Air Fills in Vancouver

[gpeter]

Does anyone know why airfills in vancovuer have gone from 5$ a fill to $10, and nobody wants to work a deal with an air card, ect. ?

 

[MechDiver]

Does anyone know why airfills in vancovuer have gone from 5$ a fill to $10, and nobody wants to work a deal with an air card, ect. ?

Washington, British Columbia, Slobovia??

Did you ask the dive shop?

 

[gpeter]

Does anyone know why airfills in vancovuer have gone from 5$ a fill to $10, and nobody wants to work a deal with an air card, ect. ?

Apparently all the dive shops in vancouver, BC, Canada have gotten together and decided on one price for air fills, no air card deals (though some seem to be ok with 20% off if you buy a 20 fill card). Since fills were $5 up until last fall. I was wondering if anyone knows where you can still get $5 fills. Doubling the price as a group seems a bit like collusion to me.

 

[Web Monkey]

That's about $14 US, which is about double what I pay in the US.

At $20/tank, it would only take about 300 fills to pay for your own compressor. Maybe you and some friends could get together and buy one? (You would still need to cover electricity, maintenance, filters etc.), but it still sounds less expensive than what you have.

You could also contact your Friendly Local Government, since they do have a department that looks into price fixing (Competition Bureau?).

Tell them it's bad for business to nail tourists (and locals) on air fills

Terry

Apparently all the dive shops in vancouver, BC, Canada have gotten together and decided on one price for air fills, no air card deals (though some seem to be ok with 20% off if you buy a 20 fill card). Since fills were $5 up until last fall. I was wondering if anyone knows where you can still get $5 fills. Doubling the price as a group seems a bit like collusion to me.

 

[Former FLL Now MSP Diver]

Other way around Terry - CAN$10 ~ US$7.30

Seems like our BC friends have been getting quite a deal when it was at CDN$5. That's about US$3.50!

Marc

 

[H2Andy]

i am cursed when it comes to all things mathematical, but my trusty exchange
calculator assures me that ten Canadian dollars is roughly $7.27 U.S.

 

[*Scuba*Princess*]

Good catch Marc. It is very true that Vancouver divers have been getting a deal for a long time. The $5 fill was established in 1979 and was held as long as it could have been. Anyone providing airfills had to have Government testing done by the Workers Compensation Board to ensure quality and consistency. That service used to be free but now they have cut that service and the tests have to be paid for....so the price goes up. Also many don't realize that they have also had some of the LOWEST class prices around too. The shops here are practically giving classes & air away and what thanks do they get....divers go and buy their gear off the net! I hear of many net buyers getting gear that hasn't been maintained, needs parts replaced or is an out-of-date model (not what they were price comparing at the stores) and then they come to the LDS for advice and repairs! Of course the LDS will do what they can but don't expect any loyalty or deals if you dont give them the loyalty first. Thus prices have to go up.

The shops here are not exactly thriving. A couple of shops here have closed their doors already this year and I'd hate to see any more go. SUPPORT YOUR LDS PEOPLE and it will come back around to you.

 

[MechDiver]

Of course the LDS will do what they can but don't expect any loyalty or deals if you dont give them the loyalty first.

Although I also choose to support shops, loyalty to a customer should not have to be bought, it should be there as soon as someone they've never seen before comes through the front door. Operating on the "pay me lots of money and I'll be your friend" idea will get them closed.

Competition for money is fierce, why people think the scuba industry should be any different I don't know. If someone does not give me value for my money, I will go somethere that does. It is not up to me to keep my dive shop in business, it is up to them to keep me as a customer.

MD

 

[bcsean]

BC's pricing is screwed. I have no issues paying a fair price for classes and air, yes this means raising the prices, but all so they can be realistic on gear prices. There are so many places we can get gear way cheaper, it's becoming really hard for a knowledgable shopper to buy anything locally. I'm getting brand new equipment at less then half of what it'd cost me in my LDS after I've already spent lots there and they're cutting me deals. Something is wrong here.

As for $10 a tank? Doesn't seem like that big a deal. $20 for a day of diving seems reasonable to me.

 

[bwerb]

Until Mermaid's closed in March you could rent AL80's for $5 including the fill...and they were sweet tanks...sherwood rubber valves, no boot, no paint...sigh...