Conflicted: Online v LDS

[Kern]

I agree with Bubbletrouble, don't buy anything until you know what you need. Also, if you buy Aqualung,Apeks, Suunto on line, you are buying gray market items and will not have support from the manufacturer. Just saying.

If he sources it from Europe it won't be grey market & will have full manufacturers support. However he won't get that support in Oz & will have to send it back to Europe.

An aside; before you buy anything in Europe find out about your LDS attitude to buying online. Some don't care, but others will even refuse to service it & some will tell you not to darken their doorstep ever again.

 

[Kern]

I call "BS" on that.

You've obviously never looked into the pricing of dive gear in OZ.

 

[RJP]

You've obviously never looked into the pricing of dive gear in OZ.

Fair point. But then that's as much/more of an "OZ vs R.O.W." thing than "LDS vs Web" concern.

 

[Bubbletrubble]

I agree with you about getting stuff after certification, but he hasn't really selected crappy stuff there. I don't agree that he'll be throwing away money. That is a good BC. He may upgrade to a BP/W set up down the road. The regs are top of the line. That is a real good computer. Small, but good.

@paddler3d: I agree that the gear he is considering is good stuff, but...
What happens if he finds out during OW certification that he can't equalize properly (anatomy issue)?
What happens if he finds out that he gets extremely anxious (in a dangerous way) when underwater?
What happens if he just doesn't enjoy diving that much?
What happens if he'd rather spend his leisure time doing a different activity?
In my book, getting stuck with a lot of gear that one isn't going to use is throwing money away.

I don't like the idea of OW students buying a full set of gear prior to getting certified. It places waaaaaay too much pressure on them to like the sport. The entire time the student is thinking: "I have to get this skill down in order to get certified or else I can't use all of this expensive gear that I've already bought." That's the wrong attitude to have. Why place that kind of unnecessary pressure on oneself? It's counterproductive (even if the OP eventually gets into the sport).

 

[Kern]

Fair point. But then that's as much/more of an "OZ vs R.O.W." thing than "LDS vs Web" concern.

The outcome however is still very big savings by purchasing OS on the web, rather than at an LDS in Oz. We're talking between 33% to 50% savings here.

 

[Kern]

Hello,

Doing my OW certification in a 2 weeks and I am using hire gear but if all goes well I would like to purchase my own scuba gear.

Just maybe, he's not getting this stuff prior to his course.

Taking a bit more time & trying gear for a while before making a purchase is certainly a good idea of course.

 

[paddler3d]

@paddler3d: I agree that the gear he is considering is good stuff, but...
What happens if he finds out during OW certification that he can't equalize properly (anatomy issue)?
What happens if he finds out that he gets extremely anxious (in a dangerous way) when underwater?
What happens if he just doesn't enjoy diving that much?
What happens if he'd rather spend his leisure time doing a different activity?
In my book, getting stuck with a lot of gear that one isn't going to use is throwing money away.

I don't like the idea of OW students buying a full set of gear prior to getting certified. It places waaaaaay too much pressure on them to like the sport. The entire time the student is thinking: "I have to get this skill down in order to get certified or else I can't use all of this expensive gear that I've already bought." That's the wrong attitude to have. Why place that kind of unnecessary pressure on oneself? It's counterproductive (even if the OP eventually gets into the sport).

You are 100% on the money.

The point where you said in an earlier post "You will almost certainly be throwing money away if you insist on buying that gear now." He may be throwing away money for all the reasons you listed above.

One of the joys of getting certified and taking more classes is the joy of shopping for the new toys! Let the boy dream!

 

[Rob9]

I call "BS" on that.

Call it what you will, retail the price of my kit with an SMB and finger spool was just over $6,000 (local retail) and as a package deal and with current sales I was able to get it down to just over $4,700. Looking through leisurepro with shipping and dollar conversion the price came down to around $3,000. I will email you my quote if you wish.


Thanks for the feedback, as stated in my original post I am not purchasing anything until after I have completed my OW certification for more than a couple of reasons.

I not one for feeling the cold in the water, most people around here I have talked to use an isotherm some with hood and gloves and some without.

The battery issue was one I hadn't given a lot of thought too (thanks paddler) I do know the LDS deal a lot with these watches and battery replacements but I hadn't thought about the what if I was traveling issue.

I haven't specifically asked my LDS to match the online price but the sales pitch I got was I am getting a pretty good deal, to drop another 1/3rd off their already reduced price I assumed would be way too much.

I also hadn't thought much about the equipment support if I purchase offline, I just assumed that because my LDS deal with these specific products/manufacturer's I would be fine but I should check that one out. Thanks

 

[Bubbletrubble]

The point where you said in an earlier post "You will almost certainly be throwing money away if you insist on buying that gear now." He may be throwing away money for all the reasons you listed above.

One thing that I neglected to state explicitly is that he will probably find out that he doesn't need that top of the line reg or the D6 computer. IMHO, I think he'd be wasting money there. Others may disagree.

One of the joys of getting certified and taking more classes is the joy of shopping for the new toys! Let the boy dream!

I hear ya. We all like our toys, but I think it's far too easy to get obsessed with the gear-buying and think that this will automatically make someone a better diver. I think this is the kind of thinking that motivates a person to purchase a full set of gear prior to certification. There should be less of a focus on gear...and more on skill development. Just my 2 psi...

 

[paddler3d]

.

The battery issue was one I hadn't given a lot of thought too (thanks paddler) I do know the LDS deal a lot with these watches and battery replacements but I hadn't thought about the what if I was traveling issue.

It seems that computers that don't have user replaceable batteries, the batteries last a long time. I'd rather spend $4-5 on a new battery each you and keep a spare in the save-a-dive kit, and always have my computer in hand.

'User replaceable' battery is one of my personal criteria. Also a criteria of mine has now if Tobin at DSS makes a boot for it so it can be bungee mounted.

https://www.deepseasupply.com/index.php?category=instruments