Diving equipment in Thailand?

[Jack Cummins]

Anyone passing through Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam on the way to Thailand could buy Triple-L Brand BCDs and dive bags direct from the factory at ridiculously low prices. Cheaper than Singapore. I suppose they could even arrange to mail or courier the product to you in Thailand. Check out www.triple-l.net for their full product line and request an e-catalog with pricing.

 

[travelem]

When you buy dive gear from the dive shops in HK, make sure you bargain with them. The displayed price isn't the final sale price. Most of the time they will give you 30% off.

You can also email them and bargain.

http://www.prodive.com.hk/pd/main.htm
http://www.scubaworldhk.com/en/retail.asp

 

[The Hamburger]

Travelem is right!

The key word is discount!

But it all depends on who you are.

One of the reasons behind Damnam SAC was to receive the benefit of group bargaining power.

Our members enjoy a significant discount from Dive Supply Bangkok , all they have to do is show their membership card.

 

[travelem]

In HK, you don't have to be a member of anything. First, you just have to bargain and imply that your seriuos buyer, not window shoppping. They will low down the price from the displayed price. And they will give special discount (3-5%)by paying cash instead of credit card. Then, the final costs sometime are 30% lower than the displayed one.

 

[ssra30]

Generally I find the list price for scuba gear in Thailand about 30-50% more expensive than leisurepro or diveinn.
Unless you are a regular customer, you won't find much bargaining power like you do in Singapore or Hong Kong.
However many stores do offer 20-30% discount at certain time of the year which then make the prices more comparable to Leisurepro. For a first timer though, I doubt you are going to get better price than that of Leisurepro.
However since you specifically mention Suunto, beware that when you buy from Leisurepro, the manufacturer warranty will be invalid but Leisurepro does offer its own warranty. Something to do with price controlling in North America ie you can't be an authorized Suunto dealer if you offer more than certain percentage of discount from the manufacturer's suggested retail price. Thailand's price would probably be much more comparable to an authorized dealer in North America. Don['t forget that since you are a tourist, you should be entitle to a 7% Value Added Tax refund when you leave the country. Check with the stgore before you buy anything to make sure that they will issue you a VAT refund form (not every store will do this so don't assume that you will automatically get it). Most prices in Thailand already include VAT unless otherwise specified.