Posted by Ken Kurtis on October 17, 2003 at 15:46:45:
Food for thought for those of you still think dive shops and boats make too much money, charge too much, &/or are ripping you off.
We were cleaning out some old files at Reef Seekers today and came across the November/December 1995 issue of "Dive Boat Calendar." The format listed all advertised boats in a half-page space, plus had a listing of all dive shops in the back, along with articles, ads, etc.
One thing that caught my eye was the dive shop listings. Of the 29 stores in the general LA-Orange-Riverside area, 11 of them (38%) have gone out of business.
Additionally, of the 26 dive boats listed (Santa Barbara to Long Beach - and this doesn't include those that didn't pay for ads), 12 (46%) are no longer running dive trips.
Just food for thought. Not sure what it says other than than that it's rpobably a bit harder to make money (let alone make a killing) in this business than most people think.
Ken Kurtis
NAUI Instr. #5936
Co-owner, Reef Seekers Dive Co.
Beverly Hills, CA