And a few other things like mininum pricing and so on (illegal in at least Australia and the US), which are not found in every industry. And also the fact that dive shops make a big deal of equipment being "life support". I know my telly isn't going to kill me but dodgy dive gear might, dive shops really exaggerate this aspect. They also try to make "friends" with you and get you to join their club, which I've never had in any other type of store I've been into. So, there are a few things that can make dive shops different.
Which in reality is no different than second hand car dealers.
I'm not claiming that dive shops are perfect.
I guess my point is that the thread is called a "disconnect with reality". The dive shops have their reality, they have bills to pay, they have constraints on what they can sell, margins on some products are lower than in other sales situations, there is "market pressure" to underprice courses that then results in having to overprice equipment to compensate....
... anyone who wants to criticise should be prepared to step up to the plate and try and do something different/better. I wonder how long the OP's ideology will last under the barrage of bills and expenses that most dive shops get in the post every month.
I've seen many people who think "they can do it differently" and buy into a dive shop. Generally, the ideology lasts for the first summer... when winter hits, and course numbers drop, which means gear sales drop.... they then start discounting training further to get people in the door. By the end of the first winter, if they are still in business, they are operating hand to mouth, month by month, desperately doing anything that will try and keep their business afloat for the summer with some hope of surviving the next winter. They will cut corners, they will buy cheap product hoping to sell it at a higher margin.
I'm not saying it is right, but this is the dive shop's reality. You can't lay the blame entirely on them for what they are doing. For example, why is training so underpriced?? It's because that is what the consumer demands.... cheaper and quicker. That is what generates the vicious cycle of decline for dive shops. So to then complain that they sell rubbish product.....
FWIW, my OW students pay me $1000 for their course - that *just* about covers my costs... so how on earth can a dive shop that charges $299 or less make any money at all????
To get better service in the shops, consumers need to (a) be prepared to pay more for training, and (b) be prepared to educate themselves rather than trust a sales persons opinion.