Did I get hosed?

[survivorboy]

Hello all,

Completely new to the sport, I have my first class tomorrow night!

Well, trying to stay loyal to the little guy I recently just purchased all of my gear from my local dive shop.

Now, I completely understand SOME markup, small places simply can't compete with online retailers, but tell me if this sounds unreasonable.

Among other things I paid $770 for a Sherwood Avid BC and $580 for a Sherwood Blizzard reg. My Aluminum 80 was $225 and my 7mm Bare wetsuit was $299.

Keeping in mind these are Canadian prices without tax, did I get hosed?

 

[booth22]

 

[Ontwreckdiver]

The BC seems a little high. The tank and wetsuit seem about normal.

Does the reg price include octo and console. If it does , its not to bad a price.

 

[survivorboy]

Nope, console and octo were extra.

At first he told me they were optional and mostly for advanced divers!

 

[theskull]

Sounds like fair prices to me, especially for Canada.

Enjoy your class!

theskull

 

[divinginn]

glad i dont live in canada,the avid here is 450 usd not sure of the exchange rate,tanks are 150 plus 7 percent tax,the avid is a very nice bc,been eyeballing one.

 

[Jeff Toorish]

Nope, console and octo were extra.

At first he told me they were optional and mostly for advanced divers!

I find this a disturbing statement.

Jeff

 

[mobster75]

Umm... I bought a Sherwood Avid BC (2004 model) in Dec 04 for $200 brand new and I've loved it since.

Just picked up a pair of AL80's today w/ boot and valve for $165/each and comes with unlimited free air fills.

These prices are US $ though.

 

[ChrisA]

Hello all,

Completely new to the sport, I have my first class tomorrow night!

Well, trying to stay loyal to the little guy I recently just purchased all of my gear from my local dive shop.

Now, I completely understand SOME markup, small places simply can't compete with online retailers, but tell me if this sounds unreasonable.

Among other things I paid $770 for a Sherwood Avid BC and $580 for a Sherwood Blizzard reg. My Aluminum 80 was $225 and my 7mm Bare wetsuit was $299.

Keeping in mind these are Canadian prices without tax, did I get hosed?

Where do you live? Around here in the local dive shops full retail price for an AL80 tank is $130.
We can buy them on sale every few months for $110. This is local retail not on-line. I think you over paid by about $100. One local reseller told be his cost for AL80 tanks wholesale was $106 and they do the $110 sale every year just to get divers in the shop. $129.95 in "normal"

The wetsuit is not bad. Full retail is $299 but locally the shops here are selling with $100 discount for that exact same wetsuit. Other wetsuits like it are currently discounted to about $200 to $180.
Paying full MSRP is not bad, well not as bad as for the tank

The BC sounds high too. I don't know that model but it is hard to find a $700 BC in the local shops.

If the reg price includes the octo and it is a near top of the line sherwood then the price is in-line

But I live in So. Calif. We have a bazillion dive shops in the area and they have to compete with each other. (I counted 63 shops in one of the So Cal directories)

I hate to say it but shops ALWAYS try and sell gear to new divers before they have even taken the first class. Divers at that point know almost nothing about dive gear. In fact I think OW trainnng is a "loos leader" for gear sales. What is their return policy? If it's never been wet ask if they will take some of it back. If they do NOT have a liberal return policy then there is little reason to buy from the local shop

 

[Gary D.]

Nope, console and octo were extra.

At first he told me they were optional and mostly for advanced divers!

:lol: They were joking, right? :lol:

If they weren't move on to another shop.

Gary D.