Air Fills in Vancouver

[No Fish]

.... I have no issues paying a fair price ..

I travel a lot, and I check out dive shops coast to coast & then some. I think many BC shops (and shops in the rest of Canada for that matter) are fair with their pricing. Your lousy tax adds to it, but otherwise, if you look around, there are plenty of deals. I buy on-line and from different shops, US and Canada.

If you are always a "low price or I'm not buying it" shopper, you get what you deserve if you have not fostered a few relationships with dive shops and you are stuck for something in a big hurry after business hours as you leave for that big trip you have planned......

I think you hit on it when you said fair price. To me a fair price also includes maybe working on being a good customer and paying a couple bucks more every once in a while. It all works out in the end.

 

[*Scuba*Princess*]

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, I think you misunderstood my message. Don't get me wrong...it goes both ways and its absurd to say customers must be bought. But it must be aggrevating for a shop owner to spend hours (gee thats them trying to keep you as a customer) with someone trying out gear just to have them buy the gear on the net.
I'm just saying when you support your LDS you are getting value for your money by having their experience, knowledge & expertise.... and they should be given the chance to give you the best deal possible.

 

[MarkH]

Wow. And it seemed like a scandal when fills in Victoria just went up to $6.

 

[gpeter]

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.

Although I agree with you that several shops have closed recently I don’t think raising the price of air fills is going to help. And the LDS aren’t exactly winning my sympathy:

1) Every time I go in to them they always push ridiculous tech gear on me and tell me I have to have it. Case in point last year I had to buy fins but couldn’t find many to fit my big boots. Every shop I went to told me the only option was some $350 split fin crap, turns out for $150 I could have a nice pair of US Divers basic fins. They're great. Worse part was that later that year, when I went to get a fill at one of those shops, the fins I ended up buying were there, the guy just didn’t show them to me.

2) I also hate the fact that prices are so elastic, I know people who can get gear for 1/2-2/3 of what I can get it just because they're buddy-buddy with the owners, I don’t want kiss butt all day, I just want to go dive. It really bugs me that I get hosed when I buy something but when buddy beside me who has no life so he hangs at the dive shop all the time buys it its half price.

In most of the shops I just get the feeling they are sizing me up to sell me the most expensive gear in the shop, they may be knowledgeable but they sure dont show it. Instead of giving me what I need to go out and have fun diving, they show me a bunch of expensive crap that I don’t kneed. I’m going to Porteau not to 300'. I know this is always a problem for any industry but the dive industry seems to be especially prone to it.

Having said that, there are some great people in the dive industry and I have to say the girls at Mermaids were the best. Went in there once with some problem(sorry cant remember what it was) and they told me exactly how to fix it myself, no charge. After that I went there for everything, finally a shop that I could trust. It really sucks they are gone.

Well im done for my rant. Time to take your pot shots.

 

[bwerb]

The only pot shot I'll take is that split fins are not for tech diving...they are for extracting maximum coinage from the pockets of the "more money = better gear" crowd. A pair of jet fins will last almost indefinitely at extremely reasonable cost...the new XXL or Turtles would likely fit your drysuit boots as well.

I really miss Mermaids too.

 

[B.C.Mike]

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...

Yes, I agree Mermaid's Cove was one of the best and friendliest dive shops arround.

Also, I hadn't been able to dive since the fall and last week I couldn't belive the price jump in air fills. Although the jump in gas prices to get to the site is also a consideration!!

 

[divereh]

I don't think anyone realizes the cost to maintain a compressor, filters, oil changes, general maintenance, it's a hell of alot more than people think. I know of one shop in Ontario that might make money off his system. the rest it just keeps the old compressor running. It's called a lost leader, just something to keep the people coming back. With the huge support going to internet sales stores have to reallign themselves a little bit, finding to ways to exist beyond gear sales, and yes air fill prices are one thing I can see increasing in the future . All the more reason to support your local dive shop

 

[sawpaterson]

i agree that shops should not put their prices that high, but they need to stay in business, and if we do not buy gear from them(buyers on net) then they have to jack up the prices, think about it, gas has gone up, real estate goes up(especialy western canada)
cost of business is always rising, and shops make no money air, it pays for the compressor to be tuned up, not if it breaks(VIctoria had 3 shops had compressors down last year)

so support those shops, if we do not use them and buy air, and gear from them, then there will be no shops left.

 

[wedivebc]

I don't think anyone realizes the cost to maintain a compressor, filters, oil changes, general maintenance, it's a hell of alot more than people think. I know of one shop in Ontario that might make money off his system. the rest it just keeps the old compressor running. It's called a lost leader, just something to keep the people coming back. With the huge support going to internet sales stores have to reallign themselves a little bit, finding to ways to exist beyond gear sales, and yes air fill prices are one thing I can see increasing in the future . All the more reason to support your local dive shop

Real good point divereh. Many stores on Vancouver Island have had an ongoing $100 per year unlimited fill deal. These shops were gambling that on average most divers would do less than 20 dives a year ($5/fill). The idea is that divers who exceed that number are more likely to buy gear. The internet has started to change that and many shops are seeing customers that only buy air cards.
It's like the Costco dive gear sales. Try taking your tanks to Costco for a fill. Try getting a reg serviced on ebay. We need these shops.
I can see why Vancouver prices are so high. Check real estate listings especially for high traffic areas where stores need to be to survive.

cheers,

 

[bwerb]

It's like the Costco dive gear sales. Try taking your tanks to Costco for a fill.

The Costco dive gear is part of the "roadshow" promotions they do. Local retailers or wholesalers spend a few days to a week doing sales in the Costco store. They work on smaller margins than they would normally but get the opportunity to perhaps sell a great deal more volume. In the Lower Mainland of BC, Great Pacific Diving is the dive shop which participates in the roadshow. The LDS IS getting the business from the Costco promotions.