LDS: Point of Pain

[pilot fish]

Factoring in delivery,packaging and so on it works out 20-30% cheaper at least from shops, sometimes more.
There is also a LOT more choice than a dive shop that only stocks certain brands and is paid to tell you their brand is better than someone elses and so on.

Again, I thought you were having dive gear shipped from the States .It sounds like you are buying from European MFG that are authorized?

 

[String]

There are lots of UK (and europe) based online retailers which i tend to use.

Typically good are dispatched next day delivery.

Shipping from the USA is a pain for dive gear, its also hard to find some of the brands and types of equipment there. The exchange rate makes it slightly more appealing but the saving isnt worth it unless its something electrical currently.

 

[pilot fish]

"Pilot I appreciate your viewpoints but I personally have not been anything but a cash machine for the lds, and as such will not support them arbitrarily. "ken

I agree, whomever gives you good service/warranty/advice give them your business. BTW, the ScubaPro regs ARE good in cold water. The MK25 S600 is noted for it, that I know of.

 

[AustinPDDiver]

Guys, I was considering buying a TranspacII harness from LP, which had an advertised price of 169 U.S.D, while scubatoys.com has it for 318 USD..here's what I found out from DiveRite:

THESE ARE NOT AUTHORIZED DIVE RITE DEALERS. ScubaDiscount.com (Tech section dacordistributors.com), Leisure Pro, and Affordable Scuba (www.absolutescubadivingequipment.com) are featuring Dive Rite products and copyright protected images on their web sites and/or catalogs without our consent, they claim to have aquired our products from authorized Dive Rite dealers--third party sales are not authorized and are not eligible for Dive Rite warranty protection.

Not only are ScubaDiscount.com (Tech section dacordistributors.com), Leisure Pro, and Affordable Scuba (www.absolutescubadivingequipment.com) NOT authorized Dive Rite dealers, they used Dive Rite's copyrighted product images without our knowledge or permission.
Obviously, ScubaDiscount.com (Tech section dacordistributors.com), Leisure Pro, and Affordable Scuba (www.absolutescubadivingequipment.com) are not authorized Dive Rite dealers. Any products you purchase from them are not eligible for Dive Rite warranty protection.

BEWARE OF PURCHASING DIVE RITE PRODUCTS ON EBAY. We do not authorize any dealers to sell Dive Rite products on eBay and third party sales are not authorized therefore are not eligible for Dive Rite warranty protection. The product could be a second or factory defect. There is no manufacturers warranty on products purchased via eBay.

UNAUTHORIZED DIVE RITE RESELLERS The businesses listed below are not authorized Dive Rite dealers. Dive Rite items purchased through such resellers do not qualify for warranty coverage.

• Affordable Scuba (www.absolutescubadivingequipment.com), Middleburg, FL
• ScubaDiscount.com (Tech section dacordistributors.com), Texas
• Leisure Pro, New York
• Creative Sports, New York
• Paradise Dive, Inc., New York
• Sunshine Sports, New York
• Park Slope Scuba, New York

Please note that the businesses whose names appear above do not represent the total list of unauthorized Dive Rite resellers -- only those of which we are currently aware. If you are aware of a business you suspect is not an authorized Dive Rite dealer, please let us know

AS A FINAL MEANS of protecting yourself, before you purchase a Dive Rite light system, dive computer or BC, be certain that:

• An up-to-date owner's manual accompanies the product.

Just something to consider. Im not her to knock LP, my girlfriend bought some stuff from them with no problem other than shipping, but for hig dollar items, you might want to go with an authorized dealer.

Ryan

 

[Derek S]

That happened at one of the lds, they told me that scubapro was the greatest thing since sliced bread, great for cold water etc... "no you don't need that environmental seal on that reg blah blah blah." Here we have this one in stock.
Then I call my buddy, and instructor and they told me if I want to do basically any diving outside high summer in lake michicgan I have to have a reg that won't freeze, and they both said scubapro is great in the tropics, but not so great in the lake.

Now if I had just bought the damn thing then, and not done my homework, what would happen to me at 100' in 40 degree water when the damn thing freeflows? Great another cancelled dive for me and my buddy, and a six hundred dollar paperweight.

Whoever, and I mean whoever gives you good service is who you should patronize. If leisure pro does then give them your business, (won't personnally but hey) If it is the lds then that's ok too. But do not tell me that the lds can't be successfull in this business envrionment, they just have to adapt.


