How Much More Will You Spend at Your LDS?

[Zeeman]

Even so, I still think you are better off buying from a reputable dive shop.

As all of us - you are entitled to your opinion. Without being called a parasite.

If you get the know the owner well, he will give you discounts, if you need them. At least, he will, if he is a good owner.

"If" you need them? It's not a matter of "need", it's a matter of not being ripped off. we don't NEED to dive. all we need is to breathe, eat, drink water and be warm.... The rest are optional extras.

We all want everyone to be able to dive.

Buying from the internet is often unsafe, because often the gear you get is unsatisfactory. Not always, just often.

I think "rarely" is the actual word you are looking for. In fact, as a percentage of total volume, I would suggest "very rarely"..

I buy on the internet too, but only after I have checked my dive shop first. And several times, when the shop has seen what I have bought on the internet, they have begun to stock it as well. My purchases are never cheap however. So far, these items cost more than those available at a store, because I look for extremely high end products.

First of all - guess what? The first line in the above quote is what MOST people probably do already, or have done (as have I). We check with the LDS, give them a chance (as is the spirit of the thread, a fair number of people are quite willing to pay a little more), and if they give us a price we are happy with - BINGO! A business transaction takes place. I think you will find the point is that we don't like to be ripped off, and in a global market, it's very easy to make sure you get the best price.

As I said before - it's an evolving market place - adapt and survive, or die. If selling dive gear isn't paying the rent - diversify. Focus on service. Start selling fishing gear. Whatever...

You seem quite happy to point out that you are very capable of purchasing very high end products (I may say arrogantly so, in fact - I'm almost tempted to pull the Troll card) but we do not all have enormous financial resources.

I can tell you that for a lot of us, buying over the internet is not a choice of saving a few bucks, but more like the deciding factor between whether or not we actually dive...

Z..

 

[ReefHound]

I can tell you that for a lot of us, buying over the internet is not a choice of saving a few bucks, but more like the deciding factor between whether or not we actually dive...

It was for me. I had been certified long ago, doing only "resort" diving. Then got married, had kids, and drifted away for over 5 years. I remember driving down a freeway one day and seeing the dive flag of a dive shop. I said to my wife "I used to be a diver, I loved it". The words burned in my mind. "Used to be". Why? How did this happen?

I decided to get back into diving, and also knew that if it was to last it would have to be more than just resort diving. I would have to get all my own equipment and do local diving. While I probably could have "afforded" to buy at a LDS I would never have made that kind of leap. I shopped online for bargains and closeouts, put together a decent kit (reg/bc/comp) for under $500, and was still sweating about "spending so much". Since then I have spent over $1500 at my LDS on further training, so in that respect my LDS benefited from me buying gear online.

 

[Zeeman]

Sounds to me like another person giving the LDS "some" of his money rather than not diving at all...

Z...