Handling LDS fee?

[runsongas]

LP abides by the rules mostly now that they are a dealer. previously, they weren't a dealer nor required to follow any policies. I don't think there ever was concrete evidence the major brands were active in supplying LP. iirc LP got in hot water buying up QC failure or ghost shift BCDs at one time from an OEM and selling them as new.

 

[rhwestfall]

This sport never was, and never will be "mainstream" or "for the masses". It is boutique, and we pay the price.

It is funny to watch folks every 1 to 2 years drop huge coin on a cell phone or a laptop or a big screen tv (chasing the new), but bitch at the cost of some scuba product that can go over 10 if not 20 years....

 

[Ghost95]

What you describe “in at $100-out for $200 “is called keystone pricing. Common in retail and is how facility can keep lights on and pay employees. As to scuba pro MSRP policy, that is true, dealer can loose the ability to sell their product if they sell below a certain amount. It is written into dealer agreement contract.

I have to wonder if keystone pricing is becoming an outdated model for a brick and a mortar store that has to compete with web based retailers. It seems just selling dive gear, filling tanks, and teaching a few classes isn't sustainable anymore.

What kind of service does a shop need to provide to be able to compete with web based shops?

 

[rhwestfall]

What kind of service does a shop need to provide to be able to compete with web based shops?

easy, online sales...

 

[Degenerate]

After I learned that my LDS charges equal to $15/30 to fill a single/doubles with AIR I pretty much stop going there.
Also the $20-25 for a simple double ender didn't help either, pricing on other stuff was along the same lines, WAY above the MSRP.
Absolutely baffled how they are still in business actually.

 

[kelemvor]

This sport never was, and never will be "mainstream" or "for the masses". It is boutique, and we pay the price.

It is funny to watch folks every 1 to 2 years drop huge coin on a cell phone or a laptop or a big screen tv (chasing the new), but bitch at the cost of some scuba product that can go over 10 if not 20 years....

Most folks will use that tv, laptop, or phone every single day. Perhaps for several or many hours each day. Most folks use scuba gear maybe 10-20 times a year for 1 or 2 hours each time. A couple thousand bucks for something I'm going to use every day is a heck of a lot easier to swallow than a couple thousand bucks for something that will spend most of it's life in a garage or closet.

 

[Jwoobs]

After I learned that my LDS charges equal to $15/30 to fill a single/doubles with AIR I pretty much stop going there.
Also the $20-25 for a simple double ender didn't help either, pricing on other stuff was along the same lines, WAY above the MSRP.
Absolutely baffled how they are still in business actually.

Woah. I thought only car dealerships got away with above MSRP these days.

But yeah, my personal limit is the lesser of 10% over online price (incl shipping) or MSRP.

 

[oly5050user]

I have to wonder if keystone pricing is becoming an outdated model for a brick and a mortar store that has to compete with web based retailers. It seems just selling dive gear, filling tanks, and teaching a few classes isn't sustainable anymore.

What kind of service does a shop need to provide to be able to compete with web based shops?

I have to wonder if keystone pricing is becoming an outdated model for a brick and a mortar store that has to compete with web based retailers. It seems just selling dive gear, filling tanks, and teaching a few classes isn't sustainable anymore.

What kind of service does a shop need to provide to be able to compete with web based shops?

Pool time at no charge for former students, offer pool use for customers that pick up recently serviced gear, attempt to price match online gear sales, offer refresher class at reasonable rate. This all can work in a facility that has a in-house pool.

 

[bradymsu]

When I worked for a local dive shop 20 years ago we predicted the demise of most local dive shops within a decade (by 2010) because we couldn't compete with the internet. I haven't worked in a dive shop in two decades but I thought most of the internet threat in the United States has been resolved through MAP (minimum advertised pricing) where major items have the same price online as in shops. For example, if I want to purchase a Sherwater Perdix AI, I should be paying $935 for it new regardless of whether it's at Dive Gear Express or my local store. Same with a xDeep Stealth 2.0 Tec Sidemount System that should cost me $599 regardless. Big ticket items, especially those that need to be serviced from a shop, I buy from my local store. The small stuff I'll buy online from the very few online retailers I trust to have items in stock that they'll take my money for. That's due more to wider selection online than price.

 

[CT-Rich]

When I buy, I research first. Window shop so I at least know what I want. With wetsuits and dry suits, if I am going buy to buy online, I don’t try the the gear on in the shop and not buy from them. That is just skeevy. If they put the bug in my ear about a piece of gear, it is their business to lose. I may check the price online, but as long as it it isn’t crazy inappropriate, they get the sale. Part of the extra cost on gear in an LDS is the sales experience, the changing room. My experience is the shop may not be cheaper, but they are usually competitive. They have given me the DM discount because I am a regular diver and not a newbie that may never continue diving.

I will also ask them if they will do a cash discount (credit card companies offer recourse on big purchases, but they are getting a fee from the shop). On special orders, like my rock boots, I got them to agree to match the return policy I would have gotten on line (boots that don’t fit are of no use).

Don’t expect your LDS in Boston to match the online warehouse prices of a store in South Dakota, but give them the courtesy of competing. If they spend an hour giving you the ins and out of different computers, don’t go and buy it online because it was $50 cheaper. They earned your business, let them get paid. Over the ten years you will own the right piece of gear, the extra cost is nothing.

Keep in mind if an online shop is sell new gear at half the MSRP, they may be selling a gray market import and you might find that it doesn’t have a valid warranty. Or they are unloading returned items or reconditioned equipment.