Is leisurepro.com the best place to buy?

[ScoobieDooo]

I have been buying dive gear from LP for years - never had a problem yet with anything that I have purchased - and thats BC's, regs, wetsuits, fins, masks - you name it. I have saved thousands of dollars in the last several years vs. buying from a LDS. I would have never been able to afford to dive if I had to pay retail prices for stuff.

 

[pwraudio1]

LP has worked for me in the past and will work on the next order I make tonight!!! :

 

[ScoobieDooo]

They DO sell Aqua Lung.

 

[The Goat Show]

Atomic regs are cheap on leisurepro is that a good place to buy them or not. This site beats my local dive shops buy hundreds. :07:

As much as I like my LDS I could not afford to buy from them. Even with their "discounts" and 20% off I still could not do it. I got everything through Leisure Pro and have been happy so far (8 months later). The local shop's "discounts" were still hundreds above anything I bought from Leisure Pro.

 

[Jim Lapenta]

I have read with interest all the posts and in some way can agree with them all. I very strongly support my lds due largely to the fact that the service is exceptional. I've bought items from scubatoys, diveUS, and off ebay. Mostly accessories but also from diveUS a pony bottle that was on special and even with shipping was just about my lds's cost! he's not a large operation and doesn't get the dealer discounts from certain mfg's that larger outfits get. However including education courses I've spent about 7 grand since last May with him. All my gear is the best that I can afford to do what I want to do and dive like I want to dive. Yet I was pressured into buying nothing. I was given all the options and allowed to make my own decisions including going to another shop if what he had was not exactly right for me. Because of the service he gives, like coming to a students home to do printed lessons if that's the most convenient for the student. Hand delivering my cert cards to me and others when he gets them from PADI. Having me try on my new semi-custom os systems drysuit at home and making sure everything fits because my work schedule was screwed up for a while and I couldn't get to the shop. Also he does do creative discounts for regular customers and can usually come close to internet pricing. And as others have mentioned if I need service turnaround is usually 24 hrs or less if items are on hand. most times it's while you wait. unfortunately not all of his customers are as loyal as I am and as a result some temporary downsizing was necessary and we are in the process of relocating to a different site. It's a pain but worth it in order to keep it local. If this shop were not here I would have to fight big city traffic for fills or drive a half hour for them. Also what about the bs factor. Can any one walk into an online store, sit down, and talk for an hour about that great dive where everything seemed to come together and get tips on how to make sure it happens again. Or discuss with the next guy or gal in the door why your first BC was an Oceanic probe instead of an OceanPro or Flex. ( besause I knew that the type of diving I would be doing would require the extra features. I was right if I'd bought the less featured one I'd now have 2 BC's instead of one and I would have one tank instead of two PST 80's, a pony bottle and an argon setup!) Sorry to be so long winded but my family had a small business that was forced out by a larger discount operation and I still remember the look on my papa's face when he closed the doors of a business that had been in the same place for 42 years. So for me I'll support my lds as long as I can. If it means having to wait an extra pay to get that 4th light or 3rd lift bag so be it. at least I konw when I buy it it will be an hour long or more sit down and bs process that will relax me keep my appetite for diving strong, and probably result in me picking up some other little doodad that will keep the doors open just a little bit longer.

 

[Hoosier]

JimLap,

I understand some points you addressed. But, everyone isn’t on the same boat as you are. No matter what kind of relationship you have with LDS, it is a business of which goal is to make profit and money. In the same context, general customers who are occasionally enjoying the scuba diving are more sensitive to the price and service. That is, if the same service can be guaranteed, it is not a big deal to send out anywhere for the service nowadays. The most successful internet shops read this customer’s mind. So, that’s the reason why they provide “30 day full return policy” or Warrant or maintenance service without asking any question policy. If your LDS can come close to internet pricing to the regular customers, they have to do the same thing to any customers who visit his shop. Otherwise, the shop is only your folks’ warehouse or only for certain people, such as DM or AI. If we closely look at the way of business from ScubaToys, we can see the business model that fits to the modern market. I am sure that they were also suffered before. But, they quickly adjusted themselves to the new world. Yes, it is a tough world. The customers also argue that they work hard to make money. Some divers contend about air supply issue. But, as long as there is a demand, every place for the diving will equip air supply system. Even, in the small mid west quarries, they have already providee the air at the site. We just need to bring some cash.

