Scuba Goop & Trident U Mark It Paint Gear Paint are same item

[FloridaRanger]

There is no scam or anything even remotely shady going on with the product, I'm afraid.

Taking a one-dollar product, putting a different sticker on it and charging divers six dollars plus shipping is not even remotely shady?

That apparent lack of business ethics certainly makes me wonder how many other ways we are being ripped off.

 

[merxlin]

No, there's no huge mystery or conspiracy: You're charging divers five dollars plus shipping for a label. You're price gouging and ripping people off. Don't try to sugar coat it with marketing jargon. If you had jacked up the price 50 percent or even doubled it, that might be understandable, but to take a $1 product, slap another sticker on top of the original one and charge divers $6 plus shipping is indefensible. Please don't give us that, "We're just honest businessmen making a modest mark-up on a specialty product." It erodes your credibility even further.

I'm not sure what you know about manufacturing and retail, but here is a typical distribution chain: Someone makes this paint, and it's not Innovative. That manufacturer is probably selling the paint directly to the hobby and craft stores, who buy in big volume and mark it up to make 30% to 50% of the selling price of $1.19. The manufacturer also may sell the product to a distributor or directly to Innovative, but probably not at the same price they sell to a hobby & craft retailer who buys in large volume. The probable scenario - Innovative buys in small quantity (think of how many bottles an LDS might have versus a rack of this stuff in a Hobby store) from a distributor (who marks it up) and has to relabel it (a cost involved for the label and labor) then sells it to Scuba.com (also at a mark up). So the original cost of say $.70, becomes $1.20 to the distributor, who could sell that to Innovative for up to $2.40, but lets say they make a margin 30% and sells it at $1.71. With a bit of freight and labor and a label, Innovative's cost could be $2.00, and if they sell at $3.00, that's a 33% margin, again, not huge in retail. If Scuba.com sells at $6.00, that is a 50% profit margin, which is very much in line for most retailers.

Manufacturers make the least amount of profit, and retailers make the most, but also assume the most risk, have to inventory the product, etc.

It may not seem right, but that is where most retail is at. You pay for a convenience (at the LDS vs. hobby store) targeted for a smaller market (dive gear vs. hobbyists).
Do you pay the same at Costco as you do at the convenience store?

 

[sean_nc]

I'm not usually one to defend marked up prices but give the guy a break.

None of us know what the distributor is charging them for the bottle. ..you know the distributor is making money off putting the label on before scuba.com even gets anywhere near it. Then scuba.com deserves to make a fair percentage on top of that to stay in business as long as it's priced where someone will buy it.

Just be happy they left the old label underneath and you can now buy it for $1.19. I might go get a cheap bottle myself.

my $.02.

 

[FloridaRanger]

Sean, if you do get it it's well worth the $1.19. It works great for marking wetsuits, sheaths and similar gear but will not stick well to fins or other smooth surfaces. Just practice with it on another object before you mark your gear. It takes a little practice to get a smooth, consistent flow. This is a good marking product, and I said so in my product review that got pulled off their website. It just irks me that they jacked up the price 600 percent. And I wanted to let other divers know they can get the exact same product at craft stores for about a buck. The Scribbles 3D paint works better and lasts longer than any marker pens I've found. And it's cheaper, too, if you don't buy it from someone who it trying to rip you off.

 

[FloridaRanger]

Mike:

Thanks for the Marketing 101 lesson. I still think they are gouging divers. So we might as well agree to disagree.

Anyway, it is a good product for marking gear, as I stated in the review they deleted. Divers who want to try it should buy it at the dollar price on their next trip to town. Practice with it on something disposable before marking wetsuits, gloves, etc. Otherwise it is messy. Works great when you get the hang of it.

 

[sean_nc]

Thanks for the honest good review.

It does seem a little strange the post got removed, probably a bad choice on the part of some site moderator.

I still think being ripped off is too harsh. It's retail so double what they paid for it is common and for all we know he might have paid $4 or $5 to the distributor.
I'm just glad to get it for $1.19.

Now if we could just peel the label off some scubapro or aqualung stuff and get it cheaper.

 

[westy31006]

Thank you for the info....I do 95% of my dive shopping at Diver's Supply in Macon..I find the guys there VERY honest. If they knew Scuba Goop was just relabeled craft store crap I truly believe they would tell me (as they have on other small items in their store). Since they have been honest with me on little things, I don't buy my big ticket items from someone else who might beat them by $ 10 or $ 15.

Oddly enough, I have bought one tube of that Scuba Goop but been afraid to use it, because I am not very artsy. I am afraid I will make a mess. I am curious...Has anyone used craft store paint pens to mark their gear? It seem like they would be neater and easier to fill in letters as they fade.

Thanks....btw...the smiley popcorn dude a couple of you posted was pretty funny...i have never seen that one...

 

[RAWalker]

I find that on harder surfaces like some fins, plastic dive lights, reels etc a paint marker outlasts 3D type paints but still may require reapplication every so often.

 

[FloridaRanger]

Westy -- If you try it without practicing you probably will make a mess. I did with my nice Scuba Pro gloves because I didn't practice first. Now that I have the hang of it, it looks fine on my other gear. Just take a piece of cardboard or throw-away cloth and practice getting a smooth, consistent line. You will catch on pretty fast. At $1.19 you won't mind using up the Scribbles 3D Paint to practice. With $6 plus shipping "Scuba Goop" ... not so much.

As Walker said, it won't stick that well to masks, fins, etc.; marker pens are best for those. But it's great for wetsuits, booties, hoods, gloves, sheaths, etc., which I've found require constant remarking with marker pens. The Scribbles 3D Paint will stick to those great, it will last, and it is way more visible. It's also cheaper.

I'm with you on finding a dive shop you trust. When I was first gearing up, I picked up some stainless snaps, and the guy said, "Don't buy those here, buy them at Home Depot. They're half the price." He explained that they stock them for people to whom price is no object.

And I suppose people like that who read this thread will still want to buy the jacked up "Scuba Goop" for convenience. More power to them. I just wanted to share this information with divers for whom price does matter. And to expose what I still think is price gouging on a product that admittedly could be sold for a higher price to divers than to crafters ... but 600 percent higher? Plus the shipping? Not if you have a rudimentary sense of right and wrong.

A Web site that does that and then deletes an honest product review is not in the same league with your Diver's Supply in Macon or many other businesses I deal with. They can blame it on the supplier. Or they could state in the product description that this is Scribbles 3D Paint, a crafts store paint that works great on wetsuits.

FR

 

[Scuba.com]

Honestly, I don't have an answer as to why it's gone from our site. A review like that wouldn't be something I'd purposely remove, so the only possible thing I could say it I clicked the wrong button and deleted rather than added my response. Honestly I've no answer. )

If there was any ill intent I'd not have reposted my answer here as well though and just let the thread die a boring death like so many of them do.