CincyBengalsFan once bubbled...
It's ashame that people think so little of themselves that they will buy lifesupport equipment at the cheapest possibly price from someone they have never met and have no idea what type of shape it really is in.
Don't blame the customers and don't blame the internet. Blame the dive equipment manufacturers who allow/force there to be such a large difference in dealer cost. The manufacturers don't care about the LDS, they just want to move product in high volumes, and they reward high volume dealers with better prices.
Out here on the west coast, we have a company commonly referred to as "Evil Empire"... it is a sporting goods store chain... a literal Wal-Mart of athletics. They have a scuba department.
They have a few really good instructors. They have a lot of really bad instructors.
Their prices completely blow away the other LDS, and in many cases, they are competitive with online sources. I generally won't go online for anything under $100 since it isn't worth it once you add shipping. I bought a UK D8 light from LeisurePro and after shipping it ended up costing me $5 more than "Evil Empire", and I had to wait for it to arrive.
It's a free market, and customers
will shop where they can get the best value. To do otherwise would be foolish.
I've heard the "life support equipment" comment over and over, but there's no difference between an Apeks reg purchased from Leisure Pro and one purchased from "Evil Empire" and one purchased from Joe's Local Dive Shop except the price and the dubious "lifetime free parts" offer.
Even the lifetime free parts isn't worth it. Many manufacturers are backing off of the annual rebuild and going to annual inspection with rebuild every two years, or when needed.
When needed? I'm going to spend $100 in inspections before I actually need a rebuild. I could take it in myself and pay for parts and labor every two years and break even.
When my buddy and I were looking at HP120 tanks, we wanted to buy a total of 6. "Evil Empire" had them priced at about $300. Normal price. Every day price. Joe Diver walks in off the street and buys it at that price.
I called Tom at PST, and while they refused to sell direct, even for a quantity of 6, he referred me to another LDS and said that "Bob" would make me a good deal.
I called this shop, and he would be more than happy to sell me
SIX tanks at $375
EACH!
I told him that I could walk into "Evil Empire" and buy one with no haggling at $300 and asked again if he could do better. He told me to buy them from "Evil Empire".
Where was the problem with the tank purchase? Was PST's price that much higher to the LDS or was "Bob" simply unwilling to cut his margin? I know for a fact that, at that time, "Evil Empire's" cost on those tanks was $220. "Bob" could have sold us those 6 tanks for $290 and still made $420 clear profit on the deal (and a cash sale at that), IF his cost from PST was the same as the chain store.
