LDS Bashers

[BHB ScubaTroll]

I have skimmed the *32* pages of this thread. I didn't read every post, so forgive me if I repeat a previous post, but....

This died a normal death 9 months ago...

You should have left it burried. NOW, we need to slap it back down with a shovel and cover over it again!

 

[BHB ScubaTroll]

OK, I've heard this one on SB before: "if the shop closes, I'll set up my own compressor". Is this really economically rational?
How much does an oxygen clean fill station with an oiless compressor cost to buy? How much does it cost to replace filters? What is the cost of yearly inspections and maintainence (dollars and your time)? What about enriched air fills? Leaving out an O2 boost pump, what does it cost to purchase, transport and transfer gas to your cylinders? If you let your buddies fill their tanks, do you buy liability insurance? What about floor space? Will it affect your homeowner's insurance? How much time do you want to spend filling tanks, and how much time do you want to be diving?
All in all, the "I'll just get my own compressor" theory seems more like a debating point than a real option for most recreational divers.
Of course, If the dive shop stays open, you wouldn't have these problems.

Air only?

$3,024.95

Here you go

What is the cost of yearly inspections - private owner... $0.00
EAN - Oxygen is readily available
affect insurance - no

Hmm... this is small enough that you could put it in your SUV and fill your beach dive tanks over and over again... hmm

 

[Arete]

I dive as part of my university studies the majority of the time, and recreationally with the university dive club.

Economics plays a role in driving up the price of dive gear in Australia. It's a small market, a very long way from anywhere else. This means that expensive goods for specialist needs are very marked up (captive market, low volume sales, high shipping costs) and the ranges imported by distributors are often very limited. As such, dive gear in the LDS is often 200-300% of the online cost. Often the prices in the LDS are dictated by the distributer and not the LDS themselves.

For large items, on a student income the difference in price is the difference between buying the product, and not buying it. For small items, the difference is between a small excess on my weekly income, and a major purchase ($40 for a knife/light compared to in excess of $100).

I do my certification with university. I get my tank from the university, and can do air fills here.

I'm not saying that I expect to pay the same in the LDS as I do online, but I recently walked into an LDS and said "Hi, I have a budget of X dollars, and want a complete setup." The response was "You need at least a budget of Y dollars for a bottom of the range setup, though we could knock it down a bit if you you do a course for Z dollars with us...".

I did the course for free with the university and got a mid range setup for X dollars online.

IMO, buying online is advantageous because I can support the manufacturer and do more diving than I would otherwise. It's the difference between being in the water in my own gear once a week and being able to afford to hire a complete set of gear once every month or two.

My opinion and actions would be substantially different if the price difference was less prohibitive of buying at the LDS. However as it stands, I will continue to shop online until either the price in the LDS comes down or I earn enough that a couple of thousand dollars here or there is inconsequential.

 

[Ron Brandt]

Pandoras box is open!!!!! Good luck fastcat you touched on a sore subject LOL. You know the old saying, "Only way to get a million dollars in the LDS business is to start with 2 million."

You forgot to quote: "Peter Hughes"

Ron

 

[tkdawg]

First thing, rewrite this so the guys in gitmo can read this, they will confess and give every secret they have.

The internet is hear to stay, the dive companies are starting to change and let more internet sales be authorized. For the LDS if the can they should match price + shipping cost to get a sale. If you are to proud or hard headed to make a sale then you are going to go away.

If the was not an internet this thread would have never have happened. So maybe the internet is a bad thing.

 

[MikeFerrara]

OK, I've heard this one on SB before: "if the shop closes, I'll set up my own compressor". Is this really economically rational?
How much does an oxygen clean fill station with an oiless compressor cost to buy? How much does it cost to replace filters? What is the cost of yearly inspections and maintainence (dollars and your time)? What about enriched air fills? Leaving out an O2 boost pump, what does it cost to purchase, transport and transfer gas to your cylinders? If you let your buddies fill their tanks, do you buy liability insurance? What about floor space? Will it affect your homeowner's insurance? How much time do you want to spend filling tanks, and how much time do you want to be diving?
All in all, the "I'll just get my own compressor" theory seems more like a debating point than a real option for most recreational divers.
Of course, If the dive shop stays open, you wouldn't have these problems.

If there is a fill station close to where you dive it's probably more economical to pay for the fill...if it's air or nitrox.

if there's not a fill station that's convenient, it makes sense to have your own for air/nitrox and it almost always makes sense to have your own for trimix if you can fill before you leave home.

