Buy gear from local shop or online?

[powereng03]

Well as for me, i buy all my gear from my LDS. I cannot beat the pricing online that i can get in the store. I have been with the owner for many years now and have become an instructor at the store. For me, buying online is a waste of time and money. The COST of shipping to Canada, and then there is the whole issue of warranty of having to ship back to the US negates any savings what so ever. Keep in mind, that your gear needs to be serviced anually. The distributers tell the stores, that if we by gear from the US, that the warranty does not apply here in Canada, and we would have to ship it back to the origional shop, or pay through the nose for service.

It depends on where you live and what you have access to. The store I work at, if you buy a dry suit, you get a free dry suit orientation. can you get that online, not likely. just some other things to keep in mind.

 

[Bryan Cunningham]

Mask fins and wet suit should be bough from your local dive shop as fit is of paramount importance. Things like regulators, computers, cameras etc online is cheapest. I operate a site finding best deals and free advice from an impartial perspective. type seawolfgreatdiscoverymall.com into your address bar. You can email me on bentdiver@live.com for advice.

 

[Clinton Hooper]

my personal suggestion to you is that you get an idea of waht you're looking for online, and what a reasonable price is for it. Then you head off to your LDS and give them a shot to meet your needs for the same/similar prices. This affords the LDS an opportunity to earn your business, while also allowing you to figure out what sizes you'll need for the items where fit is especially important.

My LDS was about $150 over what i could get online, and when i told/showed them this they dropped their prices to match. i think this is the best of both worlds. I'm not a fan of "supporting local businesses" at the expense of getting a decent deal, but all other things equal i would say buy local.

 

[redacted]

Well as for me, i buy all my gear from my LDS. I cannot beat the pricing online that i can get in the store. I have been with the owner for many years now and have become an instructor at the store. For me, buying online is a waste of time and money. The COST of shipping to Canada, and then there is the whole issue of warranty of having to ship back to the US negates any savings what so ever. Keep in mind, that your gear needs to be serviced anually. The distributers tell the stores, that if we by gear from the US, that the warranty does not apply here in Canada, and we would have to ship it back to the origional shop, or pay through the nose for service.

It depends on where you live and what you have access to. The store I work at, if you buy a dry suit, you get a free dry suit orientation. can you get that online, not likely. just some other things to keep in mind.

Is your best pricing comment base on your keyman discount (received by most shop instructors) or does every customer get the same prices you get?

What brand(s) are you talking about that the warranty is not honored throughout North America?

 

[powereng03]

awap.

I was getting good deals before i was staff, so my deals only got a little better once I started to work for them.

Oceanic/Aeries/Hollis are the brands that i was talking about. I did a service tech course from them and that is what was discussed. It is not that their warranty is not honored, you just have to send it back to the origional store. items sold in the USA are to be serviced in the USA. It is only a problem for us here in Canada with regards to online sales. Since the best online deals are in the US, not a problem for you guys.

The store I shop at is a bit different than most. They have retail pricing on all product, but they always give the customer a deal when buying. the more you buy, the better the discount. It is about making the customer happy, and who doesn't like a good deal, especially if you don't have to beg for it.