Instructor deal

Hoosier · Sep 29, 2005

Instructor deal

It isnt a secret that scuba equipment is 100 % margin to the shop. If then, what is the common discount rate for the instructor or shop monkey? Dont get me wrong. I have seen a lot of eBay deals from the instructors who purchased the gear through the instructors deal. It seems like they sell it at the same price as they paid for the new.

For example,

If you buy Suunto D9, how much is the price to you?

If you buy Classic Plus BC with Air 2, what price do you used to pay?

If you buy Apeks ATX200, how much do you pay for it?

I dont intend to flame how much margin the shop charge to the general customers in this thread. I just would like to know what general rate of discount you got from the shops is.

cuddlefish · Sep 29, 2005

You will find different programs offered by different shops and manufacturers. My LDS gives new employees 20% off retail. More experienced staff get 30% off. If the item is used specifically for work, the deal gets a bit better. Most manufacturers have special programs for shop staff and instructors...but it varies greatly. Some have a good price if you buy "head to toe" meaning everything from mask, fins, BC, reg, computer, suit, fins...everything. Others have special prgrams if you sell a certain amount of stuff.

As a side note, I don't like the term "shop monkey". Perhaps there are dive shops out there who hire high school drop-outs who can't count to ten to stand behind the counter and say "duh". However, my local dive shop is full of college grads ranging from Stanford grads and former silicon valley computer pros to doctors, engineers and other intelligent folks who chose to become dive professionals.

I just wonder how the general public views dive shop staff.

akscubainst · Sep 29, 2005

I get all my gear at cost or key. Oh, wait that's right, I own the store, of course I do.

All shops are different, some give huge discounts, some give none. Just being a DM or Instructor doesn't entitle you get a discount on anything.

Dave

Scottri · Sep 29, 2005

I've seen some shops offer deals to staff at 10% above cost and others that offer say 25% below retail. It varies from shop to shop. Some manufacturers offer key man discounts that are better than the shop can do but you have to go through the shop to get them. Mark up on some equipment isn't as great as you think.

Scott

WileEDiver · Sep 29, 2005

hoosier:
Instructor deal

It isnt a secret that scuba equipment is 100 % margin to the shop....

Do you think this is unique to the scuba industry? Have you ever worked in any other retail business (like a clothing store)? No difference.

mikswi · Sep 29, 2005

hoosier:
Instructor deal

It isnt a secret that scuba equipment is 100 % margin to the shop. If then, what is the common discount rate for the instructor or shop monkey? Dont get me wrong. I have seen a lot of eBay deals from the instructors who purchased the gear through the instructors deal. It seems like they sell it at the same price as they paid for the new.

For example,

If you buy Suunto D9, how much is the price to you?

If you buy Classic Plus BC with Air 2, what price do you used to pay?

If you buy Apeks ATX200, how much do you pay for it?

I dont intend to flame how much margin the shop charge to the general customers in this thread. I just would like to know what general rate of discount you got from the shops is.

kind of a curious question.........as if you want to know what the dealer cost is for bargaining purposes or something.

I will not hijack this thread or add to existing ones regarding what it takes for the LDS to meet expenses and keep the doors open. I will add however that the LDS on average, will "take care of you" through a keyman discount or better, to get you geared up with quality new equiptment that the shop sells. By the time that you are in a position to qualify for this type of discount, you should already have a "warm fuzzy" feeling about your LDS as - you have no business getting involved at this level with a shop that you are not confident that you could represent..

Not sure if this helps or if im just wasting another post............

As a final note.....you would be suprised how minimal the markup can be on some items..........but, thats another thread.

Hoosier · Sep 29, 2005

Of course, I didnt say that employees discount is unfair. It is a strait-forward question that you dont need to be defensive. Are you shop owner?
I just want to figure out how it goes depending on the regions. Again, I dont want to talk about any margin that the LDS makes

I am not sure if I am qualified to have this kind of discount in my position as DM candidate. I have never dealt with the shop owner anything about this matter. The shop doesnt sell anything I am interested in so far (akscubainst has it though LOL~). And, even though they have something I want, I dont think that they can match the price that I can get from any other sources I know. So, this is my position in the diving industry. In addition, I dont intend to jump in the professional world. Dont ask why.

mikswi · Sep 29, 2005

hoosier:
Instructor deal

I dont intend to flame how much margin the shop charge to the general customers in this thread. I just would like to know what general rate of discount you got from the shops is.

"I just want to figure out how it goes depending on the regions. Again, I dont want to talk about any margin that the LDS makes" .

Sorry, I misread your post as can so often happen with this type of forum. I thought you were fishing for inside info.........But, thats me and i'm really tired and probably should be doing nothing more than reading post's..

hambleto · Sep 30, 2005

If you take care of the shop they will take care of you. I have seen this even in the case of people who are not employees of a shop, but they talk highly of a shop to their friends and tend to be around a particular shop quite a bit.

One thing that I think is really annyong is when a dive "Proffesional" (DM, AI, DMIT, intructor, whatever) will go in a shop say, "I am such and such, what kind of discount do I get?". I find that is rude and very presumptions. That would be like me walking into CompUSA and saying, "I run an IT deparment, what kind of discount do I get on this personal purchase?". You just do that. It all come back to; You take care of a shop they will take care of you.

Rick Murchison · Sep 30, 2005

hoosier:
It is a strait-forward question

Well, no, it isn't straightforward at all. It is what is commonly known as a "loaded" question, like "Have you quit beating your wife?"
It presupposes that "scuba equipment is 100% margin," which is a false statement to begin with (not that there aren't items with 100% margin - some with even more, but there are plenty that are not)
Here, for your edification, is how to ask the question and really have it be straightforward:
"What is the common discount rate for the instructor or shop monkey?
For example, if you buy a Suunto D9, Classic Plus BC with Air 2, or an Apeks ATX200, how much do you pay for each compared to retail?
I would like to know what the general discount rate is at your shop."
Furthermore, if you don't intend to flame the shop margin, why do you assign the 100% number to it? Indeed, why bring it up at all? If you "don't want to talk about" margins, why did you talk about margins?
Rick

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