Is leisurepro.com the best place to buy?

[redacted]

It was just recently that the fact they were NOT authorized dealers has come to light.

Welcome to what most divers with a little internet experiece have know for quite some time. But I agree that one might have reason to be hesitant to have them service your regulator. Then again, there are very few LDSs that I wouldn't feel the same about. I've had too much experience with incompetent and over-priced service.

Those of us who like the conviences of multiple LDSs and still reap the savings opportunities available from large retailers applaud what you are doing.

 

[pilot fish]

Just thought that I'd add my 2 cents here. I have actually been to their store on 42 West 18th street. If you go by their website's description "Leisure pro invites you to visit our beautiful showroom situated in the heart of Manhattan, just off 5th Avenue". You'd expect a massive airy showroom. In fact you go through a door beside their camera shop and take an elevator to the third floor. The showroom is fairly small with most of their products in storage it seems and some on display, but I suppose rent in Manhattan in astronomical. Definetly not as advertised though.

Anyway my impressions as a new diver (7months certified) buying a BC, open heel fins, soft weights and other accessories is that they aren't divers. I've been in other dive shops and the friendly banter that usually occurs when you tell them what kind of gear you're interested in and what kind of diving you do didn't occur. In fact when I mentioned that I'm Jamaican, live and dive in Jamaica a destination generally not frequented by divers going to the Caribbean it was met with blank stares. So no I don't think they're divers themselves.

As for the company itself though, I'm a little ambivalent towards them. The prices can't be beat true and frankly that's what made my dive gear purchases possible. However they're other websites with an actual physical presence, prices that are comparable (slightly more perhaps) and actually have manufacturer warranties and salespeople with more than a perfunctory interest and knowledge of the gear that they're selling. In future though I think I'll patronise scubatoys as they meet all of the above criteria.

Thank You, JamDiver. Yes, one can quickly see, and hear, that they have no knowledge of diving, or about safety issues of gear. They could be selling kitchen sinks for all the input they have on diving. As you can see from that tiny shop, they are more Internet sellers than anything else. They are NOT a LDS for NY.

 

[pilot fish]

I rarely ever buy anything from LP - only when I can't find it at the LDS, because I believe the LDS is worth keeping around. But LP's getting unfairly bashed here...


Do you have a specific example where their repairs are not? If you're going to make the charge, back it up.


Do you have a specific example where they aren't - considering that you have shipping in both directions?


What does that mean? Who decides? What does it matter? They sure sell a lot of dive gear...


It is and has been common knowledge in the dive community for years that LP is not an authorized dealer for much of the stuff they sell. It's been said countless times on Scubaboard. I think I brought it up in reference to Dive-Rite at least three years ago.


Whose fault is that?


Because LP won't honor manufacturer's price-fixing or in-store-only sales policies.
---
Rick

I'm at an unfair advantage discussing this with you. You have the power to pull any of my posts you don't think have any value, as you did with my thread on Leisure Pro this morning, so I'll just let my previous posts on this topic speak to your questions. Asked and answered.

 

[pilot fish]

Welcome to what most divers with a little internet experiece have know for quite some time. But I agree that one might have reason to be hesitant to have them service your regulator. Then again, there are very few LDSs that I wouldn't feel the same about. I've had too much experience with incompetent and over-priced service.

Those of us who like the conviences of multiple LDSs and still reap the savings opportunities available from large retailers applaud what you are doing.

Thank you

 

[boomx5]

Pilot Fish,

What you don't seem to understand is this issue has been discussed many times over the years here on Scubaboard, so all that is going on here is your're beating a dead horse. Many of us have bought gear from Leasure Pro and never had a problem with it. If my LDS isn't going to make me a deal I'll buy somewhere else (including Leasure Pro) and I could care less if they are an authorized dealer. You running around trying to save Scubaboard from the "Axis Of Evil" that is Leasure Pro, is pretty comical.

 

[GOAT]

lol, i have to agree with you boom.

 

[pipedope]

Leisure Pro do not have any divers on their staff. They are merchants and NOT part of the dive community. They are not divers. You buy regs, puters and BC's at your own peril -NO MFG WARRANTY. Your choice.

