Buyer Beware . . .

[Marie13]

When @Marie13 says "my shop" I am pretty sure many of us can guess who she is referring to - one of the SB "darlings" that I won't name in this negative context on this thread.

I would very much hesitate to beat them up over charging someone $200+ for work that is not complete on items that can't be used. This really sounds like there is some miscommunication or misunderstanding here.

• Maybe the $200-$250 is actually what the customer acquired the old items for?
• Maybe the shop advised her multiple times to not have them attempt to service, with the warning that she would owe for labor even if they couldn't get them working in the end?
• Maybe a more reasonable sounding price, but on multiple sets and not just one?
• Maybe the "no parts available" refers not to service kits, but rather to items that are typically not replaced during overhaul; but due to poor care/maintenance and/or storage in the past the regulator turned out to be toast after having invested significant effort to get to that point of understanding and finding out the manufacturer has stopped support?

$250 sounds like full service, plus parts kits on a higher priced brand, plus maybe even some hose replacements. It really doesn't feel likely to me that price represents a simple tale of "old item, tried to service, but can't get parts" which I would usually know after testing and disassembly, before even cleaning, much less reassembly. I would want something for my time, but not that amount, and will offer to apply it towards a replacement purchase.

I think there is more to the story here.

I don’t know the details. That’s all I was told when I asked what was up as I was waiting for the wife to finish the transaction. Think it was three years ago and someone who is no longer with the shop. It wasn’t one reg. From the size of the box and all the hoses and such sticking out had to be at least two full sets.

 

[Nemrod]

DIY is the only safe way for servicing a reg, in my opinion.
I would never put the life of me, my wife and our sons in the hands of an unknown technician, which possibly has not a master degree in engineering, nor many years of experience tuning his regs and then testing them diving at depth...
And if you cannot go DIY, then the strategy of Runsongas is fully endorseable.

I do service own regulators. There are only a few people who I would allow to touch my dive gear, in the case of my main squeeze the Argonaut Kraken, that would be VDH, the designer himself and a couple of the folks who did parts proto-typing for it. There is one person, who is very nearly a relative, who I let work on my SP109. None of these things are rocket science and in fact do not need nearly the amount of "service" that is often suggested.

N

 

[by2fly]

My order of OXYGEN HACKER'S COMPANION was refunded by Airspeed Press with the following comment:

Note from Airspeed Press: Computer trouble, a large increase in overseas shipping rates and Coronavirus have made it impossible to continue business as usual. As a result we are closing as of now and refunding any payments already received.

Anyone have one for sale?

 

[buddhasummer]

My order of OXYGEN HACKER'S COMPANION was refunded by Airspeed Press with the following comment:

Note from Airspeed Press: Computer trouble, a large increase in overseas shipping rates and Coronavirus have made it impossible to continue business as usual. As a result we are closing as of now and refunding any payments already received.

Anyone have one for sale?

I can help, message me.

 

[michael-fisch]

My order of OXYGEN HACKER'S COMPANION was refunded by Airspeed Press with the following comment:

Note from Airspeed Press: Computer trouble, a large increase in overseas shipping rates and Coronavirus have made it impossible to continue business as usual. As a result we are closing as of now and refunding any payments already received.

Anyone have one for sale?

Aaw s**t, he was a nice guy and offered a product that, although dated, was happily read by most of us.
Hope that he can, with someone's computer savvy, set up a website selling downloads of the manuals using PayPal for payment. That way - instant delivery, no printed inventory and no trips to the post office with their unpleasant suprise prices.

Michael

 

[1967Goat]

My order of OXYGEN HACKER'S COMPANION was refunded by Airspeed Press with the following comment:

Note from Airspeed Press: Computer trouble, a large increase in overseas shipping rates and Coronavirus have made it impossible to continue business as usual. As a result we are closing as of now and refunding any payments already received.

Anyone have one for sale?

I ordered Harlow's SCUBA Regulator Maintenance on Saturday. Monday I received a Paypal refund with no explanation. I emailed them through their website, but I never received a response.

On saturday I also saw a copy on ebay for $50. I figured I'd buy the copy from Airspeed in stead, Since I was refunded my money I just bought the copy I saw on ebay. <shrugs>

 

[Bigbella]

I ordered Harlow's SCUBA Regulator Maintenance on Saturday. Monday I received a Paypal refund with no explanation. I emailed them through their website, but I never received a response.

On saturday I also saw a copy on ebay for $50. I figured I'd buy the copy from Airspeed in stead, Since I was refunded my money I just bought the copy I saw on ebay. <shrugs>

You won't regret that purchase. I have had mine for about twenty years; still in decent shape; and it offers plenty of grassroots solutions to diagnosing problems; the cobbling together of tools; and even offers insights into the peccadillos of brand name regulators, not covered in their manuals . . .

We definitely need someone on SB with IT and, perhaps, desktop publishing experience to offer Airspeed Press a late entry into the twenty-first century. I would think that e-book commerce would instantly solve all of the shipping issues that they have experienced . . .

 

[Eric Sedletzky]

Sounds like a dive shop urban myth. To charge for something not completed is poor form imho.

It happened to me, not a lot of money but the principle is what pissed me off. I broke a purge cover on a SP G200B. Went into my dive shop where I originally bought it and they said they would look into it. After several days and a total run around from SP they decided they couldn’t help me because the part was no longer available and SP would do nothing because I fell out of the FPFL program. The fix was to sell me a brand new second stage for hundreds of dollars and no discount of any kind because they didn’t consider me ‘loyal’ enough. The dive shop charged me $8 for their research time (because the boss would be pissed if the tech didn’t get at least something). So I payed them to get my reg back and nothing was done. Not a lot of money, but isn’t that part of their job to do that sort of leg work as an “authorized” dealer?. I bought a lot of stuff from that shop over the years.
I posted something about it the next day I and had two covers coming from the DIY community right here for free, nobody would take any money. This place is the greatest!

 

[michael-fisch]

The dive shop charged me $8 for their research time (because the boss would be pissed if the tech didn’t get at least something). So I payed them to get my reg back and nothing was done. Not a lot of money, but isn’t that part of their job to do that sort of leg work as an “authorized” dealer?. I bought a lot of stuff from that shop over the years.

15 years ago, I talked a dive shop into sending me out fot a Scubapro Tech Seminar. Scubapro even paid for a good meal with the instructor and a day later I was certified to work on every reg Scubapro was making at that time. Zero to Hero in 8hrs, less a 2 hr lunch.
Gas pump jockeys in a full service gas station recieve more training.

Good techs do exist, but they aren't created by factory training courses.
You need a feel, years of experience, and access to original parts from many manufacturers, not just parts kits. If you are really good, you will know who makes the best part for a particular function. My tech (god bless him, since he is a really good tech) taught me that the common problem on Apeks 2nd stages of the valve seat quicky taking a set can be cured by using the standard Scubapro valve seat instead. Fits perfectly, much harder, and lasts for years.

Michael

 

[Lostdiver71]

The same guy has been servicing my regulators for over 20 years! This year his protege serviced my Poseidon regulator and it has never breathed better!