I didn't read every reply to this thread but I do have some comments, some which may have been already stated. If you know that the dealer 1 hour away from your house is breaking their dealer contract and may risk losing their dealership, why would you buy product from then anyhow. Sidenote, It is against federal anti-trust laws to have price controls, but it is still done and enforced by companies, I can think of one MAJOR sports accessory company that controls prices quite well and has hush hush ways of making sure stores control the prices. How will a dealer deal with your product if they aren't an authorized dealer. I also feel that bargaining is the burden of the customer. You woudln't walk out of a car dealership after the first time they tell you that is the best they can do. Also, on the side of the dealer, I have learned that customers that beat you down in price are frequently not customers that are worthwhile having. This may be a once in a blue moon event for you. On your side, I also believe that the tank fill punch card would be a good idea, does keep you in the store. The store needs to keep a certain profit margin in order to stay profitable, like you said $100 is $100, and the owner of that store certainly isn't getting rich off of having a SCUBA store. I say buy the transmitter at full price, but ask them to throw in the punch card, this way I bet you can get 2 punch cards and they will still keep a high margin. How much money have you spent at this place before, having a good repour and not whoring around at other stores will get you better leverage with them. I know I don't have a loyal customer when they tell me that they have been to every store, I know that that customer is just the customer looking for the best deal, and my sacrifice in margin will not earn me their future business, and if so, I will always have a customer that makes me very low margin.
