Thanks for sharing the lessons learned. A valuable experience for you, and it will hopefully help others in the future.Well, I went back to the shop, this time less enthusiastic, to return fins and mask. This after two hours from the time of purchase. They offered store credit. I made a funny face. They gave me a full refund. I said thank you and apologized for the trouble. I kept the rest of the stuff. ... Lesson number one. I'll do my homework, read more scubaboard.com more, go to the shop prepared. Lesson number two. Try to win my enthusiasm and don't buy anything before you check other sources.
Good for you. I think your analysis was correct in part. You weren't necessarily ripped off. Part of the 'value' added to the price was the ability to try the gear on, to 'touch' it before buying. The two behaviors that are a cause for concern - 1) adding the scrub without (at least, as I read your OP) telling you they were adding it to the sale price; 2) offering store credit instead of a refund. I don't think what you did was unethical. Your intent was to buy a wetsuit at your LDS. You did. Your were persuaded by the excitement of the moment to purchase some additional gear, and later thought twice about the value and changed your mind, before using it. Lots of people do that. If a store has the right (and they do) to expand their sale while they have you on site, you have the right (and you do) to rethink the purchase immediately after. I don't read an intention to use the LDS for fitting, then buy on line. Rather, you honestly thought twice about the value of a purchase (mask and fins) and quickly returned it. Don't worry about the on-line price of the suit, it is irrelevant. If you purchased a suit that fits, that you are comfortable with, then you received value. One possible action on your part. If you want to continue to use this LDS, go back in a week. Mention that you had previously purchased a mask and fins, then had second thoughts about the total amount of money you were spending, and returned them. Now, you are in a position to spend the extra money, and noticed that their price seemed not just a little, but quite a bit more, than some on-line prices you had seen. So much so that you were concerned about buying them there. Could they do any better than their original price? This gives the shop the chance to be more competitive, and they might. If they drop the price of the fins by $20, buy them. A $20 difference on a $190 purchase is not that big a deal. For the mask, if they drop the price to $50, buy it. On the other hand, if they react negatively, or in a somewhat hostile manner, you learn another lesson - you don't really want to trade with them in the future. If they respond with a lot of babble about how bad on-line vendors are, about lack of warranties, etc., thank them for their time and leave. You have made a good faith effort to support them and do business there, and they did not reciprocate.GYANNI:I still support my LDS because it's important to have a LDS nearby, I don't believe I was ripped-off; they simply cannot be competitive against an online store because of the higher overhead. I'm ready to pay a little extra for the time the salespeople take to explain and to make me try and answer to my questions.