I Don't Understand Dive Shops

[admikar]

Maybe I'm just in the habit of feeling like a place has to earn my business instead of being entitled to it because they happen to be in my state.

Best line in this thread so far.

 

[LakeCountyDiver]

yeah that won't work.

Why won't it? I would agree if that charge was for every suit you wanted to try on but if you intended on buying a suit the from that shop I don't see the problem with it. so many people go to dive shops to window shop and then go home and buy it online for cheaper.

 

[LakeCountyDiver]

I have had the luxury of visiting dozens and dozens of shops all across the state of Florida. And I can tell you that some are great and some you couldn't pay me to go back inside. With Florida there is several different niches and markets so no two shops are alike. Almost all shops will market locally for their types of diving for example in Venice Florida it's all about shark tooth diving, on the east coast in Jupiter it's all about drift dives, in North Florida where I live It's all about cave diving.

Some shops are ran by old divers that no longer have the passion to dive nor have the care to be in customer service. Others are younger newer shop owners that almost kill you with kindness and customer service. Then there's a huge mix in between. It's no doubt that online sales kill gear sale profit. That is where we have seen an increase in training cost.

I have 10 shops around me that specialize in technical and or cave diving. They are all unique and all have their purpose. Because even though there are 10 dive shops just for cave diving in this area there are more than 10 different kinds of divers so everybody has their style of shop.

 

[kelemvor]

Why won't it? I would agree if that charge was for every suit you wanted to try on but if you intended on buying a suit the from that shop I don't see the problem with it. so many people go to dive shops to window shop and then go home and buy it online for cheaper.

Because most people won't pay $20 for the privilege of shopping in some store. They're cutting their own throats.

 

[LakeCountyDiver]

Because most people won't pay $20 for the privilege of shopping in some store. They're cutting their own throats.

They're not paying anything extra if they intend to buy the dry suit. A drysuit is definitely something I would buy in store.

 

[kelemvor]

They're not paying anything extra if they intend to buy the dry suit. A drysuit is definitely something I would buy in store.

No, they're paying $20 for considering whether or not they should buy the suit. What if they don't like the suits in the store or they don't fit or whatever? It's an example of a shop that is doomed by its own actions.

 

[LakeCountyDiver]

Then do yourself a favor and shop elsewhere. If I knew I was buying a drysuit and I was going to buy it from this shop I would have no trouble spending $20 to try on suits or getting measured to order a suit.

 

[Jcp2]

Most high end ski boots and ice skates require a fit session and heat molding for them to perform as intended. Shops around me charge for this service if the gear is bought somewhere else, but include it as part of the price if bought from the shop.

 

[kelemvor]

Then do yourself a favor and shop elsewhere. If I knew I was buying a drysuit and I was going to buy it from this shop I would have no trouble spending $20 to try on suits or getting measured to order a suit.

That's exactly my point. That's definitely what I'd do (shop elsewhere) as will most people who aren't already "loyal customers." That shop will eventually lose some of their existing customers, and without the ability to bring in new customers they'll eventually go out of business. We somewhat frequently see posts on Scubaboard about shops taking an adversarial tact with potential customers, usually followed by the shop closing up. Combine that with the fact that it's Florida rather than Arizona which means the customer has a plethora of dive shop choices.. why would they pay $20 to shop at one when they could go down the road to shop at others? The only reason I can see someone doing that is if they really liked the particular shop and felt a need to stick with that particular one. In fact, if you're spending thousands on a drysuit I think you'd be a fool to not shop around first. There's so many brands and so many options within each brand.. not every shop stocks every brand or even every model of a given brand.

 

[ORsolodiver]

And the surf on the coast precludes diving a huge chunk of the time
And its cold water
Seems like most Portland metro area divers actually drive the 3 hrs up to Hood Canal in WA to where they can reliably dive

Definitely true for me. I did a dive on the coast once and quickly realized for a slightly longer drive there was much better diving to be had up north.