This seems to be a pretty clear and strong claim.
What proof do you have?
Feel free to post any proof you have right out here in public.

Also feel free to NOT post charges or claims without posting some kind of proof or at least supporting evidence.

It seems to me that the real misinformation is coming from you. LP does not hide their status regarding gear makers.
Why do you find it important to slam them at every oportunity?

 

[Marek K]

I'm glad I'm not the only one thinking this thread was getting pretty strange...

It was a slow Friday afternoon, and I decided to do some Internet research.

True, out of all the regular manufacturers that LP carries, the vast majority they're not authorized dealers for. I don't think they're hiding that fact, and I don't think that particularly surprises many people here -- including occasional customers of theirs, like me.

But LP is an authorized dealer for at least Tabata USA (Tusa). Check Tusa's web site if you don't believe that.

So the flat statement that they're not authorized dealers, which to me implies not for any manufacturer, is patently false.

We know that if a manufacturer doesn't cover the stuff they sell because they're not an authorized dealer, then LP provides their own warranty equivalent to the manufacturer's. We can debate the merits of a manufacturer's warranty versus LP's own coverage, how long it may take, how they do it, etc etc etc... but that all boils down to opinions, and any kind of cost vs. risk trade-off anyone cares to make.

I have no way of knowing whether none (meaning exactly zero) of their employees are divers, and neither does anyone else who hasn't gone in there and done an exhaustive survey. I, too, have found their representatives to be less than amazingly knowledgeable, but their customer service has always been fine -- though a bit terse.

And no, I'm not a LP employee insidiously posting here, just because I'm not willing to condemn them.

OK, I'm ready to be screamed at.

--Marek

 

[pilot fish]

This seems to be a pretty clear and strong claim.
What proof do you have?
Feel free to post any proof you have right out here in public.

Also feel free to NOT post charges or claims without posting some kind of proof or at least supporting evidence.

It seems to me that the real misinformation is coming from you. LP does not hide their status regarding gear makers.
Why do you find it important to slam them at every oportunity?

Mike, if you found out that none of the staff at Leisure Pro were divers, would that change your opinion on buying dive gear from them? The staff at their store consists of 3 to 4 men on phones and computers, fielding orders on the Internet.One guy can help you if you buy at the store, while the others stay on the puters and phones.

When asked if they were divers at the store they said yes but when I asked to see a C card, or where they dove, he admitted they were not divers. The shop, such as it is, is about the size of your kitchen and living room. [edited:]The staff and owner do not dive due to religious reasons. [/edited] They have no pool, or instructors. I know this because they told me and I was there to see it. Contrast that with ScubaToys, who are divers and part of the sport of diving, AND HAVE INSTRUCTORS AND A POOL.

Your choice, fellow divers

 

[pilot fish]

I'm glad I'm not the only one thinking this thread was getting pretty strange...

It was a slow Friday afternoon, and I decided to do some Internet research.

True, out of all the regular manufacturers that LP carries, the vast majority they're not authorized dealers for. I don't think they're hiding that fact, and I don't think that particularly surprises many people here -- including occasional customers of theirs, like me.

But LP is an authorized dealer for at least Tabata USA (Tusa). Check Tusa's web site if you don't believe that.

So the flat statement that they're not authorized dealers, which to me implies not for any manufacturer, is patently false.

We know that if a manufacturer doesn't cover the stuff they sell because they're not an authorized dealer, then LP provides their own warranty equivalent to the manufacturer's. We can debate the merits of a manufacturer's warranty versus LP's own coverage, how long it may take, how they do it, etc etc etc... but that all boils down to opinions, and any kind of cost vs. risk trade-off anyone cares to make.

I have no way of knowing whether none (meaning exactly zero) of their employees are divers, and neither does anyone else who hasn't gone in there and done an exhaustive survey. I, too, have found their representatives to be less than amazingly knowledgeable, but their customer service has always been fine -- though a bit terse.

And no, I'm not a LP employee insidiously posting here, just because I'm not willing to condemn them.

OK, I'm ready to be screamed at.

--Marek

No one should scream at you because your post is fair and honest and reflects what you know to be the truth. Since you have never been to thier small shop you have no idea how clear it is that none of staff or owner are divers.