By the way, any item I try on in a lds to figure out the fit I buy in the lds. They are not a showroom for the internet, but I have received far more information online, and over the phone with good online dealers, in 10 minutes than I ever got in hours spent at the lds.

Pilot I appreciate your viewpoints but I personally have not been anything but a cash machine for the lds, and as such will not support them arbitrarily.

I have dove my Scubapro regs (X650 on the long hose, R390 on the short) and have yet to have a climate induced free-flow. I've dove both these regs into the 37-38 degree range (and dropping) with nary an issue. Both of them and my Mk25 1st stage have performed flawlessly.

Will a regulator freeflow in colder tempratures? Sure, any reg can do it, but if you are careful, it shouldn't.

 

[KenMusick]

Fair enough. I was just talking about second hand experience. They do breathe beautifully, but I have had many a person tell me that they were in lake michicgan and had scubapro faults. An aquaintance did tell me that he had a climate induced freeflow on the mk25 600 setup. (he owns both several scubapro rigs and apeks rigs mostly ds4 50 setups) I can't remember offhand how deep water temp etc..
But I think I like my apeks I bought from ndc-online just fine, and I get warranties and it was half what a comprable scubapro rig would have cost me. Hell I may just get another one.

 

[Derek S]

Fair enough. I was just talking about second hand experience. They do breathe beautifully, but I have had many a person tell me that they were in lake michicgan and had scubapro faults. An aquaintance did tell me that he had a climate induced freeflow on the mk25 600 setup. (he owns both several scubapro rigs and apeks rigs mostly ds4 50 setups) I can't remember offhand how deep water temp etc..
But I think I like my apeks I bought from ndc-online just fine, and I get warranties and it was half what a comprable scubapro rig would have cost me. Hell I may just get another one.

I'm not going to sit here and say that no Scubapro regulator won't freeflow at any depth or temprature, because I know it can happen. As a matter of fact, my dive buddy accidentally breathed from his Mk25 s600 setup this past Sunday on the surface right before we got in the water. Upon his primary reg hitting the water, BAM, he had a freeflow. I swam to his aid and shut off his knobs (he has an H-valve installed and we were still at the surface), and he was able to get things sorted out in a few seconds.

Any reg can freeflow at any time, and as one of my diving buddies always says, "If you dive long enough, it isn't a matter of IF but WHEN you're going to have a problem".

I tend to have that mindset. If I go into every dive thinking I'm going to have a freeflow, ect, ect, I'm not shocked and as prepared as I can be.

 

[RiverRat]

If the manufacturers and training orgs. stop enforcing their "price fixing" policies to the local LDS' (dealers) then the industry as a whole will be better off. This is in violation of fair trade in the US. In the end the LDS' (suckers for punishment really) AND the consumer lose out. The LDS loses sales to the internet and the consumer loses a "fair" deal. Either get ripped off from an LDS to get a warranty, or get fair pricing on the net and lose warranty. The scuba industry needs some regulation in the US. When I go into an LDS I should not have to be "force fed" a new BC, Reg and split fins as a new diver just because the industry dictates that's how most sales have to be made. What about what's right and fair for the divers?

 

[pilot fish]

I'm not going to sit here and say that no Scubapro regulator won't freeflow at any depth or temprature, because I know it can happen. As a matter of fact, my dive buddy accidentally breathed from his Mk25 s600 setup this past Sunday on the surface right before we got in the water. Upon his primary reg hitting the water, BAM, he had a freeflow. I swam to his aid and shut off his knobs (he has an H-valve installed and we were still at the surface), and he was able to get things sorted out in a few seconds.

Any reg can freeflow at any time, and as one of my diving buddies always says, "If you dive long enough, it isn't a matter of IF but WHEN you're going to have a problem".

I tend to have that mindset. If I go into every dive thinking I'm going to have a freeflow, ect, ect, I'm not shocked and as prepared as I can be.

Did he have the venturi knob opened or closed? That is supposed to prevent that from happening upon entry.

 

[Derek S]

Did he have the venturi knob opened or closed? That is supposed to prevent that from happening upon entry.

I didn't look, I was too busy shutting his air supply off as quickly as my blue smurf drygloved hands could. My dive buddy has over 9,000 logged dives, I trust that he has things set.

He is, however, new to cold water diving and forgot not to breathe the reg prior to getting into the water, which is well known to potentially cause a freeflow.