meridiano tank rental cost

[avatar]

Running a business is a lot harder than most people think. While the op might be realizing a decent profit on nitrox, that is only a tiny piece of the operation.We don't get charged extra on the day or week the the boats are not full, something major breaks, or any number of factors that make it tough to make a profit .

 

[ggunn]

With risking offending some great shops...

I too find the higher markup shop's nitrox tank upgrade cost a little unsavory. It's understandable to pay premium for better service or a better product but to have the same product (analyzed?) upsold at a 400% profit margin is a tad extravagant.

Again, I bring up the example of restaurants. If you pick through the individual foodstuffs that they buy and sell, you will find some markups of way over 400%. I'd wager that even the lowly french fry is an example of this. Like everything else in the semi-free market, your option is always not to buy what they are selling if the asking price is too much for you, but I would add that the important thing is whether you believe you are getting overall a good value for the price you pay, not what their markup is on a specific item.

 

[bamafan]

I doubt most dive ops will let you on their boats with tanks they don't supply. Even if they did I doubt they are going to cut their price so any perceived cost savings would be lost. I go to Cozumel several times a year and we rent tanks from Meridiano but we don't reef dive there. The other issue you will have is weight. Even if you rented the tanks and went hiking through the jungle to go cave diving you will have to get weight from somebody. We have a "keeper of the weight" on the island. The dive ops on Cozumel are setup to cater to the reef diving crowd. Unless you have a good contact I don't think you will find it beneficial to rent tanks from Meridiano.

 

[bamafan]

Now what I wished there was on Cozumel were storage units for rent. It would be nice to leave some stuff there. We have talked to the regulator repair shop there and I may try to leave some stuff with him but it would be nice just to have your own storage locker even something like what Cave Country Dive Shop does for out of town customers. If someone knows of something like this let me know

 

[flyboy08]

Really? do they also provide 100 & 120 steel tanks? If they do then that would sway me to use Pro dive the next time I go to Cozumel.

No, they do not.

 

[Streydog]

I remember reading a thread about regulator service in Cozumel. When I went to the recommended shops site, they offered annual storage service. I don't recall which shop it was.

 

[bamafan]

I remember reading a thread about regulator service in Cozumel. When I went to the recommended shops site, they offered annual storage service. I don't recall which shop it was.

Yes he does but he is not open on Saturday or Sunday and that is generally when we fly in and out. His normal way of doing things seems to be to drop off and pick up your gear from whatever dive op you are using. This doesn't work with us as we don't use one. Also I think the quantity of gear is a little much for him. If I could find a secure self storage unit I would consider leaving a cheap UV 18 scooter down there. Some of our dives are getting to be over 7,000' of penetration and scooters would be helpful. I have looked at renting them from some of the shops in Playa but getting them back and forth is time consuming. I will go talk to him next time I am in town and I may leave some gear if we can get the pickup and delivery figured out.

 

[kelemvor]

Of course you are only accounting for the cost of the fills - not the maintenance, analyzers, frequent replacement of sensors, etc. etc. as well as the service of having it available. Our "cost" of providing Nitrox is not as simple as the cost of the fill.

Diving is a business. Just like every single person who owns a business or goes to work and earns a paycheck, we are all in business to earn a (very modest) living.

True enough, but that applies to every dive op who offers nitrox doesn't it? In other locations, the price already paid for a tank of air would be deducted.. I.e. if you charge $5 for a tank of air, and $10 for nitrox, you should only be charging $5 "extra" for a nitrox upgrade to someone who already paid for air. At least with the only coz operator I have experience, it wasn't that way.

Similarly, ops that include tanks of air generally give a small discount if I bring my own tanks. Although, obviously that isn't practical in Cozumel except for those of you fortunate enough to live there.

It wasn't THAT big of a deal for me. I just lived with air. A more reasonable policy would have allowed me to dive my preferred gas, while still making a little extra profit for the operator - just not as much as they would have got if I'd been willing to pay the asking price. Most people probably don't balk at the price so it's a non issue I'm guessing.

 

[flyboy08]

Are people really arguing over $10 bucks...a day over a week period? stop hitting up Starbucks then

 

[kelemvor]

Are people really arguing over $10 bucks...a day over a week period? stop hitting up Starbucks then

No, it's $10/tank not $10/day. If you're only diving one tank a day, I guess it could be $10/day.

We were doing at least 3 tanks a day. Sometimes 4 or 5. So $30-50 on top of what was already paid for a tank of air. One of my friends on the boat had to skip a dive or two because of her residual nitrogen levels.