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I said in my blog that if a shop isn't good, find one that is or operate without, because I agree, why support a bad business?@cerich
I get it, and wholly agree. That being said, I cannot support a bad business model or support bad behavior. Regrettably, where I am, there are a dwindling number of options, mostly due to my items above......
I am not a business man, thankfully, and I don't in any way claim to have the answer, but the conditions that exist now are not good. And yes, the manufacturers & distributors are a big part of it...
This is one of the only industries I know of that MSRP is for real.....
typical, the reps job is to tie up as much of the open to buy dollars and force the shop into the brand ecosystem using credit terms, friendships, FUD selling, free trips, better pricing levels and so forth. The rep is betting that having that brand in the store is important enough that the store owner will fold and buy rentals, or the other possibility is they have another shop opening close by and that shop is ready to do a big opening order. Often a rep will promise exclusive dealerships in a area, then will have to be a dick to force the "exclusive" (which is normally a handshake with the rep, not the brand so it really means squat) dealer to dump the line when the rep has a bigger fish on the line.Our local dive shop posted a bitter "you are not our brand representative" that they received from a large brand, due to not selling any for a year. It seems the LDS rentals were a different brand, so that is what all the students kept buying.
There has to be a better marketing move than a manufacturer sending pissy letters to dive shops about not making sales! Cripes, the dive shop WANTS to sell more, so offer carrots, not sticks?
you seems as focused on gear sales as the LDS model as too many LDS's are. There are 5 potential "standard" profit centers for a dive shop, many only rely on one (gear sales). If you have a decent shop but no gear ya wanna buy, support one of those other areas. If it makes sense of courseOne issue is the good LDS may have a piece of gear you could get by with just fine, but not the one you really want. Whether it's a reg. you can get self-service kits for, a dive computer with an intuitive interface & other features you're enamored of, a particular corrosion-resistant dive knife, etc... Many LDS's cannot match the inventory of a LeisurePro, etc...
Beyond price, there's convenience, and it's not unique to scuba. I live in a small city (~ 33,000 people) with a Walmart super center at the other end of town; not all that bad to get to. But you know, I'm an Amazon Prime member; I can shop online, read some reviews & view star ratings, and have the package show up at work in 2 business days so I don't even have to drive anywhere to get it.
For many people, the LDS is a bit farther off than that. In my case, there happens to be one on a turn off of the road I drive to work on, and they've got a dive quarry, so there is that...but it's not the usual situation for most.
Richard.