Comparison of the buying online vs local LDS argument
- Thread starter Marie13
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Not sure I understand. I'm assuming that by "small mom and pop cost", you mean THEIR cost, as in, what the LDS pays their supplier for an item. Of course the online store is going to have a lower customer price for the item than the LDS.
If an online store sells a product for LESS than the LDS is paying their supplier, then why wouldn't the LDS buy it from the online store?
For example. DGX sells an AL80 for $169. Ground shipping is $26. So total cost is $195.
If LDS cost (that is, what they pay for the tank) is $210 from Luxfer, and they sell it for $240, why wouldn't they just buy it from DGX?
Online stores are cheaper because they sell more volume and therefore get a bigger discount. It's a positive feedback cycle.
Why in the world don't you also sell things online? Most of the big online stores were local dive shops first.
Then you'd a. sell more and b. get a better discount by buying in greater bulk
Also, as I said, you've got to add value. My LDS does that by including advice/training/other things for free. He has never balked when I come in to PAY him for servicing something that I bought online (or in another physical store). Instead he's polite, and takes the money that I pay him for service.
Later, I decided I'd willingly pay more to support him since he'd done me right. If he'd given me a hard time about buying stuff elsewhere, you can bet that he'd never have seen a dime of my money again. Just as you probably won't have the opportunity to make money from that guy who was looking at tanks in your store because of your negative reaction.
Instead of looking at what others are doing and decrying them as wrong, look at what you're doing and how you can improve your situation. You sure aren't likely to get all the online stores to sell stuff for more money just so you can compete with them on price.
Why in the world don't you also sell things online? Most of the big online stores were local dive shops first.
Then you'd a. sell more and b. get a better discount by buying in greater bulk
Also, as I said, you've got to add value. My LDS does that by including advice/training/other things for free. He has never balked when I come in to PAY him for servicing something that I bought online (or in another physical store). Instead he's polite, and takes the money that I pay him for service.
Later, I decided I'd willingly pay more to support him since he'd done me right. If he'd given me a hard time about buying stuff elsewhere, you can bet that he'd never have seen a dime of my money again. Just as you probably won't have the opportunity to make money from that guy who was looking at tanks in your store because of your negative reaction.
Instead of looking at what others are doing and decrying them as wrong, look at what you're doing and how you can improve your situation. You sure aren't likely to get all the online stores to sell stuff for more money just so you can compete with them on price.
2airishuman
Contributor
So, if you shop online and search alternatives at a well-organized and well-curated online storefront, read articles the online storefront wrote to learn about the product, and then decide to buy at the LDS --- Is that ethical?
If you utilize those online resources and then look at/try on the product in person at the LDS, who are you then obligated to purchase from?
Dogbowl
Contributor
The LDS should sell the tank because it shows the customer you have what they need or want, that you have a broad inventory.
I know of a shop that sells only what the owner wants to sell, because they can get a better bulk price since they are only selling one brand of wetsuits, for example. Unfortunately, that shop doesn’t sell a lot because not everyone wants that brand of wetsuit. Then the customer goes somewhere else to buy, and the owner sells less of wetsuits and other merchandise as well over time, and the negative cycle goes on and on.
Sometimes you need to sell things to keep the customer happy and coming back to the store, even if you make no money on the item.
@doctormike is saying, in his example, that you should buy your tank at DGX at their retail price and onsell it to the customer at your store, since DGX’s retail price is less than your wholesale price. Although I’m not sure if this will work for other reasons.
2airishuman
Contributor
I am putting a compressor in the garage. I do not "need" and LDS for anything and am not going to "support" my LDS by giving them business they have not earned. I have "supported" other businesses in other walks of life in the past and had them fold anyway and will not be fooled into high-margin retail purchases again.
2airishuman
Contributor
Bubblesong
Contributor
Like I said, I shop all over the place. Yesterday I called both an LDS and Best Buy about a GoPro Micro SD card, and learned the 32GB was $70+ at LDS, while the 128GB extreme plus was $55, (on sale from $270 at Best Buy, plus Best Buy explained that when I upgrade to Gopro7 this card is 4k compatible, with a high speed rate of V30. ) Granted this is not scuba gear, just used underwater. This is the same LDS that upsold me the collection bag by letting me try it in the store.
But to answer your question directly, if I felt I received good enough information from the online shop, why would I need to go to the LDS shop? If I felt that I needed to see it in person to trust I can buy, why would I do that, then turn around go home and buy online to save a few bucks? Ultimately, I buy from the person that convinced me to buy.
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