Buying a computer on Ebay

[daran]

Hello
I was looking at purchasing a dive computer on Ebay and wanted to know if anyone had any experience with this. I was looking at the Oceanic Plus with QD and can get it for 455. The LDS I usually buy stuff from can't match the price. Any thoughts? Thanks in advance.

 

[decidedlyodd]

One thing to watch out for is that if you buy off ebay, it's probably not from an authorized dealer. There are exceptions where it's a retail dive shop selling on ebay but it would probably be mentioned in the auction text. If the seller is not an authorized dealer, the manufacturer's warranty won't be valid. This means if anything goes wrong with the computer, you're most likely on your own for repair or replacement.

 

[Offroad]

You should be very careful when buying something like this from eBay. That said when my wife and I returned to diving four years ago I bought a Oceanic Versa Pro for $200 there.

The unit was supposed to be new and appeared unused when I received it, but I knew there would be no warranty. Its still working just fine and I still like it very much. Also bought a used Aeris unit from the classifieds on SB the same year and my wife still likes it to.

 

[Starcruiser]

Second the warning about warranty. I bought a new Suunto Cobra off Ebay when I first started diving. I got three good years out of it, then the depth sensor went bad. I tried for nearly a month to get it worked on under warranty, but finally gave up. Suunto had no record of the serial number that was stamped on the Cobra, and the inside and outside serials didn't match. I liked what I bought, but when it came time to buy again, I went to the LDS for my cobra iii.

 

[Superlyte27]

I like warranties on expensive stuff.

 

[Bubbletrubble]

I bought a used Suunto Vyper on Ebay for $100 + shipping. Works great. It's actually a nicer computer than my Mosquito. I use it as a backup when I'm doing warm water vacation diving.

I had a good buying experience, but I knew what to look for and, frankly, my expectations were quite low. I didn't mind getting another Suunto computer because I already owned a download cable for it and my dive-logging software (MacDive) worked with it.

I would be loathe to purchase an expensive dive computer on Ebay because of the lack of warranty. Your risk tolerance might be different than mine, though, so act accordingly.

 

[Dr Wu]

Years ago I bought a Nitek3 and later an HE from ebay.

In both cases they were described as "used only 3 times".

In both cases they were holding a full memory of dives.

Still, that is to be expected from Ebay sellers. The computers worked fine.

 

[theduckguru]

Divers Supply has the same computer for $100 more if you want a warranty. $100 for a warranty lasting 1 year - I would take my chances if the seller is reputable and the unit is new.

 

[ScoobaSam]

Seriously!,
Items like computers, regulators, anything that your LIFE actually depends on... Get it from your LDS... You might think that it is cheaper on Ebay, etc. but I see horror story after horror story about unwarranted gear when purchased this way. What initialy seems like a deal, can turn into a nightmare very quickly... I'll give you a for instance. I like Suunto computers and started out with a cobra. After about four years, my cobra started to fail. It was reporting a depth of about 10 feet lower than actual. That is a big deal. I dive deep, so ten feet means alot. I purchased my cobra through my LDS. It was now out of warranty, so I'm screwed, right? Not so fast, my LDS dealt with the manufacturer and was able to get me a substantial deal on a prorated replacement or half price on a newer different model. I ended up with a Helo2 (awesome!!! computer) for $600. These things were listed at $1200 at the time. They offered to replace my cobra with a cobra3 for $300.00. That too would have been awesome considering the warranty had long since expired. I have no regrets about going for the Helo2....

Now, to put this in perspective. An acqauntance of mine, (I call him nosebleed) got a cobra computer on the internet. It failed in a similar manner as mine after a few years use. The local LDS was unwilling to help him and he wasn't offered any sort of support for the problem. TOTALLY SCREWED!!!

My opinion is this... The money you might save by getting these items on e-bay, etc. is not worth the support of your LDS. Believe me, you'd rather have your LDS having your back when something like this occurs than to be stuck on your own with no warranty and no support. Your LDS needs you... They Know it... And they will have your back if you'll have thiers. Your LDS knows who is a customer and who is a good customer... It pays to be a good customer. These guys always have my back.