Consumer Alert!

Don't be fooled by the many skydive referral services that are springing up all over the web!

Posted by: cj, on 4/27/2009, in category "Articles for New Jumpers"

Rating: Average rating: 3.8

5 user(s) have rated this article

Views: this article has been read 2374 times

Consumer Alert - Skydive Referral Services Finding skydiving centers online has become a great way to learn about our industry and find a safe, professional location to make your first jump.

Unfortunately, there is also a growing trend for outside companies such as 1-800 Skyride, Soaring Sports, etc. that are buying up local domains across the country and advertising large centers locally when they are not actually storefronts locally.

These services require you to call an 800 number and then book a jump with them at a rate that appears the same. Once your transaction is complete you will then be charged a service charge costing you more money to make your skydive than you would pay an actual local center.

These 3rd party marketing companies are also known to send customers to other states past local centers only because most reputable centers do not use this bogus service.

There are only 2 centers in the KC area!! Make sure you are dealing with an actual center that is more than just an answering service.

How would you rate this article?

User Feedback

Comment posted by RSB on Monday, April 12, 2010 12:45 PM

1800Skyride is great they have over 100 drop zones across the United States that accept their reservations. There gift certificates are even transferable to another sport or location. So if you wanted to get someone a gift who was not sure about skydiving they can transfer it to something else like a balloon ride or even a fishing trip. I do understand that a lot of DZO's do not like 1800skyrides web presence but fact of the matter is that if they do not have a vendor in a specific area they cannot sell a gift certificate or reservation so they can have a million sites for skydiving Virginia but if they do not have a dropzone they cannot sell anything. To whom ever is reading this will think i work for 1800Skyride.. well i do

Comment posted by KP on Monday, April 12, 2010 12:56 PM

Yes 1800SkyRide is a 3rd party booker, but so is cloud9living.com and xperiencedays.com. Anytime you try to find a tour of anything, anywhere around the grand canyon or Las Vegas, you're likely to find a 3rd party booking agent with websites advertising their services. This is not unlike what 1800SkyRide is doing!!! I agree that potential students should do their research and find a direct dropzone, but, for the people who just want to jump out of a plane for the thrill of it and use 1800SkyRide, what's the problem? Yes, 1800SkyRide charges a bit more than a local dropzone, but they're also spending more on advertising. 1800SkyRide's sales staff is knowledgeable, the customer service staff is accommodating, there is new management involved making necessary changes to the way things were done once upon a time. 1800SkyRide exists to promote the sports of skydiving and ballooning, etc., and introduce a new, web-based generation to the thrills that an adventure sport can offer. Is that really so bad?

Post your comment