discrepencies in training prices

[fishballer]

after ~50 dives, i decide it's time to get my aow and nitrox. so i go and call a few lds around the area and ask for prices.

shop A : AOW - $170 (spring special. normally 199). includes books.
Nitrox - $90 (normally 150). includes books.

shop B : AOW - $235. does not include books.
AOW book - ~$50
Nitrox - $105. does not include books.
Nitro book - $73

Shop A - $260 (349 if taken separately)
Shop B - $463

How do shops determine their training prices?

 

[oly5050user]

after ~50 dives, i decide it's time to get my aow and nitrox. so i go and call a few lds around the area and ask for prices.

shop A : AOW - $170 (spring special. normally 199). includes books.
Nitrox - $90 (normally 150). includes books.

shop B : AOW - $235. does not include books.
AOW book - ~$50
Nitrox - $105. does not include books.
Nitro book - $73

Shop A - $260 (349 if taken separately)
Shop B - $463

How do shops determine their training prices?

Difficult to compare apples vs oranges...some facilities use a boat some do not.some may do dives with the nitrox course ,some may not..an advance course using a dry suit or a camera dive as one of the electives would charge more..some may pay their instructors better..The differences in price are not really that great on what you have listed.Go with the one that you feel most comfortable with..

 

[rakkis]

Are these all the same training agency? Some agencies's AOW is longer and thus more labor-intensive for the instructor.

Are both shops including any dives for the Nitrox part? Though not entirely necessary, these are nice to have. A class with just classroom and no dives will certainly be cheaper.

Are you comparing apples to apples? Some places will nickel and dime each component of the class separately so as to give the impression of a cheaper class. So they will price their "class" as being really cheap, but they don't tell you about instructor/agency/pool/rental fees until $$ time.

 

[rjack321]

And some will take your money and give you a card...

You get what you pay for, interview the instructor to understand what the class is all about and what you are expected to get out of it.

 

[fishballer]

i'm doing my best to compare apple to apple.

both do their training dives in quarries. Shop A does it 50 minutes away, Shop B 3 hrs away. prices for those differ too, but i don't think it affects the course prices, do they?

both of them don't do nitrox dives. just classroom.

i have all my gear except for the wetsuit, so rental prices don't come into play.

funny thing is, if i add up all the cost (wesuit rentals; quary entrance fees; long drive, gas + hotel vs not as long drive, less gas and no hotel), the price difference is about $25.

the biggest thing that i can't really comprehend is that one charges 170 while the other charges 285 for the AOW class.

 

[diver 85]

Go with shop A, 5 yrs from now it won't matter which one you went with.....

 

[GA Under Water]

difference between All-inclusive, and Class/dives + materials. Find the price that you can live with then ask the other shop to meet or beat. Can be the difference between a 1 hour ride and a 3 hour ride. or even a 1 hour ride for the pool and a 15 min ride.

Edit::
Materials = Rentals, books, DVDs, park entrance etc etc

 

[fisherdvm]

Check out what kind of dives will you do. Is it just the bare minimum for the specialties, then they will throw in a few more. Or will you actually get to pick a specialty dive that you want. I mean, like, "underwater naturalist", is not quite a speciality.

Also, is it a boat dive at a nice reef, or is it a shore dive from the local pond.

If all you wanted was the AOW badge for a stepping stone to rescue class, then shop A is the answer.

 

[Xman]

Check out what kind of dives will you do. Is it just the bare minimum for the specialties, then they will throw in a few more. Or will you actually get to pick a specialty dive that you want. I mean, like, "underwater naturalist", is not quite a speciality.

Also, is it a boat dive at a nice reef, or is it a shore dive from the local pond.

If all you wanted was the AOW badge for a stepping stone to rescue class, then shop A is the answer.

Read the posts before asking questions. As posted by the original poster, both shops do quarry dives.

To the original poster.. I would see which shop offers the particular dives that you want to do as part of your AOW. Its really not that big a prioce difference.

 

[fisherdvm]

Read the posts before asking questions. As posted by the original poster, both shops do quarry dives.

To the original poster.. I would see which shop offers the particular dives that you want to do as part of your AOW. Its really not that big a prioce difference.

Does anyone honestly read all the posts before they type?? Sorry.... I tend not to do that.