ssssnake529
Contributor
New to scuba.
Trying to get my own gear for myself and my wife.
With all of the gear, I'm spending around $10k.
I'd like to purchase at my local dive shops. I've got 4 of them in my general vicinity.
The problem is that they don't have much inventory on hand, and some only carry stuff from a single manufacturer. None of them seem to stock a wide range of gear and their inventory is limited, even for basic items like regulators and bcds. I understand that they are small operations, and they can't afford to keep a bunch of capital tied up in inventory, but being able to try on and/or handle gear before you buy is one of the benefits of buying from a local dive shop.
Trying to order things that they don't have in stock is not very user friendly. The answer to the question of "when can I get it" is typically something along the lines of "I'm expecting a shipment from that manufacturer some time in the next couple of weeks and there might be one of those in that shipment." Either that or, "I can order it for you and you can get it in the next couple of weeks" or "that's on backorder, I don't know when it will be available."
If you are going to run a store and only carry limited inventory, it seems like you need to have an arrangement with your manufacturer/distributor that gets you the gear the customer wants in a couple of days. I'm trying to get my gear in hand before my open water class. Waiting an indefinite amount of time is not a great option for me.
The few things I could find at my local dive shops (either in stock or with a firm delivery date,) I've purchased at the local dive shops. The rest, I've bought online, often at lower prices and generally with free, 2 day delivery.
If this is the typical local dive shop retail model, then it's broken. They better be able to make their money from classes and trips and the like because online retail is going to push their storefront business to extinction.
Trying to get my own gear for myself and my wife.
With all of the gear, I'm spending around $10k.
I'd like to purchase at my local dive shops. I've got 4 of them in my general vicinity.
The problem is that they don't have much inventory on hand, and some only carry stuff from a single manufacturer. None of them seem to stock a wide range of gear and their inventory is limited, even for basic items like regulators and bcds. I understand that they are small operations, and they can't afford to keep a bunch of capital tied up in inventory, but being able to try on and/or handle gear before you buy is one of the benefits of buying from a local dive shop.
Trying to order things that they don't have in stock is not very user friendly. The answer to the question of "when can I get it" is typically something along the lines of "I'm expecting a shipment from that manufacturer some time in the next couple of weeks and there might be one of those in that shipment." Either that or, "I can order it for you and you can get it in the next couple of weeks" or "that's on backorder, I don't know when it will be available."
If you are going to run a store and only carry limited inventory, it seems like you need to have an arrangement with your manufacturer/distributor that gets you the gear the customer wants in a couple of days. I'm trying to get my gear in hand before my open water class. Waiting an indefinite amount of time is not a great option for me.
The few things I could find at my local dive shops (either in stock or with a firm delivery date,) I've purchased at the local dive shops. The rest, I've bought online, often at lower prices and generally with free, 2 day delivery.
If this is the typical local dive shop retail model, then it's broken. They better be able to make their money from classes and trips and the like because online retail is going to push their storefront business to extinction.