I've owned sevseal compressors though I am wihout one at the moment and the convenience and logistics alone more than make the expence worthwhile...in my situation anyway.

You can buy a nice compressor for a garage for around 3K. A hyper filter $1500 (at most) and some fill whips to transfill O2 and helium...never mind the cost of those isn't worth mentioning.

Considering how far and how much time I would have in getting a trimix fill, the lost from work involved in getting just a couple of trimix fills would buy me another compressor.

I know...the shop tells you that comprtessors cost a quarter mil, LOL but they don't.

for 100$ you get a class that gives you a card and everything for tank inspection. Another $100 and you have a card for mixing gas. What do you want? A presidential pardon or something? LOL Do you even need a card or can you read the instructions?

Insurance? I'm not a lawyer but I have had a fill station in my garage and I have let other people use it and I have talked to both my lawyer and insurance guy about it. As a side note, my insurance agent didn't have a problem with the compressor but he advised against letting a neighbor put some steers on the property. LOL

As far as I can tell, as long as I'm not running a buisiness, my home owner policy covers the equipment. As far as liability, who knows? I suppose that any one can sue anyone for anything in this country and you might win and you might lose. I always let my buddies fill their own tanks and figured that if they blew my house up that I would sue them...that should even things out should they sue me. LOL.

Really, it doesn't cost that much or take very much effort to pump some air into your own tank...this is just another lie of the industry.

 

[Vicente]

This died a normal death 9 months ago...

You should have left it burried. NOW, we need to slap it back down with a shovel and cover over it again!

I am a BAD man, I am so sorry. A round of recent frustrations with LDS made me do it, it's not my fault!

Perhaps it was after going to 3 shops trying to find a simple J-snorkel for my chica, and finding nothing but these GOSH-DARNED $50 things with umbrellas. Jeez I want a tube to breathe from in that rare ocassion you surface in the middle of the kelp and have to crawl across the top, not another gadget.

Or perhaps it was calling around nearer parts of NorCal looking for a Suunto Gekko. People who carried Suunto seemed to not stock the Gekko, too low-end not profitable enough I guess. Ended up HAVING to order it from LP even though I'd rather have walked into the LDS and left with one. Oh well.

 

[MikeFerrara]

I am a BAD man, I am so sorry. A round of recent frustrations with LDS made me do it, it's not my fault!

Perhaps it was after going to 3 shops trying to find a simple J-snorkel for my chica, and finding nothing but these GOSH-DARNED $50 things with umbrellas. Jeez I want a tube to breathe from in that rare ocassion you surface in the middle of the kelp and have to crawl across the top, not another gadget.

Or perhaps it was calling around nearer parts of NorCal looking for a Suunto Gekko. People who carried Suunto seemed to not stock the Gekko, too low-end not profitable enough I guess. Ended up HAVING to order it from LP even though I'd rather have walked into the LDS and left with one. Oh well.

He He He...if you would have started a new thread, sombody would have posted a link to this one suggesting that you give it a read. If you post to this one some one tells you how old it is.

I guess since we've heard it all before, there just isn't any reason for you to say anything at all. Therefor, if you wish to converse, it might be best for you to go to a different board where they do that sort of thing. LOL

PS, don't surface in the kelp. Swimming on the surface in scuba gear is bad enough without having to do it in kelp. Do a search, I'm sure that some one else has done it before so there's no sense in you telling us your troubles. LOL

 

[Vicente]

PS, don't surface in the kelp. Swimming on the surface in scuba gear is bad enough without having to do it in kelp. Do a search, I'm sure that some one else has done it before so there's no sense in you telling us your troubles. LOL

My diving experience over the last 10 years is, sometimes things don't go as planned. I know not to surface in it and wouldn't ordinarily. You ever been in a kelp field and had an equipment or buddy issue? Then you'll know. My plain old J-snorkel made it easy to crawl across the top. My poor buddy with a funky-fancy-expensive snorkel was breathing water trying to use the snorkel, and breathing water without it, and was generally not happy. Hence I was trying to help them find a simple J-snorkel.

Comprende?

 

[MXGratefulDiver]

If there is a fill station close to where you dive it's probably more economical to pay for the fill...if it's air or nitrox.

Now that I'm no longer affiliated with a dive shop (and therefore paying for my fills) it's costing me somewhere in the vicinity of $200 - $250 per month to keep my tanks fed ... and that's not even including the occasional trimix dive.

I'm thinking I could make an economical case for a fill station. Anybody know where I can get a good price on a Rix?

... Bob (Grateful Diver)