No LDS, Where to Get Tank Refilled?

[DwayneJ]

I have nothing against buying online, but ...

You have adds for 2 online shops as your signature. I'm guessing the only reason you ever went to the LDS was for air. Air isn't enough business to keep a shop open.

Online vs offline is invalid - Anyone can open an online store in conjunction with their physical store and in this day and age, its a basic requirement.

 

[peterbj7]

awap - I'm not trying to pick a fight with you, but I do think you have the wrong end of the stick. I am not winging about how difficult my business is, nor do I think anyone else is. If I didn't want to be in the business then I'd get out. I am merely trying to pass on an insider's view of what is currently happening in the industry, what is driving it, and what the consequences will be if it continues. You trying to personalise it with slurs and criticisms doesn't contribute to an objective discussion.

If you seriously think everything's OK, that the industry may have the odd shake-up but that's just part of normal competition and there's no more sinister movement underlying it, then you're not living in the same world as I am. I see dive businesses going bust all around me - since I spotted the closed-down retail shop that I mentioned a couple of posts ago, I have heard of another resort operation that is closing its doors for good. And they are well located with an enviable reputation for quality. At least one more here will follow it this year. Costs have simply become too high, and visitor numbers have dropped because of the recession hitting their pockets.

The same applies to resorts and LDS's in the States and Europe. Why indeed did anyone start this thread, if they hadn't already been affected by closures? A couple of days ago I was told by a large American tour consolidator that they are considerably restricting the places they go to, because either the only dive ops in the area have closed down, or the airlines have decided to stop flying there. That already applies to several Caribbean islands. Nothing to do with their quality or pricing. There is a major shift in the industry happening right now, and we will all come out of it worse off.

 

[redacted]

.... There is a major shift in the industry happening right now and we will all come out of it worse off.

I agree that things are changing. I believe the change started years ago. But I do agreed that change is being accelerated by current economic conditions. I can see some destination falling out of favor as accessibility wains and prices rise. Those that can maintain reasonable accessibility and offers competitive diving opportunities will survive and maybe even prosper. Scuba manufactures are already changing. Some of this change started with no-name mail-order scuba gear. Leisurepro successfully took it to the internet and opened up sources for brand name gear at discount prices. Now there are a number of successful internet retailers who are authorized dealers for everything they sell. Only a few manufacturers are still holding out on the internet. I expect they will also have to change or keep losing market share to those that are new or used to be back in the pack and are now moving up. Unfortunately, not all shops can make it through the changes and the shops that cling to the anti-internet manufactures may not be able to make the transition into a more competitive market when the big duo do finally make the change. You dive shop operators really do need to stop killing each other and figure out how to prosper in a free market. I also suspect your assessment of the future of Belize diving is correct. Islands that are populated for no other reason but to support recreational scuba diving are likely to be among the early losers. I do hope you can find your way through it.

So, we do agree there is a major shift in the industry happening right now. But I don't believe we will all come out of it worse off. I really believe that in the long run, most of us (scuba consumers) will see the changes remove many of the detractors to scuba diving that exist today.

Good Luck.

 

[MeiLing]

I agree that things are changing. I believe the change started years ago. But I do agreed that change is being accelerated by current economic conditions. I can see some destination falling out of favor as accessibility wains and prices rise. Those that can maintain reasonable accessibility and offers competitive diving opportunities will survive and maybe even prosper. Scuba manufactures are already changing. Some of this change started with no-name mail-order scuba gear. Leisurepro successfully took it to the internet and opened up sources for brand name gear at discount prices. Now there are a number of successful internet retailers who are authorized dealers for everything they sell. Only a few manufacturers are still holding out on the internet. I expect they will also have to change or keep losing market share to those that are new or used to be back in the pack and are now moving up. Unfortunately, not all shops can make it through the changes and the shops that cling to the anti-internet manufactures may not be able to make the transition into a more competitive market when the big duo do finally make the change. You dive shop operators really do need to stop killing each other and figure out how to prosper in a free market. I also suspect your assessment of the future of Belize diving is correct. Islands that are populated for no other reason but to support recreational scuba diving are likely to be among the early losers. I do hope you can find your way through it.

So, we do agree there is a major shift in the industry happening right now. But I don't believe we will all come out of it worse off. I really believe that in the long run, most of us (scuba consumers) will see the changes remove many of the detractors to scuba diving that exist today.

Good Luck.

I think one of the things that the LDS' that will succeed will learn to do is work their relationships with their customers. Service pays off and customers tend to remember those that make them feel they are more than just another customer. Shop loyalty isn't something that just materializes out of thin air just because you got someone to fork over $$$ for gear or even because you're the only one in the area. It's something that shop owners have to create and nurture. And most don't have a clue!

One of the things that most business owners don't want to recognize is that along with death and taxes, change is also inevitable.

 

[peterbj7]

Another change we may have to get used to is the end of cheap (by which I mean affordable) air travel. Already several destinations have dropped off the map because the airlines have ceased all services to them, and fares to others are rising fast. Typical fares to Belize have risen by over 50% in the past few months, as well as baggage restrictions now making it very difficult (and expensive) for the travelling diver. All the indications are that this trend is a permanent change, not a temporary disturbance - just read the commentaries on airlines. The British government has said that it wants to STOP people routinely flying abroad for holidays, and they are raising related taxes massively to make that happen. Other governments are following suit. We are indeed facing massive changes, and although they're tied in to the end of oil they're coming years before the oil actually would have run out. Makes sense, so there's still oil left for really essential uses.

 

[Thalassamania]

I think the end of the holiday only diver is in sight. This will cause massive dislocations in the industry, but diving will survive. Most divers will be those who enjoy diving in their local area, and some people, who like to dive and can do so, will undoubtedly change their residence. I suspect that local diveshops will continue, but I predict a downsizing, we'll see more shops moving back into the garage kind of operation that they once were and in the direction of clubs and cooperatives based around a compressor and group equipment purchases. Internet equipment purchase will become the norm, just as mail order purchases were in the beginning. Diver training will also be more like it used to be since the local environments are, by and large, far less forgiving than are the vacation spots that people are currently trained for in reality. Back to the future!

 

[peterbj7]

And maybe once the pain of transition is over we'll all be better off!

 

[muddiver]

EtherFill 5000 enables gas fills over the Internet

That's some of the funniest s**t I've seen in a long time

 

[Ron Brandt]

I suspect that local diveshops will continue, but I predict a downsizing, we'll see more shops moving back into the garage kind of operation that they once were and in the direction of clubs and cooperatives based around a compressor and group equipment purchases. Internet equipment purchase will become the norm, just as mail order purchases were in the beginning. Diver training will also be more like it used to be since the local environments are, by and large, far less forgiving than are the vacation spots that people are currently trained for in reality. Back to the future!

My first instructor 28 years ago worked out of his garage,top notch.He was also the Dean of Engineering at our University. The classes were conducted at the university as well as the confined water.

There were 2 other shops stocking gear and he would refer students to those shops. The other shops welcomed free-lance instructors to run their own courses...There were no "dive shop wars" and at the lake the professors portable compressor was shared by all.

These were truly good times and the greed of the shop owners were minimal. Why did they close? Well, the prof was actually too busy and for health reasons stopped. The other 2 closed for various reasons but was not for lack of business.

Ron