I also experienced the same situation as you did when I was young. But, how can I describe this properly, “Life is unfair.” “Times have changed.”

Have a good weekend.

 

[fjd]

not a reply to any particular post, but just wanted to share my experience.

i make purchase both online and from LDS, if it represents both value AND quality. i guess one might say that if you've been diving for a while, know exactly what you want, and the price is the primary motivation, then buy from leisurepro. But personally, i am not sure whether i would, even if that were the case.

i base this statement on the experience that i had when i visited their 'showroom,' as i happen to live in the new york metro area. on this occasion, i wanted to get a particular wetsuit, which fit OK except it was too long on the arms/legs.

i asked this particular gentleman, who'd been helping me, whether he carried any 'short' sizes. he responded that they only carried 'standard sizes' for all lines of wetsuits. then he went on to say, with a straight face, that i should just fold the suit on the arms/legs and be happy that the rest of the suit fit OK. else, he further suggested, the only other option i had was to go with a custom suit.

does anyone know whether these folks at leisurepro dive at all themselves?

 

[Marek K]

does anyone know whether these folks at leisurepro dive at all themselves?

I know what pilot fish's answer would be!

I think it's actually a very good question. Personally, I don't particularly care whether they dive or not, per se. I agree with you, buying from them is appropriate when you don't need any advice... when you know exactly what you want.

(If, on the other hand, you do need advice, I think you're morally obligated to pay for good advice by at least trying to buy from someone who gives it to you.)

My problem would be if they're not in fact divers, while claiming that they are. The inside front cover or their catalog states, "LeisurePro's highly professional staff are divers themselves..."

Two reasons... First, on principle I can't stand people who lie, particularly for personal or business gain.

Second, which goes to what you wrote, there are people who trust vendors to give them good advice. Bad advice about rolling up a wetsuit's sleeves won't hurt someone, but other bad advice might. Of course, no one -- not LP, and not LDS's -- has a monopoly on truth or untruth, or expertise.

Yours isn't the first post here, claiming that at least some of LP employees don't seem to be in fact divers. I've had similar experiences with LP representatives on-line. It's not hard evidence -- nobody's given any. But it's... disturbing.

Particulary since I have a regulator in with them now for annual service, with their "service technicians [who] are among the best in the business, and are experienced in all types of equipment" (p. 240 of the catalog).

--Marek

 

[Moogyboy]

In more ways than one, LeisurePro seems to be the dive community's equivalent of Cambridge Camera, the proverbial Really Cheap Mail-Order Gray-Market Gear Shop In New York City That We Love To Loathe.

Since emotions are for some reason so passionate on both sides of the issue, I doubt fjd or anyone will get a straight answer. Honestly, now... Does anyone outside of LP's payroll really know for sure if they're divers or not?

My take is that it doesn't matter. I don't necessarily expect that every guy behind the counter at a camera shop is a photographer, but it sure is classy if they are and I'm more likely to respect them. In the context of a dive shop, the important thing is that they're knowledgeable, ethical sales people, and they're not trying to rip me off. I expect a dive buddy or an instructor to be a diver, of course, but I don't think it's necessarily a prerequisite to being a *salesperson*.

(Now, salespeople at music stores are a whole other thing... )

Really, the best advice I can give is to do your research, know what you want when you go in, and then the salesperson becomes simply the store's representative instead of the All-Seeing Provider Of Truth, ie whether he dives or not becomes irrelevant.

cheers

Billy S.

 

[fjd]

My problem would be if they're not in fact divers, while claiming that they are. The inside front cover or their catalog states, "LeisurePro's highly professional staff are divers themselves..."

i was simply curious before and wasn't aware that they were making this claim in their catalog. now i am more curious than ever. and i am with you that i would have a problem if the reality was contrary to their claim.

personally, i don't care if the salesperson were a diver or not. in most cases, i know exactly what i want and why i want it. if i hear someone telling me to fold up the sleeves of a wetsuit, i would simply walk away and take my business somewhere else.

more importantly, though, as you pointed out, we are purchasing life-saving equipment from these vendors. for me, the integrity of the vendor matters a lot. and i would certainly not buy any regulators from these guys.