Leisure pro now authorized scubapro dealer

[Tejasmtb]

A percentage off is irrelevant if the price is inflated to cover that. You still spend up overspending even though you got a "discount." If you spent $8k after your good guy discount in 12 months, I sure hope you got a couple trips, because I don't think I've spent $8k on my kit, my wife's kit and all our training combined in 4 years. She's a rescue diver, I'm a DM and we both have drysuits. Supporting an LFS you like is one thing. Being a sucker for sky high prices is another.

Again with another asinine comment, I could care less what your rating is or that of your wives and how little you paid for your gear. All that matters is I enjoy my LDS and they take care of me and living in a "consumer driven" world I am realistic on what to expect.

 

[nimoh]

hypertech,

come on, if you haven't spent $8k in 4 years for two people including training, then you are obviously comparing used gear to Tejasmtb's new gear, and not only that Tejasmtb also states that it is top of the line gear.

I don't generally buy from LP, mostly because I am willing to pay a bit more to have a personal relationship with my LDS. However, I have spent $10k this year there (my gear has a lot of big blue "H"s all over it), and I do get discounts on things from time to time. My LDS has a great staff and very knowledgeable in all aspects of diving including rec, tec and commercial. One of the owners is also a technician at the local decompression chamber. I love the fact that I can draw on that knowledge when making purchasing decisions, and I am willing to pay for that service.

I won't argue that LP can sell stuff cheaper (I know I paid more for my stuff than I had to), and I don't have a problem with people taking advantage of that, but I do have a problem with people that get advice from their LDS about equipment, but then buy the equipment elsewhere.

There is one caveat that I see though, if you are taking a class and asking your instructor about gear and your instructor happens to work for the LDS, I don't see any problem with buying your stuff online even though I wouldn't do that. I'm sure a lot of LDSs would disagree with me on that one though

 

[fjpatrum]

Again with another asinine comment, it's official, you are an arrogant DICK!!!

I don't always agree with hypertech's comments but I have to say I think you're taking these too personally. His point is not asinine and I don't think he was implying YOU were being immoral or dishonest by getting the bag for free in his previous comment. He was saying the shop is being immoral and dishonest by charging so much overhead that they can afford to give you a bag for free that supposedly has a retail price of $300. If you're happy with the deal you got, let it go and be happy. If you can get the same gear for substantially less (by his example, half the price--assuming similar gear) then why would you support the higher price unless you think you're getting something out of it. If it's just to support local business then I commend you because both of you are getting something out of it and you're aware of the benefits. If you didn't know, it's an expensive lesson but one worth learning.

I don't know what kind of diving you do or what kind of kit you have but unless it's a doubles kit or a re-breather (which I suspect isn't the case if you have less than 100 dives) $8k is pushing it for a new diver. You said you bought top of the line, which adds up to about $5k on a whole "top of the line" kit for recreational diving, in my mind. That's a BC, wetsuit, lights, regs/octo/computer (high end), and safety gear. I don't know what else you could have possibly bought other than a very expensive dry suit to cover the difference unless you've already started doing tech/cave diving.

Competition is good for every consumer and even some businesses that actually price at reasonable markups. Leisurepro now being an "authorized" dealer of Scubapro is arguably good or bad depending upon what side you sit on with respect to warranties. I personally don't give a damn about them so I think this is bad for the consumer. If you think warranties are important then this shift will be a good thing for you but you will be paying a higher price. You give some to get some, but a lot of people feel like Scubapro's pricing methods are unreasonable, especially when there's such a drastic difference between US and EU pricing of the exact same products.

 

[redacted]

I bought every single piece of my equipment from my LDS because they took the time to talk with me about every single item, the pros and cons, other alternatives, and which they preferred. I got to try stuff on and see and touch all of the other similar items from its competitors. They know me by my first name when I walk in the front door at the LDS now, they know my child's name and ask about my life and how my recent trips have gone. They have always given me at least 10% off of my purchases, no matter how big or small. I have even received some items completely free, most notable a $300 Stahlsac travel bag and I can't remember the last time I had to pay for mask scrub or BC Life.

I buy from my LDS because it supports the local economy, because it puts food on the plates of families of those locally who share the same interests as me. We have a relationship now and I know if there is ever a warranty issue or even random self-induced damage that they have my back and best interests at heart and will do their best to take care of me. I like my free air fills and free weights when I need extra and I know that they can get me whatever I want and I will actually get to see it and touch it before I have to shell out a dime. It's all about customer service these days and I get it locally so why go anywhere else.

