certification required to purchase equipment?

[theLIQUIDzoo]

newbie question, but i was told at a LDS that i needed a diving certification to buy a regulator.

is this true?
i realize i can circumvent this, if true, thru the magic of the internet.

i have searched around and have no supporting evidence for this claim.

please advise.
thanks!

 

[hypertech]

There is no "rule" that you need a certification to buy diving equipment. That LDS is probably talking about a policy - most likely a very wise policy.

 

[elan]

newbie question, but i was told at a LDS that i needed a diving certification to buy a regulator.

is this true?
i realize i can circumvent this, if true, thru the magic of the internet.

i have searched around and have no supporting evidence for this claim.

please advise.
thanks!

This is the first time I hear it

I actually bought my first before signing up for my class.

 

[theLIQUIDzoo]

i can understand that being a policy (although it was not presented that way by the salesperson), but i was given money in the form of a gift certificate specifically to buy a regulator at this store to use during my certification and they won't allow it. an experienced dive friend of mine gave me the $$ (i wish it was cash now) and they and the people they dive with like the idea of having their own regulators and suggested i do the same.

i know what i like from previous dives, and plan to get certified in a different state from where i reside.
i think i'm just going to have a certified friend of mine buy it and never go back to that store again.

thanks for the information.

 

[fire_diver]

Ask your friend to give you cash in place of the card, and go find a new shop. This one sounds like it's staffed by fools.

 

[nimoh]

I don't think it is an uncommon policy to refuse sales of scuba equipment to uncertified divers, and I sense there is a misunderstanding here.

For one, your friend, the experienced diver, likely would not purchase a gift certificate from a store that they didn't like.

On a side note, why don't you borrow your friend's regulator for your class, you might learn a thing or two during the class that might help you in selecting a regulator for yourself.

 

[Herb-alaska]

i can understand that being a policy (although it was not presented that way by the salesperson), but i was given money in the form of a gift certificate specifically to buy a regulator at this store to use during my certification and they won't allow it. an experienced dive friend of mine gave me the $$ (i wish it was cash now) and they and the people they dive with like the idea of having their own regulators and suggested i do the same.

i know what i like from previous dives, and plan to get certified in a different state from where i reside.
i think i'm just going to have a certified friend of mine buy it and never go back to that store again.

thanks for the information.

Just have your friend go to the store with you. Help you talk through what you want. Have the friend use the gift certificate that they gave you to buy the regulator that you want and then turn around while they are at the sales counter and hand it to you as the gift it was intended to be.

 

[MarineResearch]

Tell the LDS that they can either sell you the regulator, or you will buy one at LeisurePro, as well as all the other equipment that you will eventually need. If nothing else, watching his reaction to the mention of shopping at LeisurePro would be worth it.

 

[Jim Lapenta]

I have heard of this before and frankly it's bull crap. There is no regulation that prevents anyone from going into a shop and buying anything but air. And that is not a law. It's something the industry abides by for the most part. Take a tank in, tell em it's for paintball, and you get the same air that goes into a scuba tank. A large amount of scuba gear sales early on were through mail order. I remember regs and back packs in the Sears catalogue back in the 60's and 70's. Tell that shop thanks for driving you away from the activity.

At least with them.

Bozo's. And those kinds of lies are one reason the industry is having problems. Too many in it think that new divers or those who want to be divers are dumb. They think there is no internet and if there is, someone who wants to learn to dive will not or cannot use it.

Run from that shop. Never trust them for anything. If they will lie about this who knows what other BS they will feed you.

I like the Leisure Pro angle. Better yet tell em you are buying it from ebay and having Leisure Pro do the service and all your other gear is coming from LP since they don't lie to you.

 

[nimoh]

I wouldn't advise being nasty about it.

I am guessing if you were to show them that you are registered in an OW class that they would sell you a reg.