Future of DiveShops?

[Kevrumbo]

If a particular Local Dive Shop has the market & service expertise to deal in quality volume with College & University Marine Biology Departments; Film & TV Industry; County/State Gov't Fire & Police; Commercial Divers --all conveniently located around the Ports of Los Angeles/Long Beach, gateway to the best temperate water kelp forest diving in the world and two of the busiest commercial ports in the US-- and pass discount economics on gear & gas fills to ordinary recreational Scuba Divers like me, then they get my business.

Pacific Wilderness | PADI 5 Star IDC Dive Center

 

[thenewN2O]

Great example of knowing your market the 3rd shop has found a need the other 2 shops do not have the pool. That has created a need for gear to be certified (even if the insurance reason is a joke) the important thing is the customers do not see it as unreasonable to use the pool

This was actually major turn-off when I was a younger man in my 20's and interested in learning to scuba dive the first time, that I walked out and did not return for another 10 years and long after I had taken my business online. The (airquote) "insurance reason" policy stank of the upsell that it was, after I had felt that I was already being sold a bill of goods. The other long thread about why diving is failing to attract new people was spot on with my own experience. My LDS makes me feel like I'm a sucker every time I walk in there. It is a very different feeling than some of the better shops I've been to.

Maybe the dive shops should take a lesson in business like how Uber and Lyft are giving the taxi drivers a lesson. What if you gave the market competitive prices and superior service instead of trying to make a quick buck out of them? You know, customer loyalty is earned ... not deserved.

 

[cerich]

I can share the perspective of a relatively new diver.

There are 3 LDS in my city that is a 500 miles drive to the nearest ocean dive site, and 200 miles to the nearest rec diving lake or quarry.

Two of the LDS are basically one-man sole proprietor training centers with a small low-cost retail footprint that sells mask/fins/snorkels and jacket BCs at full msrp to folks before their trip to Cancun.

The third LDS has an indoor training pool accessible to $150 club members. To dive in their pool for "insurance reasons" you have to either buy your regs and BCs from them, or you pay exorbitant fees per reg and BC annually for "certification". For their gear sales, they actually markup from msrp. So if I buy gear from LeisurePro at street price and tax-free, I may as well buy it from the LDS.

I end up buying online and just diving in my own pool.

That "club" sounds like quite the deal....not. The insurance is a lie. You should name the shop to protect other divers.

 

[DKL]

Mail order retailers are what is killing LDSs. People think they are getting a GREAT DEAL!! online. Ok maybe so, however, figure in shipping, figure in NO SERVICE unless you ship again. Try getting a cylinder refilled online! Or getting a Nitrox mix online! What if you need to replace a piece of equipment due to failure for a dive the next day.....go online and order it......5 to 10 days later you may get it, however your dive is lost.

People don't figure in the ability to go to an LDS and get repairs and replacement equipment, air, nitrox etc.... Most people only think about the initial price of a thing. Yes, you will pay a few dollars more at your LDS, but the long term benefits of having a good LDS is worth the few extra dollars you may spend here and there.

That's just my opinion anyway.

 

[boulderjohn]

It appears we can now safely dismiss the silly idea that local dive clubs that just provide gas fills (and let the WWW provide all gear sales) will spread across the land as the new 'model' for how the future will unfold if LDS's die out.

I have always found that idea silly. People who say that have no idea how much overhead there is in owning and maintaining what you need to fill tanks. The example I gave is for a shop in an area where there is great local diving and where many local divers own tanks that need to be filled. I spend most of my time in Colorado, and the shop where I work fills 99 +% of their tanks for one purpose--using them in instruction. If they fill 10 tanks a year for people (other than me) doing local diving, I would be surprised.

 

[MrCultureJammer]

Mail order retailers are what is killing LDSs. People think they are getting a GREAT DEAL!! online. Ok maybe so, however, figure in shipping, figure in NO SERVICE unless you ship again.

I buy online exclusively, and free shipping is included usually above $99 or so. The few times I have had to pay for shipping it still beats my LDS by a mile price-wise. As far as needing service, I just take my reg to the manufacturer (many are local to me, though that doesn't work for everyone. When I lived in another state I even mailed it back to the manufacturer once anyhow to have it done) or to the LDS and have it done. No big deal.

 

[DKL]

I buy online exclusively, and free shipping is included usually above $99 or so. The few times I have had to pay for shipping it still beats my LDS by a mile price-wise. As far as needing service, I just take my reg to the manufacturer (many are local to me, though that doesn't work for everyone. When I lived in another state I even mailed it back to the manufacturer once anyhow to have it done) or to the LDS and have it done. No big deal.

Where do you get your gasses? Online? Where would you go for an emergency to save a dive? Online? Its nice you have manufacturers near you, but most of us don't. I depend on my LDS for nearly everything. I don't mind paying a small premium for the extra service and customer support. Another big plus is being able to try gear prior to purchasing it. I can try gear in the LDS pool and make sure its what I want prior to the big purchase....you can't get that type of service from an online retailer. For me my LDS is not an option its a huge advantage. Where do you get your visual inspections? Online? Ship your cylinders every year? It will be a sad day when LDSs go the way of the small family hardware stores, grocery stores etc... You just can't get the same service from an online big box store. I'll pay a little more to get that service. Just my opinion.

 

[Kairoos]

Anything I wear I try to buy from my LDS like exposure suits, masks, fins, gloves, hoods, etc because I want to try it on. I won't be one of those people that try something on at a store, then go home and order it online. Other equipment I tend to buy online because my LDS only sells three major brand's products. I could jump from LDS to LDS to see if they have the specific product I want, or I could just save myself the hassle and buy online. After all I do all the research myself and tend to use online reviews a lot in deciding if I want a product. I don't need to 'try on' a regulator in a store. If reviews are good then that's good enough for me (my LDS does not have a pool or anything).

I know 5 people that dive Zeagle equipment (including myself), my LDS does not have a single Zeagle product, although they're an authorized Zeagle retailer. If I wanted to buy Atomic equipment and their prices weren't crazy I'd probably consider buying a regulator there, or a BCD. One thing is that I'm not willing to pay 1.5x markup on things like knives so I will order that stuff online.

I still go into my LDS for things like fills. I brought a new tank in I ordered online the other day and they did the visual, filled it, and slapped on a nitrox sticker no problem. It's not a mom & pop type of dive shop though, maybe if I went into one of those with my new tank and asked for a visual they'd complain about how I didn't buy it from then, and I would take my tank, walk out and take it to another shop. I don't have any reason to be loyal to a dive shop, if they can't survive because people want to buy their stuff online, then I'm sorry their business model is not successful. Someone else will pop up to fill the void when they're gone.

 

[redacted]

It will be a sad day when LDSs go the way of the small family hardware stores, grocery stores etc... .

You mean you can't buy hardware and groceries any more in your area!!!

If it were good service and just a little more $$$ I probably would never have make the switch to online gear. Now I support 4 divers and have at least a dozen regulators and almost that many BCs. When a last minute problem pops up, the solution is in my dive room. And I doubt if I spend half of what you do for service.

 

[MrCultureJammer]

I buy air/gas at my LDS for $3 a fill for air. Save a dive? I prep well, so never had a need for that. I carry backup mask straps, drysuit seals, o rings, etc. Bought my drysuit online with their measurement help & info, so that went swell. Vis and hydro I do at the LDS.

Like I have said before, if a local dive club bought a compressor (it's been talked about at meetings) and could do vis/hydro I would have no need for the LDS at all, which would be fine by me.