Let us assume that in fact, the LDS closed and now there is a non-diving facility providing its equipment for local divers. They are the ones who need the fills after all. If we are talking about a few divers, and those divers dive only on the weekends, I cannot see a tremendous amount of extra wear and tear that could not be easily covered by the fill fees. The facility acquired the equipment for its own private use as it is needed for its operations. They did not go out and purchased a unit out of the goodness of their hearts to help divers. For what is worth, they may be even making a small profit by selling fills to the small number of divers.
If we are talking about a significant number of local divers who need to get their fills at the non-diving facility because the LDS flopped, then that is an entirely different subject. Why is it that with the presence of a significant number of local divers a dive shop did not find enough profits to stay in business?
Whatever legit reason may be obscured by an excuse (blame the Online Shops, Blame E-bay, Blame the new dive shop, etc) bottom line is that vast majority of the local divers did not see the value or trusted the LDS enough to keep it running.
Frankly, when it comes to prices, I do not really see a problem between LDS prices and Online prices. The real problem here, is the PERCEIVED value. People DO NOT necessarily purchase something based on prices but rather based on value.
In the many threads similar to this one, one can find several posters who happily support their LDS. These are not money-loaded spend rifts. These are regular folks who found a lot more than just gear. The most common phrase I see is "I do not mind paying a few extra bucks in return for the support and guidance I get". Kudos to the owners of those shops! They have earned the trust and appreciation of their customers. These are the owners who take the time to answer every question, who take the time to make people feel welcome, who take the time to build rapport and who make the customer feel like a friend. When it is time to ring the register, the last thing that will be on the customer's mind will be "I could've paid less online". Instead, the customer will be thinking how great and helpful the person was, and how the advice and recommendations were PRICELESS. Trust and rapport can overcome any price markup. Word of mouth will spread, and a repeat business is virtually assured.
HOWEVER, if the customer's experience is the opposite, you can be sure the reviews will be anything but positive. Again, let's refer to threads similar to this one. The most common grievances refer to LDS owners who think they are doing the customer a favor, or are too pushy, or make promises they do not keep, or preach the virtues of the gear they sell and put down the brands they do not stock. Trashing a brand not carried may have worked in the 80s where instant information was not available. In this era of fast information, LDS owners who vilify rival brands are setting themselves up for failure. You can be sure that the customer will be using resources like scubaboard to research the "evil" gear only to find many satisfied users. Who ends up looking like a loud-mouthed fool full of hot air? It's not the "evil" gear manufactures for sure.
This is the kind of scenario that erases every trace of value from a shop, and makes the customer focus on the more obvious bottom line, PRICE.
A customer happy with his LDS will disregard the markup because they know they are getting a lot more for their money than tangible goods. A mistreated LDS customer will feel ripped-off and disrespected in every instance, and should they ever get a break, they will not be grateful, rather they will say something along the lines of "It's about time, I deserve it for putting up with that A..H..."
It is very easy to get caught in the trap of competing for prices. Not too easy to stand out by providing superb value.
The advantage of the LDS owners is that they have the upper hand when it comes to building rapport and trust, and yet somehow, a significant number are failing to do so. The successful online retailers are aware of how important trust from their clients is to stay in business. They are doing a great job of earning the customer's support and trust despite the lack of direct one-on-one interaction. Heck, I have never met Joe or Larry at Scuba Toys, or Phil Ellis, but I would not hesitate to do business with them when needed. I do this based on my previous experiences and the efforts they make to communicate. And yes, I also support my LDS, and as long as they remain professional, helpful, and not preachy, I will continue to do so.
Based on my opening paragraph, and based on the scenario given, if the number of divers is so high that it warrants a significant amount of extra wear and tear on the equipment of the non-diving facility, that simply tells me the divers did not see the value on the defunct LDS and did not trust it enough to support it. It was simply a matter of time before the inevitable happened.
My 2 PSI (well, more like a full HP Steel 3442 120 Cu. cylinder)
