BC manufacturers must be Raking it in...

[shoredivr]

There may be more of a wagon weel business in this country than you think. There are a wide range of wagons, carts, carriages, weels, harness and accessories available from quite a few sources.

[off topic /]
Well, I live in Mennonite country and there are a lot of horse drawn wagons, wheels, carts, etc. around here. For work and for transport. The Mennonite community is growing in Southern Ontario, so Mike's analogy isn't so far fetched.

[/off topic]

 

[Nemrod]

Nemrod,

As usual you can't offer any support for your opinions.



Tobin

Like ADD and child cough medicine and all of the other manufactured needs, the fluff and puff BC with levers and buttons is a manufactured need that is far over priced for it's functional value. Feed the Pig.

I like what I wrote before NetDoc stepped in to protect Cool from bad ol'Nemrod.

N

 

[cool_hardware52]

As usual your as a bag of hot air and ultimately as void.

N

Nemrod,

You have repeatedly made the claim that all BC's are over priced, "just a bag of air" etc., in this thread and many times before.

Do you have any evidence, other than your unsupported opinion, to support this claim?

Do you have any experience manufacturing BC's or wings or any inflatable for scuba?

How do you explain that in a competitive market place, that features many many different brands of wings and BC's that there is a fairly narrow range of prices?

Can you offer any facts, or just more personal attacks?

Tobin

 

[texdiveguy]

Scuba diving and in particular technical and CCR diving is a very expensive sport.....if you want to play you are just going to have to pay the cost!

 

[SparticleBrane]

For someone that puts in the kind of time and effort into researching what people want and how to make the best wings (and other gear), Tobin's prices are well worth it.
Tobin is a fellow diver who makes stuff that divers need, or things that we can use to make life easier. Divers making stuff for divers. What more can you ask for?

What's great is that he's easily accessible and is 100% committed to standing behind his products, all of which are top notch.

 

[jeraldjcook]

For someone that puts in the kind of time and effort into researching what people want and how to make the best wings (and other gear), Tobin's prices are well worth it.
Tobin is a fellow diver who makes stuff that divers need, or things that we can use to make life easier. Divers making stuff for divers. What more can you ask for?

What's great is that he's easily accessible and is 100% committed to standing behind his products, all of which are top notch.

Absolutely. Awesome gear at a reasonable price. He even throws in a free kitchen knife.

Tobin,

Just curious, do you sell your products directly from your web site, or through dive shops.

Steve

He does both, but why not buy direct from Tobin like I did and cut out the middle man. That's extra profit for Tobin for more R&D.

 

[Nemrod]

Nemrod,

You have repeatedly made the claim that all BC's are over priced, "just a bag of air" etc., in this thread and many times before.

Do you have any evidence, other than your unsupported opinion, to support this claim?

Do you have any experience manufacturing BC's or wings or any inflatable for scuba?

How do you explain that in a competitive market place, that features many many different brands of wings and BC's that there is a fairly narrow range of prices?

Can you offer any facts, or just more personal attacks?

Tobin

Tobin, as always you attack people who don't agree with you. If you want proof, visit a dive retailer or look at page 66 of Scuba Diving. The truth is out there. The featured BCs run to over 800 dollars. The OP made an observation and I agree with him more or less.

N

 

[The Chairman]

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[cool_hardware52]

Tobin, as always you attack people who don't agree with you. If you want proof, visit a dive retailer or look at page 66 of Scuba Diving. The truth is out there. The featured BCs run to over 800 dollars. The OP made an observation and I agree with him more or less.

N

The OP's observation was that BC's manufacturers were making large profits, i.e. that their costs were low compared to the prices charged.

You contend that BC's high priced because they include features that are unnecessary.

I have never defended "fluffy" bc's, the goods I design are as simple as possible.

While I agree, and have stated so in this thread, that many BC's are far more "feature rich" than required, there is a difference in the OP's observation, and yours.

As a commercial manufacturer of BP&W's I am pretty well informed about the actual costs of manufacturing, marketing and distributing such goods. I'll venture my information is better than yours.

The fact remains that scuba is a competitive arena with many suppliers of all goods including inflatables, yet the retail prices paid are in a reasonably narrow range.

"Obscene" profits are the product of limited competition, or cartels.

Much like nature hates a vacuum, business treats high margins the same way, and will rush to fill them.

Tobin

 

[redacted]

The fact remains that scuba is a competitive arena with many suppliers of all goods including inflatables, yet the retail prices paid are in a reasonably narrow range.

Yes, it is a competetive arena. But my impression is that the competition is not focused on retail price. Most seem to compete with brand names, features (mostly bells and whistles) and the resulting prices remain artificially high. High enough that smart entrepreneurs can jump in and be successful by offering a quality product in spite of low volume sales and high start-up investments.

And it is not just BCDs. Look at regulators. Why is a Mk25/S600 so much more expensive than a Mk2/R190? IMHO, the difference has little to do with production costs and is mostly about what the consummer can be sold on.

To bad this industry does not put as much effort into satifying divers as it does into fooling them.

Tobin - If your gear had an "H" on it, what do you think the prices would look like?