yes see post # 384 just above. My issue with all that is that is is obvious that you can get better deals on some brands than their dealer agreements "allow", however the whole process is slimy IMHO. You shouldn't have to buy a product knowing that your warranty will be void if the "deal" you got is "discovered" by the manuf. Too many policies in place designed to penalize the consumer.
I had a moment a few years back, I was a rep for a major, walked into a store that I really enjoyed, but they did not carry much at all of the brand I repped. Anyhow the owner was in tears of frustration. He had just gotten off the phone pleading to keep his dealership with his main brand, seems the closest other dealer for his major brand had turned him in for discounting 20% to a family that had bought 4 sets of gear. They went diving with the other shop who got mad. Now, this owner KNEW what he did was a violation of the agreement, but he was competing with a "grey market" quote and wanted to make the deal. What destroyed him however was not being on the phone begging to keep the brand, it was that within 5 mins of his hanging up and being placed on "probation" and lectured that NOTHING justified discounting, he received a fax from that VERY same company offering him a discount of 25% if he would buy 6 regulators. That isn't irony, it is complete BS.
I took him out for pizza and beers and we talked diving for a couple hours that February day on the south side of Boston a decade ago, I decided to skip the opportunity to try and displace that other brand, instead we just sat and talked about what had gotten us both in this crazy industry. It was a opening that to be honest wasn't worth pushing, the brand I was working for would have done the same... It was however a moment I will never forget, now I refuse to play by the rules the "majors" try and impose because they suck, they are designed in a hall of smoke and mirrors to look good for the dealers but in reality they have DIRECTLY lead to the HORRIBLE condition the dive industry is in. Consumers hate the shops, shops hate the manufs and it ISN'T WORKING. Nobody is having fun and if we aren't having fun how can we sell people on a lifestyle of fun, adventure and exploration when we are just plain old miserable? We can't and we haven't.
I had a moment a few years back, I was a rep for a major, walked into a store that I really enjoyed, but they did not carry much at all of the brand I repped. Anyhow the owner was in tears of frustration. He had just gotten off the phone pleading to keep his dealership with his main brand, seems the closest other dealer for his major brand had turned him in for discounting 20% to a family that had bought 4 sets of gear. They went diving with the other shop who got mad. Now, this owner KNEW what he did was a violation of the agreement, but he was competing with a "grey market" quote and wanted to make the deal. What destroyed him however was not being on the phone begging to keep the brand, it was that within 5 mins of his hanging up and being placed on "probation" and lectured that NOTHING justified discounting, he received a fax from that VERY same company offering him a discount of 25% if he would buy 6 regulators. That isn't irony, it is complete BS.
I took him out for pizza and beers and we talked diving for a couple hours that February day on the south side of Boston a decade ago, I decided to skip the opportunity to try and displace that other brand, instead we just sat and talked about what had gotten us both in this crazy industry. It was a opening that to be honest wasn't worth pushing, the brand I was working for would have done the same... It was however a moment I will never forget, now I refuse to play by the rules the "majors" try and impose because they suck, they are designed in a hall of smoke and mirrors to look good for the dealers but in reality they have DIRECTLY lead to the HORRIBLE condition the dive industry is in. Consumers hate the shops, shops hate the manufs and it ISN'T WORKING. Nobody is having fun and if we aren't having fun how can we sell people on a lifestyle of fun, adventure and exploration when we are just plain old miserable? We can't and we haven't.
2 year service interval and limited lifetime warranty - not contingent on proof of service. So Atomic must feel the same way...lol.
