Biggest thing killing dive shops?

[CT-Rich]

Not really..wash car in driveway at home, simple oil change,change a flat tire,put air in a tire,put windshield washer in container, replace windshield wipers, all very simple tasks, many people have someone do this for them. From what I see today very few people have any basic mechanical skills of any kind. Do not even know what direction to tighten or loosen a screw.

No car shop, gas station or repair shop stays open because of oil changes or wiper fluid. They get you in the shop and use these basic services as a loss leader.... Air is a loss leader. The dry suit purchase was much more important to the shop than the entire season of air fills. If people could buy all their major car purchases and repairs online, mechanics would be having the same problems. Gas stations are low overhead businesses and they have trouble staying open if they don't sell coffee, candy and magazines.

 

[muzikbiz22]

Gas stations are low overhead businesses and they have trouble staying open if they don't sell coffee, candy and magazines.

Yep. Look at movie theaters, (also appears to be a business riding off to the sunset), all the money is made of popcorn, mild duds and soda. It's not the cell phone, but the service contract; it's not the gasoline, it's the candy bar and soda; it's not the movie showing, it's the concessions.

 

[BDSC]

Yep. Look at movie theaters, (also appears to be a business riding off to the sunset), all the money is made of popcorn, mild duds and soda. It's not the cell phone, but the service contract; it's not the gasoline, it's the candy bar and soda; it's not the movie showing, it's the concessions.

Went to the movies a couple of weeks ago for the first time in a few years. Cost for two of us to get into the early movie was $17.50. The cost of a large bucket of popcorn, a drink, and a bottle of water was $21.00. There had to be a huge profit on that $21.00.

 

[mdb]

Went to the movies a couple of weeks ago for the first time in a few years. Cost for two of us to get into the early movie was $17.50. The cost of a large bucket of popcorn, a drink, and a bottle of water was $21.00. There had to be a huge profit on that $21.00.

Good post BDSC:

With a 52" screen, high def TV, a lazy boy, refrigerator a few feet away, no dark, germ filled,
cell phone ringing, Movie theatres for me.

As a kid the Saturday matinee was a treat, front row watching Dracula movies and Westerns.

 

[wetb4igetinthewater]

Went to the movies a couple of weeks ago for the first time in a few years. Cost for two of us to get into the early movie was $17.50. The cost of a large bucket of popcorn, a drink, and a bottle of water was $21.00. There had to be a huge profit on that $21.00.

The popcorn and sodas are pretty much zero cost, with the exception of labor (which is pretty low).

 

[boulderjohn]

The popcorn and sodas are pretty much zero cost, with the exception of labor (which is pretty low).

My freshman year in college was nearly 50 years ago, so what follows should be adjusted for inflation. One of my fellow freshmen had purchased a cotton candy machine (pretty cheap) and earned money at high school football games selling the cotton candy. He sold the cones for 35 cents. His cost per cone was 0.25 cents. He wondered if going to college would eventually give him a career that would be more lucrative than selling cotton candy.

 

[BDSC]

As a kid the Saturday matinee was a treat, front row watching Dracula movies and Westerns.

I remember my mom taking my brother and myself one Saturday and dropping us off to watch all the original Planet of the Ape movies in a row. I think there was 4 or 5 back then.

 

[wetb4igetinthewater]

My freshman year in college was nearly 50 years ago, so what follows should be adjusted for inflation. One of my fellow freshmen had purchased a cotton candy machine (pretty cheap) and earned money at high school football games selling the cotton candy. He sold the cones for 35 cents. His cost per cone was 0.25 cents. He wondered if going to college would eventually give him a career that would be more lucrative than selling cotton candy.

A friend of mine working in the theaters told me that the cola they sold was a nickel per batch. This was 30 years ago.

 

[dmaziuk]

Apples to Oranges. To service and maintain vehicles of today would require thousands upon thousands of dollars of equipment. Just not practical at all.

Not anymore: a usable OBD scanner can be had for under a hundred bucks these days.

 

[WantSomeScuba?]

Not anymore: a usable OBD scanner can be had for under a hundred bucks these days.

Kinda, but you have to have the know-how to actually work on your car as well. I dive with plenty of people who can tell me if their first stage is leaking, and some who could even tell where it's likely leaking from, but I don't know a ton of recreational divers who know their regulators well enough to actually fix them.

That, and factor in that something like ALLDATA costs a couple hundred bucks a month, and car maintenance is still super expensive, unless you really know what you're doing.