Biggest thing killing dive shops?

[mdb]

APD (maker of the most popular rebreather and the Buddy Commando BCD) have started selling direct rather than via shops.

More to come.

 

[KenGordon]

One thing I don’t see mentioned regarding manufacturers selling direct to consumers is the fact of service. Most people don't service their own gear, but if they start buying direct from the company to get a deal and cutting out the LDS isn’t that going to put a wedge in between the consumer and the local shop? I’m sure there are places to mail the reg away for service, but I don’t want to have to box up my reg, drive to UPS, stand in line and pay shipping to send it back to some service center.
I’d rather drop it off to my shop as I’m out doing other things.

Apeks will service regulators mail order here.

 

[KenGordon]

Then the manufacturers selling direct to consumers are screwing themselves out of the large amount of new diver business that will be steered their way by the LDS. Seems rather shortsighted, unless they know something we don't.

They know that physical retail is dead. Why sell to an online box shifter, who takes a cut, when you can do it yourself. Either way the local shop isn’t getting the business.

 

[dmaziuk]

The thing a club enables is taking the financial risk of booking a boat. At £600/day I am not going to take the risk personally that I will find 11 other people who want to dive that day. A club can do that. If the boat is not full then the members paying their subs are subsidising the diving, but they could have taken their chance to dive.

What kind of red tape do you have to deal with, do you know? E.g. last time I worked in place that "officially" took people's money, we were legally required to keep transaction logs for 10 years. That alone takes some continuity planning and budgeting etc.

 

[KenGordon]

What kind of red tape do you have to deal with, do you know? E.g. last time I worked in place that "officially" took people's money, we were legally required to keep transaction logs for 10 years. That alone takes some continuity planning and budgeting etc.

I (currently the treasurer) try to everything electronically, via online banking, so the membership can see that everything is above board. We have risk assesments which the pool provider insist on, and we have the BSAC third party insurance. We had to generate a fair bit of paper for a grant application which paid for 10 sets of kit (bought from our LDS).

Even in my own, proper, limited company I think I only need 6 years of records for the Tax man.

 

[dmaziuk]

Even in my own, proper, limited company I think I only need 6 years of records for the Tax man.

10 years was back down under and in another century. I've no idea what kind of "official standing" a club may go for here in Murka, and what the rules for that might be. I just have a suspicion it might be a tad more involved than "a bunch of guys in a pub".

 

[HantsDiver]

10 years was back down under and in another century. I've no idea what kind of "official standing" a club may go for here in Murka, and what the rules for that might be. I just have a suspicion it might be a tad more involved than "a bunch of guys in a pub".

How much regulation does it require for private individuals to buy a compressor? Remember no one is making any money. It's just a group of friends sharing the cost of their hobby.

It's not that different to a group of guys buying and maintaining a nice car for some form of racing. They might have a compressor in the garage for that as well.

 

[Eric Sedletzky]

I think where the industry went wrong was allowing discounts by certain retailers in the first place.
There are some industries where prices are universally fixed, dealers/ retailers are not allowed to discount items and create market uncertainty.
If prices were all the same accross the board then it wouldn’t matter where you bought it.
This would be good for LDS’s but horrible for consumers. I rather like the lid blown off the industry to see the actual guts of how the machine works. This of course is the worst nightmare of a scenario for the high retail LDS.
So the big talk now is where do we get air fills?
I’m just trying to plan for eventual and inevitable since I’ve been told LDS’s lose money on air fills.

 

[Kevrumbo]

I think where the industry went wrong was allowing discounts by certain retailers in the first place.
There are some industries where prices are universally fixed, dealers/ retailers are not allowed to discount items and create market uncertainty.
If prices were all the same accross the board then it wouldn’t matter where you bought it.
This would be good for LDS’s but horrible for consumers. I rather like the lid blown off the industry to see the actual guts of how the machine works. This of course is the worst nightmare of a scenario for the high retail LDS.
So the big talk now is where do we get air fills?
I’m just trying to plan for eventual and inevitable since I’ve been told LDS’s lose money on air fills.

