to the individual member and shall be nontransferable, nondivisible and not capable of being sublicensed in any manner through any party.



Seems straight forward to me, as a PADI member, I can use the stuff, I guess that's why they give it to us.

Dennis

 

[miscbadvr]

In my area PADI is by far the cheapest agency to train with. AOW for example was $225 through PADI and $595 through one of the other agencies, both included the exact same training. I know this must be due to one instructor being very greedy, but overall PADI has been the least expensive alternative for me, in this area.

 

[wreckchick]

Again, that's not PADI, that's the dive shops/instructors that are setting the prices. PADI does not take a percentage cut based on how much someone charges for a class. They sell the book and PIC cards and that's it as far as per student income.

R

 

[RonFrank]

Try planning a wedding

I hear that! I've photographed a few hundred weddings, and am constantly amazed at what people spend on this event... just absurd.

At least Alcina, you have chosen a really fun spot to have yours!

 

[RonFrank]

Let's face it, it IS about the money in a lot of ways. This is not just a PADI thing, but an LDS thing as well.

If they were interested in saving students some bucks, the LDS would have a library of PADI materials, photocopies of the quizes for the students to complete, and they could show the DVD in the class. The students could check out the materials maybe for a small fee, complete the couse work, and then return the materials back to the LDS.

Instead they required every student to buy the Stupid DVD (and IMO most are worthless), and they want every student to purchase the books. From an enviornmental standpoint, this is NOT a good approach. If the LDS had a set of 10-20 copies of each course, than those copies would be used by thousands of students.

After you are done with the materials do you ever really do much with them? I have referenced my OW book from time to time, but I do NOT need these materials, and they are NOT cheap.

I suppose if one is going to become an instructor, a copy of the course materials is not a bad idea. Then again, if you had access to the LDS *library* why would one need a personal copy.

I'm not really bashing PADI, however don't fool yourself, it IS about the $$$.

 

[nyprrthd]

Let's face it, it IS about the money in a lot of ways. This is not just a PADI thing, but an LDS thing as well.

I'm not really bashing PADI, however don't fool yourself, it IS about the $$$.

Just using your quote, because I think it's the root of the whole PADI fee bashing thing. I'm not attacking or contradicting you.......

Yes, it is about the money. That's because they are businesses, and businesses are created to make money. The development of courses, liability involved in issuing certification cards, time and energy dedicated to instruction, insurance, and overhead (have you ever owned and maintained a pool? Yikes!) are all worth some type of financial renumeration. The owner of your LDS has a mortgage/rent to pay on his home, monthly bills, kids to raise.... you get the idea. They need money to live, and continue to give you the instruction you need to dive safely. Do I like the fees for courses and certifications? No. But I realize that I live in the real world. These folks are not in it as a charity venture.

Someone can always tell all of the certification agencies that the time and money that they spent developing the course materials, printing the books, administering the certification record keeping, etc. is not worth any amount of money. Simply buy yourself a compressor, pick up some used diving equipment on ebay, and bypass PADI, your LDS, all of that other "stuff." I'll simply watch for the article about the uncertified diver who went out and got himself killed; and sit there shaking my head.

PADI has developed a solid world-wide reputation, as have a few other organizations. A certified diver can go anywhere there's a dive shop, and get a full tank of air by showing his/her certification card. The marketing dollars spent, and the effort to maintain standards, is certainly worth letting them make some money.

Diving is an expensive way to spend your free time. So far, I've found it worth the expense. If you want a REALLY expensive pastime, try boating!

B reak
O ut
A another
T housand

 

[wreckchick]

and for the love of all things holy, don't become a scuba instructor with a boat...

nothing but trouble

Rachel

 

[Cacia]

Ron, your posts are stellar.

I would like to see PADI raise the bar a bit on their books. It would not be that hard and then people would be less likely to complain about the costs. Most of the PADI books are pretty disposable....And you can basically read the summary little boxes and do well on the tests. They spend too many pages saying absolutely nothing. And I liked diving and I like reading about diving....I really think the materials are poor. Putting those little tiny books in those big colorful boxes doesn't impress me either.

One thing that is really needed is various types of problems WORKED OUT, I have a science degree, am not too "math challenged" and I felt the materials were not helpful. I bought the workbook for my DM but I needed to see some of the problems worked out, not just see the correct answer. Which leads me to another complaint. Why can some people without even a GED get all the correct answers on the test? Me, I think it is fishy.

I have been one of those that a little critical about GUE and DIR. It occurred to me the other day, I bet they focus more on the instruction than pumping out books....And that maybe we should "sweep around our own back door."

I'm not bashing. PADI is MY agency. I want them to do a better job with this. Once I see that it falls on deaf ears, I won't mention it again. Like my earlier post, if people do not believe my version of what happened to my friends, then ...fine. I think for PADI to be a good value for people's cash, they need this feedback. If I see the feedback is not wanted, I will move on to some other issue.