Online scuba stores

[mksmith713]

No doubt you'll get better and more personalized service by going to a LDS.
You can't try stuff on shopping online.......

 

[redacted]

Leisurepro is probably the only online dealer that is not an authorized dealer for everything they sell. .

LP are authorized dealers for MOST of what they sell. There are a few brands that they sell, most notably Scubapro that are not authorized. They offer their own warranty for those products.

Seems to me you are both correct. These are both compatible statements.

 

[fnfalman]

My LDS matches any new, current offerings (not old, clearanced, obsolete, no-longer-produced) to any on-line prices AND I don't have to worry about warranty issue. I get an automatic 10% discount on most stock items and up to 20% discount or even more on the more expensive stuff (BC, computer, regulator). Of course I buy 95% of my gears at that LDS. One hand washes the other.

One of my dive buddies bought a Sherwood Wisdom 1 (no longer in production) computer from Leisure Pro. The thing had fritzed out twice times already. Each time it was sent back to Leisure Pro for their own in-house warranty (whatever that means) work. The second time supposedly Leisure Pro sent the unit back to Sherwood for repair. How they do this is beyond me because they are not an authorized dealer for Sherwood. My buddy asked but they never replied. Anyway, this computer is now residing in his junk pile. He went and got the Epic dive comp from the LDS (we go to the same LDS) with a 20% off the MSRP cost. After the second dive, something conked out, either the transmitter or the computer itself. He came back to the shop, handed the whole shebang over to the guy, the guy whipped out another brand new computer and handed to him as replacement. No questions asked other than what the dive comp did or didn't do (the pressure gauge stopped reading when it got to half a tank in two consecutive dives - it's a good thing that we have similar air consumption rates and crosscheck each other regularly).

As for my own customer service experience at my LDS, I availed to it twice:

1. The little plastic bar (maybe a $.05 piece) that retains the end of the spring trap on my Atomic split fin broke. He could easily have gotten the bar from one of the spring traps in the shop and gave me just that plastic piece but nope, he gave me the new spring trap and took back mine own.

2. The inline octo on my Dive Rite BC conked out and free flowed like crazy and his shop guy couldn't fix. It had to be sent back to Dive Rite for replacement. He took another unit off one of his other Dive Rites and let me have it.

And that's why I'm buying from my LDS.

So, I suppose that if I were to have to count every dollar and cents, I would probably buy on-line for the out-of-production leftovers. But if I were to buy current production items, then I have no reason not to go with my LDS since that I'm getting a discount on them anyway PLUS the attached service.

To be fair, I must add the caveat that my LDS is awesome. Alas, not all LDS are like that.

 

[redacted]

No doubt you'll get better and more personalized service by going to a LDS.
You can't try stuff on shopping online.......

I prefer the friendly service I get from Dive Sports and Scubatoys over a number of LDSs I have visited only to be serviced by a clerk who has been diving for "almost a year now".

Most smaller LDSs have very limited stock. I had one shop have me try on one brand of wetsuit to size me for another brand. And then if it didn't fit, that was going to be my problem because it was a "special order". Good online shops may send you 2 or 3 wetsuits to try on for you to keep one and send the others back.

I see nothing wrong with trying stuff on at LDSs in your area as long as you give them the opportunity to compete with online sources. The good LDSs will compete quite effectively for your business. Not necessarily just on a $$$ basis, but they can throw in an air card or 2 or discounted services and training to make up for the $ differences.

 

[RJP]

I am a new diver and looking into purchasing recreational scuba equipment. I see the online stores are just so much better than LDS in price. What are the pro and con of online stores?

Thanks in advance

The main thing to understand is that the VALUE you receive from whomever you buy your gear from will always be different than just the COST of whatever you buy.

For instance, your LDS might have a pool where they let you try twenty masks on before you buy the perfect mask for $79. Compare this to an online retailer who can sell you the same mask for $59. Of course from the online retailer you wouldn't KNOW it was the right mask, so perhaps you have to go back and forth with them a few times to sort out which mask to get. And maybe they even have free shipping and return shipping, so the couple weeks of back and forth doesn't cost you any more than the $59.

Pretty clear which retailer COST you less money, but which retailer provided more VALUE?

The smart LDS understands that there are cheaper places to buy every item that they sell, and that you can easily find a better price. They will then go about making sure that you perceive/receive enough additional value from them to warrant you spending more on the item in their shop than what it would cost you online. They would be just as foolish to demand MSRP with no value add as they would if they blindly matched the lowest price you can find online.

I'm assuming that the main reason you are getting into diving is not "to save as much money as possible" and accordingly, as a new diver I would suggest you keep in mind that "saving as much money as possible" might not be the primary consideration in choosing where to buy your gear. Ultimately you need to figure out - no matter where you buy stuff - whether the price you pay is worth what you get in return.

 

[tridacna]

I think you took the post out of context. I don't think he meant to imply that every single item they sell, they sell unauthorized. I think he meant more of along the lines of what you are saying, that they are authorized for most of what they sell.

Um...not quite. I bought an Atomics reg online from an LDS that was not authorized but managed to get several through a back door. And yes, I've had no problems getting it serviced. Another myth.

When Johnson drops its protectionist policies, divers may see some real value in their LDS.

 

[Wayward Son]

my LDS is a scubapro shop. as well as aqualung, oceanic, zeagle, etc etc etc, they are authorized for almost all the major brands. and I do see a LOT of value there.

 

[ArcticDiver]

The main thing to understand is that the VALUE you receive from whomever you buy your gear from will always be different than just the COST of whatever you buy.

...

Ultimately you need to figure out - no matter where you buy stuff - whether the price you pay is worth what you get in return.

The best words posted on this subject. My mother used to tell me: "Don't be Penny Wise and Pound Foolish". A pithy way of telling me to focus on Value. Purchase price is just part of value.

Catalog ordering has been a fixture in our economy for generations. Whether people use a paper or an electronic catalog it is here to stay. At the same time local retailers have been around for those same generations. Which are successful and which fail are the direct result of whether the individual retailer provides more value than competitors.

That means the consumer has only one decision to make when buying any particular item: Which store provides the most value?

 

[vshearer]

What I see occurring, at least with some LDS's that understand this is not a "good vs. evil" thing but rather a matter of simple economics, is that they can match online prices (and in fact become an online player in themselves) and add value with personal service not found in the 'mega"dealers like LP. (Nothing against LP, use them myself as they have a very broad selection). LP has the advantage of carrying a very broad selection, that you might not find elswhere, your smart LDS will have limited selection but can match them in price. (Maybe not in online advertised prices as they have to adhere to OEM restrictions, but ask.)

Dive Sports and ScubaToys are two good examples. There are many others. My local LDS is www.scuba-market.com (He needs to update his site though as he is carrying a lot more than what is on there)

 

[Dive-aholic]

The second time supposedly Leisure Pro sent the unit back to Sherwood for repair. How they do this is beyond me because they are not an authorized dealer for Sherwood. My buddy asked but they never replied.

I was once told they register the products under their own names. So when they send the products back to the manufacturers, they are sending them as if they were the users. I can't comment on the accuracy of this, though.

Um...not quite. I bought an Atomics reg online from an LDS that was not authorized but managed to get several through a back door. And yes, I've had no problems getting it serviced. Another myth.

You respond to surfsidedave with a comment that again has nothing to do with my original statement, but yet ignore my request for an explanation of why you think my statement is a lie.