This is an example of a successful business plan where a long time LDS got it right, still using traditional advertising, word-of-mouth reputation, and person-to-person manufacturer/retailer/customer relationships, but also now supplemented by e-commerce marketplace (i.e Groupon etc) to bring in new customers.

For over 30 years in Southern California, LDS Pacific Wilderness San Pedro as authorized dealers (ScubaPro/Apeks/Aqualung) have had the knowledge & expertise to directly service the yearly maintenance and repair on all of Los Angeles County's Fire, Sheriff & LA Port Police Police, and the USC/Wrigley Science Center Research Divers on Catalina-- all of their Scubapro/Aqualung Regs in volume, as well as the in-shop facility to hydro test their cylinders.

Time is money, the real & most basic dynamic commodity --if you've got the knowledge, skill, ability and most of all --TIME!!!-- and your own network of supply chain manufacturers over the internet to help you confidently purchase and work on your own personal gear, then great!

LA County Public Service, Port Police and USC/Wrigley Marine Science Divers don't have time to shop for, service & repair their gear by parcel post or the Internet --especially critical life support gear like regs-- nor do they have time to go traipsing off to junket trips like DEMA. Hence the economics of the Local Dive Shop, of which Pacific Wilderness San Pedro has the most centralized mainland location for the fastest turn-around drop-in delivery & pick-up, as well as the best service/repair techs in all of LA County. And typically they have and pass on the best retail prices in town for us regular recreational divers, because of all these yearly high volume purchase/service order contracts with the Los Angeles County Gov't.

The other successful more famous SoCal LDS for well over 60 years, Dive 'N Surf in Redondo Beach, has had the good fortune of their original legacy product and now worldwide company, the BodyGlove Wetsuit (the first marketed commercial neoprene wetsuit), to sustain them locally in what has become IMHO a fine high end surf and watersports "boutique" retail store.

 

[Eric Sedletzky]

This is an example of a successful business plan where a long time LDS got it right, still using traditional advertising, word-of-mouth reputation, and person-to-person manufacturer/retailer/customer relationships, but also now supplemented by e-commerce marketplace (i.e Groupon etc) to bring in new customers.

For over 30 years in Southern California, LDS Pacific Wilderness San Pedro as authorized dealers (ScubaPro/Apeks/Aqualung) have had the knowledge & expertise to directly service the yearly maintenance and repair on all of Los Angeles County's Fire, Sheriff & LA Port Police Police, and the USC/Wrigley Science Center Research Divers on Catalina-- all of their Scubapro/Aqualung Regs in volume, as well as the in-shop facility to hydro test their cylinders.

Time is money, the real & most basic dynamic commodity --if you've got the knowledge, skill, ability and most of all --TIME!!!-- and your own network of supply chain manufacturers over the internet to help you confidently purchase and work on your own personal gear, then great!

LA County Public Service, Port Police and USC/Wrigley Marine Science Divers don't have time to shop for, service & repair their gear by parcel post or the Internet --especially critical life support gear like regs-- nor do they have time to go traipsing off to junket trips like DEMA. Hence the economics of the Local Dive Shop, of which Pacific Wilderness San Pedro has the most centralized mainland location for the fastest turn-around drop-in delivery & pick-up, as well as the best service/repair techs in all of LA County. And typically they have and pass on the best retail prices in town for us regular recreational divers, because of all these yearly high volume purchase/service order contracts with the Los Angeles County Gov't.

The other successful more famous SoCal LDS for well over 60 years, Dive 'N Surf in Redondo Beach, has had the good fortune of their original legacy product and now worldwide company, the BodyGlove Wetsuit (the first marketed commercial neoprene wetsuit), to sustain them locally in what has become IMHO a fine high end surf and watersports "boutique" retail store.

My buddy Jon Davies works at PW, he tells me they busier than hell all the time, non stop. They got to be doing something right!