Welcome to eScuba
Thank you for supporting eScuba these past 12 years.
My favourite personal quality is that I have never fully understood what is impossible.
Having spent three decades of my life as a wholesaler, brick & mortar multi store retailer, & the first e-com retailer in scuba... I knew a little bit about the predictable hiccups. I designed a system that was unique a dozen years ago. It allowed for sales to be made in any of these ways and in concert with direct distribution to consumers. Obviously, it was not a popular idea with retailers & this was particularly true in the Australian market where one didn't see much of anything in terms of e-commerce sales in general at that time.
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I remember walking into my first retail shop to try to get them to carry my brands. I was greeted by a big, furry, burly thing (& a brilliant dive shop owner and instructor to boot). So I walked in schlepping my giant demo case, wheeling it behind me with my good arm (not the broken one which was the result of a bad bike fall I had taken in the states two weeks before getting on a plane for Oz), and as I introduced myself-
this gentleman yelled at me "I know who you are, get the f&$# out of my store!" I was too scrappy to take his advice. Instead I hollered back at him: "That's fine, but first I'm gonna show you how to log into your dealer account to track your earned credits & teach you how to spend them.â€
We got to talking and I explained some points of difference with my model which did dynamic currency conversion so nobody ever got burned on fluctuations in the market and a few other perks like the fact that we were their virtual warehouse and if they placed an order on behalf of a customer, the invoice would come with their very own logo and shipped directly to the customer without them having holding costs, etc. anyhow - this enemy became a friend and remains one to this day.
So this is how I spent the last dozen years of my life whilst here in Australia. The problem is that I have been here less and less these past four years due to my husband, the love of my life, dealing with a protracted terminal illness... & too, there's that camel's back breaking straw called Covid travel restrictions.
This business has given me the chance to test out my underlying patent which runs the enterprise (iDive.com). It has allowed me to visit & dive in all of Australia's magnificently beautiful states. & most importantly, It has given me the gift of lifelong friendships... but now it's time for the next thing.
For those of you who have a "bouncing baby business" -you understand how difficult this decision is. The fact is that now I need to sort out a change of scenery and begin my journey of reinvention.
I will keep this platform open through November 30, 2021 so you can log into your accounts and grab schematics & pdf invoice copies etc and I will also of course retain hardcopies of everything should you need them in the future.
We have several hundred of items still up on the website and once I close the platform I will ship these remaining items back to the brand holders & substitute the warehouse keys for motorcycle keys & begin my reinvention.
I am proffering up a heart-felt "Thank you" to Australia and every retailer and customer who supported me on this journey. Here's wishing you a lifetime of love and adventure and happy diving.
With abiding gratitude,
Melinda Herndon
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