Being new and buying new gear is scary

[silverfish]

When pricing a regulator online with Leisure Pro does anyone know if the first and second stage are included in the price?

I hate to ask dumb questions but there is a sizeable price difference between dealers and what I see online for what appears to be the same gear.

Could I be missing something important here?

 

[Fishkiller]

Yes I have found that the Reg Price offerd at most places is the First and Second stage, you would need to buy a Safe second/ OCTO.

listed elsewhere and if I could member exactly where the other members of the board have discussed why there are price differences for the same item. Things to remember are the service after the sale and hidden cost..


ok I found it

Shop Loyality to Customers in the Basic Scuba Disscusions area

http://www.scubaboard.com/t6381/s.html

 

[Ari]

Both first and second stages are included in the price. You will need to add a price for an Octo and a Combo (depth and air pressure gage) or an air integrated computer.

My advice to you is -- Don't be shy. You can email the store and get your answers.

Good luck.

Ari

 

[earlj]

There are no dumb questions; only dumb answers. Take your time and be certain of what each price includes and then make up your mind. If your're lucky like I was, you'll have someone who opinion you respect when it comes to some decisions. If not, ask here, there's enough experience and opinion to decide on almost anything.

 

[silverfish]

Had two interesting conversations today on the Omega regulator.
One was with an Oceanic sales rep in Ca. and the other was with a rep from Leisure pro.
The guy from Oceanic says to be "leary" of purchasing from Leisure Pro as they are, "Gray marketing". When I ask what that meant exactly he said the items could be stolen,used,damaged or who knows what else.

The guy from Leisure Pro said, "Yeah they love us". He said that it simply meant they weren't buying directly from the manufacturer.Leisure Pro can save me a pretty tidy sum on my gear and I have heard many good comments on these boards about them.

I'd really like to hear some feed back on this subject of "gray marketing" and any experiences with transactions with Leisure Pro.

Anxiously awaiting comments...

 

[CuriousMe]

Hey Silverfish,

I don't know about this industry, but I know that in other industries Gray Marketing means that they're selling stuff in the US that is meant for international markets.

With electronics and/or watches (the two things I know about) the only problem with this is if it ever needs to be serviced. Often the models are often slightly different which means that the parts are slightly different and sometimes the service folks aren't allowed to service it if it's gray market merchandise.

So, I guess I'd just make sure that the warrenty is still valid and that it can be serviced in the US (or where ever you are...sorry didn't look).

 

[Fishkiller]

SCUBABUNNY as I will not try to summerize her words here they are as I agree with them, where applicable..

Scubapro tried to sue/close down Leisurepro for selling unauthorized gear. They lost. Leisurepro (and most online US discount companies) do not get the gear directly from the manuafacturers. Usually, from what I understand, they either buy out a dive shop, or make a deal with a dealer to buy a MAJOR amount of gear at just above the dealer cost...Scubapro did find some of the shops that did that, and they are no longer SP dealers.

I agree that the manufacturers have to get more lenient! It is a pain in the butt! I work for a dive shop, and we do email sales...but, we check the dealer locater for each manufacturer to see if we are stepping on any dealer's toes/territory. But, we still get in trouble from time to time because the manufacturers are pricing themselves (and shops) out of business.

I really wish all LDS could get together and change this..but with the manufacturers the money is the bottom line....for now. Hopefully, they will learn, but it might be the hard way!

Re: I know I'm beating a dead horse, but

quote:
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Originally posted by sea nmf
Scubabunny,

I can understand if they buy out a Dive store for pennies on the dollar. But, jeez, how many would they have to buy out to continue to supply merchandise to online buyers like they do?

The other method contradicts what some LDS owners have said in this forum. They claim that the online dealers can SELL the gear for LESS THAN their cost. If this is true, then even if the online dealers purchased gear at just above the dealer's cost, they would be losing money by selling it at a lower price than they purchased it for. You can't stay in business for long doing that.

The online dealers price versus LDS is so vast that if it were true that the online dealers are getting it for just above the authorized dealer's price, there should be some room to move on the price at the LDS. However, the LDS owners say that the manufacturer sets the selling price at the LDS. If this is true, then how could the LDS (authorized dealer) sell it just above their cost to the online dealer???

Somewhere, something smells fishy.
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Sea nmf, to answer your question of how can they get it cheaper, it is through Wholesale. That is also a way for non-authorized dealers to get their hands on gear. Our shop is a distributor as well as a dealer. And, we have a wholesale department that supplies other dive shops with gear from certain manufacturers.

I got an email (I'm in wholesale) from someone that wanted to buy 50 of one regulator, 50 of another regulator, 20 of each BC size, and 30 computers. It was from a "yahoo" address, and when I went on Yahoo I couldn't find the profile. I answered back that I needed to know where he was located and his shop's contact info. He came back with "I'm in the Marshall islands"...which is within our selling area...but I still didn't have any info. I asked him to fax me his business license...and needless to say, I never heard from him again.

For my shop to do wholesale, we need a business license and contact info. We check to make sure this really is a business..and then we can sell to them at dealer or wholesale prices.

We do buy gear at less than dealer prices..because we buy in volume. Most dealers, if they have a HUGE order can get a nice discount (and with this order...even at our pricing..we are talking about a $50,000- $75,000 order!)

If a struggling diveshop who is a dealer got that email...they would probably gobble it up! They could buy the gear at a HUGE discount...and resell it to Mr. Yahoo for still much less than dealer cost.

Scubapro already found many dealers that were doing this, and cut off their buying privleges. So, some of the gear is from buy outs...some are from shady dealers...and some are problably coming from inside the manufacturers.

Actually, it might be a good thing...if the manufacturer would face the music.

Hope this helps some.

 

[MikeS]

IMHO this is a great example of when one should buy from a LDS. You’ll pay more than online but end up with workable equipment in a timely manor.
· All the parts will work correctly together, and be assembled by a trained technician.
· If you have any questions, there will be someone to answer them.
· If there are any problems, you have a place to take the equipment back to.
· You’ll have a warranty, and a place to get warranty service done.
· You’ll know were to get service.

Something else to thing about, when I purchased my equipment from an LDS they had an air tank and water tank to test everything after they assembled it correctly. How will this be accomplished if you buy your equipment on-line?

You’ll pay more going through an LDS than online, but in this case I think it’s worth the money.