Buy Top Equipment @ The Deeper Blue Shop!

[Stephan Whelan]

I agree with crazyfrenchman - this is not the place to start picking apart the quality of any of the products. That is not the issue - all the major brands are well respected - but everyone has their own tastes in kit.

Service and quality are top notch from all US Distributors - the issue here is more of globalisation and whether internet store such as ours are a good thing.

Let's keep the conversation on track!

[SThompson]

This situation is really sad in my opinion. A market should be competative.......not monopolized. It seems to me that the this is more about artificially inflating prices to line pockets....

I am curious if Roger realizes how much business Piccasso has to gain (or lose) because of this issue. I am a good micro example to think about. I live in an area that has no local Picasso distributor. Before DeeperBlue I didn't buy any Picasso product because I didn't have access to them. In the last month alone I have spent around $165 with DB - and I have been setting money aside for a Picasso wetsuit in the next couple months. This is largely due to the favorable reviews that they have been given on DB and the fact the DB has given me access to the product. Without both I would not even have considered Picasso - let alone called Roger or someone else to help me.

The people at DiveInn are friendly, knowledgeable, prompt - i.e. everything I want in an online shop. If I wasn't buying online at DiveInn I would have to buy online somewhere else.........are they going to try to make me buy from a N. American hosted online shop and inflate the prices? Don't gouge your customer or you won't have one. Simply put, if they blackball the DB shop I will refuse to buy thier product. Price and service are king to the consumer and if I can get that at ANY shop that's where I will go whether it's in the US, Canada, Spain, or wherever.

Probably 80% of buyers will buy from a physical dive shop because of the service & ability to try out the merchandise. I sincerely hope that Picasso doesn't throw away the other 20% of sales because one sales rep is too short sighted about his pocket and not what is good for the company as a whole.

Kudos to DB & DiveInn for what they have done for the community!

[A Brownsword]

Originally posted by Jay Styron
Unfortunatly just another case of capitolism at work.

This isn't captialism at work, this is exactly the opposite. Trying to prevent alternative retailers from doing business is protectionist and anti-competitive behaviour. We don't have to stand for it, and my next order from DiveInn is hopefully already on its way.

[laminar]

If Roger Yazbeck and other company don't sit up and take notice of what their potential customers want (decent price, good service, quality product and satisfaction), someone else will find a business opportunity....


Pete

[cjndiver]

Your diveinn store is the best. Great products at terrific prices. I get great info from all the staff. Recently, I was directed by the staff to purchase a less expensive product that would better suit my needs. Where else would you get such service? Long live the store. The practice of not buying through a N America dealer is not a new deal. A friend of mine, who owns a dive shop in the sates, gets all his stock from Central America through his other shop in Hondorous. Its much cheaper that the North American supplier. He is able to provide to his students gear at greatly reduced prices. Like I said, this is not a new practice, its just more in the open when its on the net.

Long Live the Deeper Blue Dive Store

[Stephan Whelan]

The support from consumers has been tremendous over the past week or so. In fact i've only received one "disgruntled" email and dozens of supportive emails.

It is an ongoing issue that will never really disappear, but the combined Scuba and Freediving market is huge and plenty of space available for numerous players - so the DB Shop will be around for a while - don't worry!

Of course, remember that the store will only truly survive if people buy from it so if you see a good deal or get good service, tell you friends about it and send them to http://shop.deeperblue.net !

[kirehe]

I just think it is sad when local businesses respond negatively to global competition. Although they might loose costumers, they might also benefit some, for example, people might order from them when Divninn is out of stock (which unfortunatly occurs sometimes).

Either way, I understand the concern expressed by Roger. That is, however, the way business works, and his prices are really high, mostly above what a regular hobby freediver can afford.

Finally, let me just say that this is the first time I have found an Internet store that acutally beats local stores, and it beats them pretty good too. Thus, I hope that Diveinn will continue to exist, as buyers all around the world would be very upset and a lot poorer if they closed.

Erik - currently waiting for his order to arrive

[Longfins]

It seems freediving isn't the only sport to experience the local vs. global gear price competition.

In the current issue of Climbing magazine (June 15, 2002) the editorial is titled, "The High Price of Climbing: Are dot.coms spelling doom for climbing shops?"

Here's the link
http://www.climbing.com/Pages/editorial00.html

It's a different point of view, but the dilemma is the same.
Enjoy!

Peter S.

[thin_air]

longfins, thanks for the article, brought a good point of view into the argument

ok, what about those of us who dont have local stores, for me, if i want anything, the local stores dont even carry any brands of freediving equipment, i probably have to get a ride from my 'rents and then go to the stores in toronto, (an hour away)

dot.com stores are the only options for me, until i can drive, and then the market will open up more, but dot.com is the way the market is moving

funny, i remember reading something about when catalog sales were introduced, local stores were furious because they lost business to the catalogs, yet the world somehow managed to sort itself out, i think that it will only take a little bit of time and the balance will be re-established,


ps. these are opinions from someone with no business experience at all, just what i think is gonna happen

[NorthDiver]

Originally posted by Erik

the free trade agreementErik Y.

- which is consumer-friendly is what the european union is about.... So all banning flaming and .... is worth nothing as long as DiveInn is based in Spain -- europe....

Don`t worry be happy

[Stephan Whelan]

NorthDiver,

This whole episode seems to be blowing over - threats had been made towards us and they seem to have been discussed and diffused, but we're not out of the woods just yet.

However, in an ideal world Free Trade works - however the threat to us was of a more sinister kind. Reports were that US based businesses were going to start putting pressure on the Manufacturers (most of the Manufacturers are based in Europe). However, I hope that they all have realised that there is likely to be enough room in the marketplace for us...

My point to most of the US based businesses is that if Deeper Blue and DiveInn hadn't taken this step together, then someone else would have and we're a lot friendlier to deal with than some of the others.

[Lodestar]

It's just a matter of time until most markets go global. Bad thing for many in the USA, good thing for people. Excuse the politics, what I meant to say was Deeper blue and Dive Inn are a wonderful pairing that ultimately fill a much needed niche!

[JMD]

I received a Cresci SuperComp wetsuit from the store 2 weeks ago. It arrived as promised in 4 days so I was able to dive with it the weekend after I ordered it. The ordering experience was hassle free.

I still can't get over the price! Even converted to CDN I think I saved a couple hundred dollars from a similar quality wetsuit here in canada.

Keep up the good work!

[vrokhlenko]

I ordered from them in the past and their prices are amazing
and the weaker the Euro against USD the more amazing they become!
However you have to be very careful about what you receive from them. As an example I ordered a Squadra Pro 55 wetsuit.
I exchanged probably 10 e-mails with them verifying my purchase.
But after I used the suit I realized that the pants are actually
70 in thickness, not 55 (7 mm versus 5.5 mm). On top of that they were defective, immediately developing a hole in a stress-free spot (not at the seam). It is too late to exchange but their negligence results in 1.5 extra kilos of lead I have to haul.

Anyway they are one of very few European-based outfits that
ship all over the world and their shipping charges are outstanding.

Vadim

[Bindlestitch]

I can't seem to get into the shop. Everytime I try the link , the "page not found" warning comes back.
Is it just me or is anyone else having trouble?