Online purchasing and warrenty

[kwesler]

I do not know if this muddies the water, or is helpful...

I bought three sets of Scubapro regs from www.simplyscuba.com and received a full international warranty-I checked with Scubapro before buying. BTW-I also complained to Scubapro about their requirements for local dealers. The dollar vs. the pound made it a tremendous savings to buy from the UK ($800 AFTER shipping) SimplyScuba even automatically deducts VAT and they arrived in a week!

 

[ScubaCRNA]

Seabass, seems that if your LDS sells you a product for the same as online prices then take it. You will still get the warranty because they are an "authorized" dealer. When you send in the warranty card the manufacturer just wants to know if you purchased from an "authorized" dealer and since your LDS will be on their list of "authorized" dealers then you will get the warranty. Make sense??ut:

 

[ScubaCRNA]

Originally posted by kwesler
I do not know if this muddies the water, or is helpful...

The dollar vs. the pound made it a tremendous savings to buy from the UK ($800 AFTER shipping) SimplyScuba even automatically deducts VAT and they arrived in a week!

Please explaint the savings with the Pound = 1.5 USD. Also, I don't quite understand the VAT deduction. Simply Scuba states that all prices include a 17.5% VAT that is deducted when shipping to non-EU countries. What does that mean?

thanks

 

[happyfish]

ScubaCRNA:

VAT is a tax charged to residents of the countries in the European Union. the prices that are quoted include VAT on the UK websites. If you were buying from the US (or if I was buying from NZ) this amount i.e. 17.5% of the original price would be deducted.

On some sites e.g. DiveInn, if you change your location to outside the EU e.g. to US or NZ the price will be changed accordingly. DiveInn also calculates shipping costs.

But...remember that your government may charge other taxes and duties. For example in NZ I would have to pay 12.5% (Goods and Services Tax) on the original price (incl. shipping) when the goods arrived. And on wetsuits in NZ there is also 7% duty.

I would be interested to know if you are charged tax on imports to the US.

Seabass: From what I can gather 2 different things are involved:

1. Warranty repairs
2. Yearly service of regulator

It seems that if you have a warranty claim then eveything should be covered e.g. parts and labour. The confusion in this arises when you buy from a particular LDS or online authorised dealer. Will another authorised dealer perform repairs under a warranty claim apart from the shop you bought at. I am not trying to rip LDS's off, but what if you move cities or countries? What happens then? Do you send it back to original LDS?

With the yearly service of the regulator you pay for the service. However if you need parts replaced during this service then this is when the comment "warranty for every regulator manufacturer except mares includes free parts as long as the regular is serviced every year" would apply. However you are still paying for the yearly service.

Hope this helps

Shaneelut:

 

[bridgenet]

Last year I bought about $1500 in equipment from DiveInn and there was no import duty imposed by US customs. I have heard they sometimes do but it may be hit or miss. In my case it was a freebie and the prices was great!

 

[kwesler]

Since VAT is explained, a quick note on international purchasing. It is not just the exchange rate (that is mentioned above) but many other factors that are a entry level MBA course and not worth going into here. Suffice to say, if you review the prices of the same things, whether they are exactly the same (same model reg) or similiar (dinner at resterant) you will notice price differentials between countries. That is the strength of one currency against the other in my parlance, although that is a massive over simplification. Also, inventoried goods may be sold using different pricing methods in different shops in different countries. some price on current market, some price on a margin over cost, and therefore, if the item is purchased for less, it will sell for less. Diamonds are an excellent example of this-you can get EXACTLY the same diamond at two different prices because many diamond sellers put a specific margin over their cost, so it depends what they paid for it.

Bottom line is-shop around!