Easiest current Scubapro 1st and 2nd stage to DIY repair?

[tbone1004]

A smart European dealer would sell to the US through a proxy

smart or shady? It is in direct violation of their contract with the manufacturer, I wouldn't say that's smart...

 

[lexvil]

smart or shady? It is in direct violation of their contract with the manufacturer, I wouldn't say that's smart...

A smart way to avoid a shady policy.

 

[Angelo Farina]

smart or shady? It is in direct violation of their contract with the manufacturer, I wouldn't say that's smart...

It is not in "direct" violation. If you sell to a local, and he ships in another country, this is, by definition, an "indirect" violation of the contract.
What I usually find on Ebay (but also here on SB) is privates who buy parts or kits at their LDS and resell them on the internet.
In some case I have found shops selling directly on Ebay, but in these cases, typically, the sale is limited to EU customers.
I have also found a number of companies who only sell to US customers. There are products which were never made available to us Europeans.
One example is the Samsung Odyssey VR headset I bought one year ago.
I purchased it on Microsoft Store in the US, employing a dummy address in the US provided by a company called ShopUSA (www.shopusa.com). They received the parcel for me, and reshipped it to Italy. All perfectly lawful, paying custom fees here in Italy and US taxes.
I am quite sure that similar services do exist here, allowing US customers to buy products which are only available here in Europe.

 

[tbone1004]

A smart way to avoid a shady policy.

Not a shady policy, an unfortunate one, but not shady

It is not in "direct" violation. If you sell to a local, and he ships in another country, this is, by definition, an "indirect" violation of the contract.
What I usually find on Ebay (but also here on SB) is privates who buy parts or kits at their LDS and resell them on the internet.
In some case I have found shops selling directly on Ebay, but in these cases, typically, the sale is limited to EU customers.
I have also found a number of companies who only sell to US customers. There are products which were never made available to us Europeans.
One example is the Samsung Odyssey VR headset I bought one year ago.
I purchased it on Microsoft Store in the US, employing a dummy address in the US provided by a company called ShopUSA (www.shopusa.com). They received the parcel for me, and reshipped it to Italy. All perfectly lawful, paying custom fees here in Italy and US taxes.
I am quite sure that similar services do exist here, allowing US customers to buy products which are only available here in Europe.

which companies have you seen policies for? I know it's written into several of the brands agreements that they aren't allowed to sell outside of their areas, same reason you had to use that ShopUSA thing. They didn't sell it to an address in Italy because they weren't allowed to, you had to send it to a dummy address and then it was forwarded to you. They can obviously do something like that, but again, it's shady and is certainly against the intend of the clauses. I don't agree with it, but it is what it is. There was a pretty big shop in Denmark IIRC that lost their Apeks dealership a few years ago when they got caught selling direct to the US because it was so much cheaper for the regs, but also parts kits.

Example
If you go to Simply Scuba which is a UK based massive online dive shop. They have the following in their T&C. This is because they aren't allowed to sell them outside of the EEA. I.e. if they shipped to the US, it is in direct violation of their dealership agreement, and if caught, would lose that dealership.

"We can only deliver Scubapro and UWATEC products to addresses within the member states of the EEA."

 

[GStevens1]

We may come out of these times with a new reality and not enough surviving shops to continue this antiquated policy. New revenue sources are going to be available with training for the people who want it and parts easily obtainable, or they can try to continue with the old business model.

It's funny you should say that.
I just saw a brand new MK17 DIN 300 / G260 by SCUBAPRO First and second stage brand new / never used, for $350 online, which includes the shipping. I haven't heard of deals like this before, and that's compared to used items. These are brand new at this price. This Covid-19 is hurting a lot of folks... This may change the industry down the line, if Deep6 hasn't done that already.

 

[lexvil]

It's funny you should say that.
I just saw a brand new MK17 DIN 300 / G260 by SCUBAPRO First and second stage brand new / never used, for $350 online, which includes the shipping. I haven't heard of deals like this before, and that's compared to used items. These are brand new at this price. This Covid-19 is hurting a lot of folks... This may change the industry down the line, if Deep6 hasn't done that already.

Use extreme caution with deals like this, not saying it’s not possible but have a recourse payment system.

 

[GStevens1]

Use extreme caution with deals like this, not saying it’s not possible but have a recourse payment system.

I *always* only buy on credit card - always. Always have, and always will. If the seller doesn't own up to any issues which is almost always successful in my experience, but if they don't, then amazon/eBay will... if they can't/won't as a solid 2nd option, then I always have my credit card as a backup nuclear third option. This is essentially 3 options to avoid getting scammed. I'll never just hand over my private checking account info to someone and I definitely don't trust craigslist where you meet some scammer late at night and end up with something shady/broken/defective/stolen/etc... Craigslist is good, and you can find better deals, but it's also easier to get scammed and much harder (if not impossible) to get anything rectified and/or refunded..

 

[Angelo Farina]

Example
If you go to Simply Scuba which is a UK based massive online dive shop. They have the following in their T&C. This is because they aren't allowed to sell them outside of the EEA. I.e. if they shipped to the US, it is in direct violation of their dealership agreement, and if caught, would lose that dealership.
"We can only deliver Scubapro and UWATEC products to addresses within the member states of the EEA."

In understand this perfectly, I have nothing against this kind of policy. And that is the reason for which the seller does not ship directly to USA. He ships to an EU address, this is the purchaser.
Then who receives the item is free to reship it where he likes. In Europe, when you buy something, it is your, and you are free to resell, to dismount, to dismantle and sell the parts, etc.
There is no contract infringement, and the shop does not risk anything, provided that they did ship to an EU customer.
The problem would be only if the shop ships DIRECTLY to USA, this is something they do not want to do.
But, as said, there are traders who work exactly for avoiding this problem, and for a reasonable fee they take care of collecting the items you want, and of reshipping them to your address. They provide an useful and lawful service, and it is fair to pay them the reasonable fee they ask.

 

[buddhasummer]

My vote for first stage is an early Titan or Conshelf 21 or Cousteau if you need 2x HP ports, oh wait, all AL and none are current production. Then reluctantly I'll vote a MK17 or MK11 if you don't need sealed. Silliness aside, my choice of current production first stages are Apeks, current production second stages the G260. I mix and match. Sorry for the all but pointless post, I'm bored and have no one to talk to. Sold every reg I had except an Apeks first stage and 2x "current" production Conshelf 14s.

 

[buddhasummer]

I lied, and an old Titan first stage, but I'm not selling that, a friend gave it to me.