online scuba sales

[roastbeef]

Cosco and BrassPro sells USD fins, mask and snorkel kits plus wet suits and boots much cheaper than any dive shop around the GTA for the casual diver who isn't to worried about quality when they have several children and a wife to outfit for a family trip every winter as they have a larger market and volume of customers these items are the bread and butter for dive shops not the high end gear. Some manufacturer of scuba gear are now on Ebay offering better prices than retailers with free shipping through out Canada and the US "There getting smart".

[awap]

Nothing to fear, unless it is your job that is lost.
Simple fact is fewer LDS around less new people getting into activity as it will not be as visible to them.Less new people in activity means less demand for gear.Less demand for gear creates higher cost for gear that is available..

Actually, less demand for gear should, initially, create lower retail prices as the supply side should be overstocked and seeking reduce that stockage. Then it is a question of how much the market will have to readjust and how that process will settle. Since free market competitive pricing is not the current rule in scuba retail, it seems it might be hard to predict the outcome. But I would expect we would see a reduction in the number of brand names and I see no good reason why prices would necessarily jump. After all, the reduced market would have to compete with perfectly adequate used gear for quite some time.

Yes, some people would be forced to change their livelihoods. But do you really think divers should support the retail scuba industry just to keep all those scuba industry personnel employed???

[roastbeef]

In the last 10 years I have not purchased one thing from a Dive shops I can get all I need on line this is just the way things are today its a easier process for my busy schedule. I've always owned my compressors and serviced my own gear and that will not change as long as I'm diving. A word to dive shop owners in Ontario learn to smile and say hello to your customers when they walk in your door and work with other dive shops and clubs to generate enthusiasm in the sport because it seems to be on a decline. I stopped going to dive shops simply because I got tired of listening to dive shop owners bickering about what the other dive shops or individual instructors were doing that they didn't like.

[Jungho Kim]

If you add value then you will do well... And that doesn't mean just the price of products... I deal with my LDS because they are good people, they provide good service and give me a bit of a discount also... it's not just cost, it's the gesture, appreciation for my business... I have purchased things from LP also but only if it could not be found at my LDS and ordering it through them does not make sense from the time and cost perspective... There is a place for both online and local retailers, the local retailers that stick to the fundamentals e.g. good customer service, community involvement, good product mix will continue to do just fine...

[cutty]

Good customer service can't justify a $255 price difference on a $ $800 reg package... I will buy local only if its in the ballpark! Online sales are a competitive advantage that LDS's should monitor and compete with.
I believe most people considering a "major" purchase research on line. LP sells for $500 dollars... shipping to Ontario $35 extra dollars.... $10 brokerage fee... $545 Why would I pay $800 for exactly the same thing?
Just my opinion!