hoosier:
Wow~~~ It is so pathetic and you dont get any points what other customers said.
Many service and manufacturing companies even throw out their money to find out what customers are thinking. If someone is a shop owner here, this board is a good place to find out the trend and current situation of diving industry. Look at our board members diversity in one cyberspace. Before being another pathetic LDS owners again, I hope you think about how can Larry is making money while you are complaining about an internet business? In addition, why are you here? We are on the internet you dont like, aren't we?
I am not complaining about internet business per se. Larry as Scuba Toys began as a LDS, and still is an LDS. He is a full service dealer offering airfills, training and other local oriented support. You do not see equipment by ScubaPro, Seaquest, Aqualung and others with a "No Internet Sales" policy on his website. Most of Larrys prices could be matched by high volums shops if they wanted. Many smaller shop would be happy to meet or get close to those prices on those specific items rather than lose a sale to the internet. Most local shops would be very smart to add an internet presence to their offerings and pattern themselves after his business plan. He provides a great mix of offerings.
It is the true internet stores that are basically warehouses, selling gray market materials and violating dealer agreements that are a real problem. They take a huge amount of business away from legitimate dealers.
I see many posters on the internet vs. LDS flame wars who simply look at prices only and think the LDS is ripping them off. If only they would take time to think. If their own jobs could be outsourced to some internet guy for half price, they wouldn't be able to afford anything because they wouldn't be working.
I'm not saying we should support LDSs simply because the owner has a right to earn a living, even though anyone who owns a retail store does have a right to attempt to make a living at it. Many, many areas in this country are not blessed with having multiple dive shops within range of the general public. If the internet effectively puts the small local guys out of business, the only people who will be diving will be those who live in large population bases, or can afford to dive on vacation at diving destinations. The sport would wither. It might not die, but it would be much less available to many in the general public.
Many shops in smaller market areas struggle to survive, even without internet competition. The retail markup at most dive stores is no more than virtually any other specialty product, and generally much less than any gift, clothing, furniture, food and other items found at specialty stores. Most services offered by retail scuba shops pale when compared to other services. What is the hourly shop rate for any mechanic, electrical, plumbing, welding, legal, medical or other business... anywhere from 35 bucks an hour to hundreds of bucks and hour. When people go into a dive store to try on gear to buy on the internet they are using a service. I bet most dive stores would be happy to just charge a $30 an hour service charge for information and sell gear at cost if they could get it. They'd be way ahead of the game. Ain't ever gonna happen.
I don't own a retail dive store, but I have owned a retail business in the past and have a clue about the struggles most retail dive stores have. Not everyone has the wherewithall to put together a large Scubatoys type business (even their business took years to evolve into what it is today) from day one. That business, being in Dallas (a major metropolitan area) today, very well might not work in less populated areas.
There's lots more to this issue than most people seem to think of.
later,
Steve
