Buying from local dive shop verse online?

[DavidHickey]

Ok,
I've read on here numerous times that you should buy from your local dive store due to servicability. Maybe my dive store is different. But I was looking at their Apeks AT20 regulators and the ATX200. I think the 20 was 579.00 and the ATX200 was 670.00 or somewhere around there. Well at online stores like Leisure Pro, the same regs are going for under 300.00. Makes it really hard to support the local store. Do regulators require that much maintenance? Won't the local store service what you buy online? Or in order to not piss them off to much tell them you bought it from a buddy or something. And is there anything to lookout for when buying online? I just noticed Leisure Pro has Scuba Pro MK25/600's listed at 389.95 Yet there is one on Ebay right now going for 606.00 Seems a little Odd. Any thoughts would be appreciated. And for instance, I have not received it yet but I just bought a BCD on Ebay. Add says brand new, tags still attached, all manuals. and the Cheapest I've seen this BCD anywere including discount dive shops was 470.00 I won the auction for 285.00 Just makes it hard to justify local. Granted I may get taken on the ebay deal, but so far I have NEVER had a bad deal on Ebay. In all of my transactions on Ebay, I have always gotten exactly what was advertised. Any how just wanted some opinions from you experienced guys who have been thru this. To me being brand new to all this the money savings just seems to good to be true.

 

[Quarrior]

Maintenance on regs is just an annual tune up/inspection. If your shop has a problem doing it since they are getting paid for it, take it somewhere else. LP has good warranties, but it is not the manufacturers warranty.

I buy on-line and I buy at my LDS. I've even had my LDS offer to help me evaluate the gear I'm interested in.

 

[Bob3]

Depending on how many dive shops you have local to you, ask them how much they'd like to discount the gear. Ask if they do any "price matching".
(If there's only 1 shop in town, you may want to watch out in case they get an "attitude".)
As far as ebay goes, sometimes gear sells for MORE than what you can get it for at a retail shop. Guys get the bidding war going & the price goes up up & away.

 

[jlwest63]

I like to give the LDS a chance. I tell them this is what I can get it for, do you want to compete? If they come close enough for my liking I buy from them, if not I buy online.

Case in point. My wife's BC, LDS had it for 365 and LP had it for 299. I asked the LDS if they wanted to work with the price and they said no, LP got my bussiness.

 

[ShakaZulu]

If you buy online, some poor LDS owner, is not going to make 50% profit. Thus his kids will not be able to eat lobster every night, and you would be responisible for them not going to college...........can you live with that????

 

[Tom Az]

If you buy online, some poor LDS owner, is not going to make 50% profit. Thus his kids will not be able to eat lobster every night, and you would be responisible for them not going to college...........can you live with that????

YES!!!!!

 

[simbrooks]

I like to give the LDS a chance. I tell them this is what I can get it for, do you want to compete? If they come close enough for my liking I buy from them, if not I buy online.

Case in point. My wife's BC, LDS had it for 365 and LP had it for 299. I asked the LDS if they wanted to work with the price and they said no, LP got my bussiness.

I have bought stuff at online discount places, LDS's, discount LDS's, ebay and from other private sellers - however none of it has come up for annual service yet, so we shall see then what happens, but i would think nothing too bad as the one store i will go to is professional about it.

With regard to the above example i would have gone the other way, when you add in tax or shipping to the LDS and LP, respectively, they are probably still about $60-70 different, but for having it in stock, able to hold it in your hands, take it out the door at that moment, chat to the owner about it i would pay that little extra, or something very close. When we are talking about half price at LP etc, then i will weigh up what means more to me and usually the online place will get it as that is a larger margin to me.

I have really only found one good LDS in my area (out of at least a dozen LDS's) - same area as jlwest63, and others call that an online discount place and in fact i have received good service from other reputable dealers in other cities in this state who are also online players, but some arent catching onto the market they are in compared to when they started. I dont want to see a shop go under, but poor attitude and economy will kill them off eventually. I am now LDS shopping again for fills as the local place i have been using is going under, but not much i could do with them, they werent selling the gear i was after except tanks and fills. Most of the other stores just turned me off at the door when i started talking to the owners. If a shop is willing to do business, i see no trouble, i understand its a hard market for them, but that is something they are forced into nowadays.

As for where will i continue to buy, still a combination of places for a variety of stuff i still need. I am not necessarily linked to one particular favourite store at the moment, but can use each for one thing or another as i wish.

BTW jlwest63, have you been to the Florida Conch Divers forum and said hi? Havent seen your name around yet and you are in my area. We are always planning trips of one sort or another. Going to Venice this weekend if you are interested in teeth hunting.

 

[Firewalker]

If you buy online, some poor LDS owner, is not going to make 50% profit. Thus his kids will not be able to eat lobster every night, and you would be responisible for them not going to college...........can you live with that????

Zulu, In my area 10 LDS have gone out of business in the last 7 years. Most lds are just making ends meet. LDS are small businesses, they have over head, they have to make a profit on retail goods or they will go out of business (that's a fact). Internet sales is just one of the factors that have cause many of the LDS to go out of business. Personally I would never buy life support equipment on the net. The question is who sits it up, who checks it out, who backs it up if there is a problem. Those services are worth something and that is what you are paying for at your LDS.
There may not be very many LDS, in the near future, only the internet and the large sportings goods stores. And that will be a sad day for the diving community and the dive industry. Because the LDS are the green roots, they are where everything gets started, and with out them there will be no dive community.


Firewalker

 

[jlwest63]

With regard to the above example i would have gone the other way, when you add in tax or shipping to the LDS and LP, respectively, they are probably still about $60-70 different, but for having it in stock, able to hold it in your hands, take it out the door at that moment, chat to the owner about it i would pay that little extra, or something very close. When we are talking about half price at LP etc, then i will weigh up what means more to me and usually the online place will get it as that is a larger margin to me.

I would have done the same but they did not want to even talk about it that at that point it became a principal thing

As for where will i continue to buy, still a combination of places for a variety of stuff i still need. I am not necessarily linked to one particular favourite store at the moment, but can use each for one thing or another as i wish.

I don't know if you have checked out Fun 2 Dive in Sanford. A little far away but I think they are a great Mom and Pop shop. He is always will to deal and a very nice guy.

BTW jlwest63, have you been to the Florida Conch Divers forum and said hi? Havent seen your name around yet and you are in my area. We are always planning trips of one sort or another. Going to Venice this weekend if you are interested in teeth hunting.

I am so wanting to do that. I will be posting there soon to try to hook up with some of the tooth people that are willing to have some newbies around. That is all that me and the wife have talked about since getting our certs.

 

[ShakaZulu]

Zulu, In my area 10 LDS have gone out of business in the last 7 years. Most lds are just making ends meet. LDS are small businesses, they have
....
blah, blah, blah.......
....
dive industry. Because the LDS are the green roots, they are where everything gets started, and with out them there will be no dive community.

Firewalker

Then thank god, we have people like Larry (member of this board), who realized that the Dive Shop business model has changed, and that he had to add an internet shop to his store, in order to compete with the online shops.