Does Leisure Pro ever sell fake stuff?

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They are a brick and mortar store, just like scubatoys.com. I've been there many times, I assure you it does exist. They just happen to have a HUGE online presence and great prices on quality items. Heck, if they were able to ship filled tanks w/ shipping, then Id almost never go to a LDS again. :D
 
It is odd that service in so many LDS's is iffy. I have had mainly lousy experiences. I have been sold stuff that doesn't fit or that isn't ideal or the best, simply because they wanted to sell me what they had in stock. Moreover, I have been made to feel that they don't like hassles--returns or complaints or quips--especially if there is another customer in the store. To my mind, a LDS is only as good as its inventory of items--if it has a very impressive inventory of items--in quality and quantity--then chances are that it has some good and knowledgeable people working there, and chances are better that they'll service you better (though no guarantees). Here in HK, there are some pretty good dive shops with impressive inventories and very decent prices--nearly the complete catalogue of Scubapro, Halcyon, and OMS in one store!--I have never seen anything as good in the US.

In the US, I have always received exactly what I ordered from LP. They haven't always been super friendly--sometimes even a bit rough around the edges--but they don't mess around and they get you what you want and they handle problems quickly and efficiently. And of course they offer great prices. The ideal is to know what you want and to have tried different things in order to learn what floats your boat. Dive shops also have a bit of incentive to keep you relatively ignorant and dependent on them (especially if their inventory is sparse), though some offer classes to teach you how a reg works, etc. If you learn too much, then maybe you want to try a Zeagle but they only carry Seaquest--and then they are not happy with you. Moreover, I personally enjoy diving older models of most gear, particularly older Scubapro regs and computers, and I piece together BP/W setups, and I use old-fashioned spearguns--and I can get most of what I need on Ebay at great prices. The LDS wants to sell me only the newest titanium MK25/X650 (or whatever the newest numbers are), and they are not much interested in my interest in older model equipment. And often they have young staff who never heard of the equipment I want to ask about or have serviced (in the US, I mail my regs to someone who knows; here in HK, I found a great technician who knows all the old stuff inside and out). If you read Scubaboard regularly, poke around elsewhere on the Web, and make an effort to learn about and occasionally try stuff that pops up on Ebay, then you know more than most staff in most LDS. If it were not for LP and Ebay, I would not know anything about this piece of equipment versus that and I likely would not be diving right now. Most LDS's (in many parts of the US, that is, and also elsewhere), have become equal parts travel agents and dive shops. They cater to the exotic tropical trip and sell stuff that might be fine for the occasional vacation to the tropical reef destinations. There are some exceptions that are excellent, but they are few, in my experience. The LDS, generally speaking, is not for the hobbiest (again, there are som exceptions). Ebay and LP and Scubatoys make all sorts of interesting things possible for me that otherwise would not be possible. Just my two cents.
 
Just sent my computer back to LP after noticing the battery cover had a crack. The computer had 8 days leftt on LP's 2 year warranty. They replaced it with absolutely no problem, the only drawback was the six weeks it took to get it back. However, it would probably take just as long if I had sent it to the manufacturer.
I've purchased a bunch of gear and accessories from them with satisfaction. When the LDS can compete with the prices and stop telling me I shouldn't buy anything other than ScubaPro, then maybe they will get my business.
 
Hi Everybody,

I would like to chime in on this and give you a little information from the horses’ mouth as it may be. My name is Brett and I work for Leisure Pro. I’m going to try to take it upon myself to act as an ambassador to the online public. Having worked in dive shops for over a decade I can tell you that I have heard just about every reason to buy at a LDS and not from Leisure Pro. Fortunately for us most of the things they say are not true. In regards to Leisure Pro making “fake stuff” that just doesn’t happen. All the gear that can be purchased from us is the same stuff that your can pick up in your LDS. To say that some of the gear we sell is “gray market” is true. Not everything we sell comes directly from the manufacturer, some companies refuse to sell directly to us for various reasons, mainly that we do not always want to sell at full MAP. This is stated on our website here: http://www.leisurepro.com/Content/AboutLeisurePro.html . It has been stated many times in this thread that should a manufacturer not want to honor their warranty because the gear was purchased from us, that the Leisure Pro warranty is exactly the same as the manufacturers warranty. The only difference is that you send the gear to us instead of the manufacturer; this applies to regulators with free parts just like it does to a Smartcom computer. I hope this answers some questions that people have about us, please feel free to ask if you have any more.

Dive well,
Brett
 
No wonder the LDS hates Leisurepro - here in Australia I can import Mares regs from Leisurepro at about 33% of current retail - either the LDS has huge mark-ups ( up to 200% or more) or they just get their stock from the wrong sources. I wouldn't like to be a dive shop owner in Oz at the moment, as internet buying is about to cripple their retail sales, unless they get a whole lot smarter. Australia has a much lower turnover than the US market so now the LDS is trying to compete (unsuccessfully) with U.S. outfits that can get by buying bulk deals on skinny margins due to huge turnover. The winner here really is the consumer - good quality dive gear has never been so affordable - Mares Rebel regs and Oceanic Alpha 8 regs for under $150 US? Bring it on!
 
The only reason I wouldn't buy a reg from them is because I don't trust UPS. Anything else that can withstand a little bumping around and stomping on is ordered right away.
 
I have found LP to be excellent in terms of replacing items damaged in shipment and also replacing an Aqualung mask box that broke its hinge. An SK7 compass was backordered even though the website said it was in stock, but when it finally arrived, it was a brand new item and works fine. Nice $$ saved too!
 
Hey Brett! Good to see LP finally being able to defend its position against the unending bashing. I have had NOTHING but good experiences in your store (I purchase both Online and in your store) and your staff (Ben (name?) specially) have been extremely helpful and willing to negotiate. Thanks very much
 
https://www.shearwater.com/products/teric/

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