*Disclaimer*
I am not owner, supporter, or an employee of any LDS, I am not affiliated with the selling, manufacturing, or developing of dive equipment in any way or capacity, I am just a simple bubble maker from Texas supporting my LDS and the local economy.

I am looking to add a few more aluminum 80's to the quiver. I am only looking for tanks that are currently in their hydro and I would prefer them to have their annual visual but that isn't a deal breaker. I have a few old U.S. Divers/Aqua Lung Luxfer Al80's that are all within Hydro and VIS but I am having trouble finding shops and dive parks that are willing to fill them because of their manufacturer date. I am located in DFW but might be willing to travel a small distance to pick up for the right deal. Let me know what you have!

Tejas

Loyalty with limits? Or is this in the vein of "look but don't touch" with things like used a used Atomic regulators?

I do understand that some folks don't hesitate to pay the extra price typical of an LDS to avoid the hassle of shopping around and bargaining. Others simply need the hands on help of an LDS. If spending an extra couple $K is not something that bothers you, then clearly a good LDS is the way to go.

I try to save $$ on the price of gear that I buy and spend it instead on dive travel. Unfortunately, when you can buy and support scuba gear cheaply enough, you probably tend to buy a bit more gear than you need.

 

[scubamarketing]

From what I understand, it's covered by our in-house warranty. If you want me to check, send me your order information at nickb@leisurepro.com

Question for the LeisurePro employee,

I purchased a ScubaPro MK2/R295 regulator in August of this year. Am I now able to get scubapro warranty service on this regulator? Or can only items purchased since you became an authorized dealer be serviced at SP dealers

Thanks

 

[hypertech]

Again with another asinine comment, I could care less what your rating is or that of your wives and how little you paid for your gear. All that matters is I enjoy my LDS and they take care of me and living in a "consumer driven" world I am realistic on what to expect.

The point of our training level wasn't to imply I know better because of my training level, but to provide a reference to evaluate the training costs in my estimation. We have obviously spent more money than just open water because we've taken many more classes.

hypertech,

come on, if you haven't spent $8k in 4 years for two people including training, then you are obviously comparing used gear to Tejasmtb's new gear, and not only that Tejasmtb also states that it is top of the line gear.

I think I spent about $2500 on each of our diving kits and then add in the training costs. Nothing was used with the exception of my wife's drysuit that was purchased out of a manufactures demo fleet that had been worn once in a quarry on a demo day. Everything was new with a mix of online and LDS purchases. While there may be higher end stuff out there, I didn't buy junk (apex regs, wireless air integrated computers, etc).

Finally, for whatever its worth, I've been to a lot of LDS's and I've purchased from a lot of internet store fronts. On balance, I've received better service from the internet wholesalers. They know their products better, their return policies are better, their availability is better, and their attitude is often better too.

 

[nimoh]

I think I spent about $2500 on each of our diving kits and then add in the training costs. Nothing was used with the exception of my wife's drysuit that was purchased out of a manufactures demo fleet that had been worn once in a quarry on a demo day. Everything was new with a mix of online and LDS purchases. While there may be higher end stuff out there, I didn't buy junk (apex regs, wireless air integrated computers, etc).

Finally, for whatever its worth, I've been to a lot of LDS's and I've purchased from a lot of internet store fronts. On balance, I've received better service from the internet wholesalers. They know their products better, their return policies are better, their availability is better, and their attitude is often better too.

that is a pretty impressive total, I spent over $2500 on just my DUI drysuit.

 

[hypertech]

I spent $600 + modifications of about $200 on hers and $1500 on mine. Call it $1150 each. BC is ~$350. Regs about $600. Computers $500. Mask/fins/snorkel $200. So about $2800 each. I may have been a little low on my earlier estimate, but not much.

 

[nimoh]

even if your estimate was off by a couple thousand you'd still be below what I spent on my gear

 

[offthewall1]

My guess is SP went to LP and begged for a deal... Johnson Outdoors (Owner of SP) certainly hsn't been happy with SP's sales numbers. LDS's closing across the country and world had placed pressure on SP to unload it's merchandise somewhere. Most LDS's are hanging on by a thread and many couldn't meet SP's annual minimum order requirements, nor could they compete being forced to participate in the price fixing scam of MAP and MARP. Where better to turn than the #1 seller of scuba gear on the internet.

SP also couldn't ignore the fact that Apex/Aqualung started selling on line - leaving them the only player without a true web presense. As usual, the only people who have lost here are the consumers... now forced to pay higher prices... which in the end - will hopefully put SP and the rest of the DEMA price fixing strategist out of business. Do they really think higher and higher prices in this economy are the answer? It appears so.