Please tell me your personal experiences w/buying ScubaPro regs at LeisurePro?

[parachute]

I am not trolling nor interested in sparking the LDS vs LP debates.

I am a fairly new diver (~45 dives), and I am looking to purchase new gear. After some research, my first choice regulator is the ScubaPro MK17/G250v.

My LDSs are asking the full MSRP ($600), while the current price online at LP is $360.

I'd be willing and probably eager to buy it from an LDS if they could come w/i $100 of LP, but w/such a significant price difference I don't foresee that.

I am just interested in hearing about others' experiences in purchasing SP equipment, esp. regulators, online from LP...

- Did you have any problems with the gear? What was their service like?

- How can there be such a sig price difference? Any chance of getting used equipment or parts-swapping?

Thank you.

 

[dkktsunami]

I have purchased a Suunto Vytec with transmitter and a Scuba Pro reg set and I'm sure other stuff from Leisure Pro. I have never had a problem with them as far as delivering what I ordered in a timely manner. I have never used their service department, nor have I made a warranty claim. Everything worked properly and was as advertised.

 

[Damselfish]

Scubapro basically fixes the prices authorized dealers can charge, the best they can do is 10% off. Grey market dealers have no such rules to follow. If you have done lots of research, I'm sure you know the tradeoff when you buy from LP is you get their warranty rather than the Scubapro warranty. Some people care and some don't.

One way you might get a better deal on SP gear from an authorized dealer is to buy a package of stuff, the rest of which is not price controlled. So the dealer could give you a great discount on the other stuff to make up for not discounting the SP gear, if they are so inclined.

 

[Web Monkey]

I am not trolling nor interested in sparking the LDS vs LP debates.

I am a fairly new diver (~45 dives), and I am looking to purchase new gear. After some research, my first choice regulator is the ScubaPro MK17/G250v.

My LDSs are asking the full MSRP ($600), while the current price online at LP is $360..

This is pretty much an eternal debate and comes up every couple of weeks.

The LP equipment is most likely just fine and if it isn't, they should be pretty good about taking care of you. However (and this is a big "however") not only will you not get the "free parts for life", there's a significant chance that if your LDS is a SCUBAPro dealer they will be very unhappy with your purchase, which may or may not matter to you, depending on whether you plan on using your LDS for training, fills or other things.

You also need to consider the dollar value of time. Your LDS may be able to offer you very fast turn-around on service if you buy it from them, which might mean that you don't miss a week or two of diving if you need service during your diving season. With LP, you'll need to ship it back to them each time it needs service (generally annually). This would also weigh in as an "annoyance" factor.

In the end only you can decide if you value the money more or less than what you get for it.

Also, although your LDS is probably unable to match LPs price due to contractual obligations with SP, if you're buying other items also, they may be able to work out a package deal and give you a better price on the whole package.

As far as "used" goes, I've had excellent luck with used equipment, however you need to make sure that it's only "used" and not "abused", that it can still be serviced and that parts are still available and will be for the forseeable future.

Terry

 

[redacted]

Don't just look at initial acquisition costs. You need to consider both acquisition and future service costs to make a good decision. If you are going to have your regs serviced IAW the manufacturers recommendation (annual) then the costs of service labor (figure $15 to $25 per stage) and parts (about $20 per stage) need to be factored in. If you service every year then buying from an authorized dealer eventually will save you $$. OTOH, if you do not purchase from an authorized dealer or do not maintain the free parts program by having the annual service, you will also have to pay for parts. Now, I believe that annual service is grossly excessive and your regs should be able to go 2 to 3 years, or more, between an "annual" service with good user care; in which case you will lose the free parts program anyway.

So decide how you intend to maintain your regs and that should help you with your decision. I have bought a few regulators from LP with no major problems. If you do decide to buy from an authorized dealer, I suggest you shop around and find one that at least gives you the allowed 10% discount if not some other value added deal (like discounted future service or free air fills) to offset the more favorable gray market price.

 

[scubadude79]

I haven't specifically purchased ScubaPro equipment from LP, but I have about 8 or 9 other items.
I have never had a problem with them, and they are great at standing behind their warranty.

 

[Web Monkey]

I suggest you shop around and find one that at least gives you the allowed 10% discount if not some other value added deal (like discounted future service or free air fills) to offset the more favorable gray market price.

I hadn't thought of that, but free air fills are a great bargaining option, since the cost of running a compressor for an LDS is huge but the incremental the cost of giving free air to a single diver is pretty much insignificant (it costs a lot to run the compressor, but not a whole lot to fill somebody's tank every week or two).

That works out to a win for both sides. The dealer gets to sell the reg at pretty much full price and the diver gets free air.

Terry

 

[masterof0]

Don't just look at initial acquisition costs. You need to consider both acquisition and future service costs to make a good decision. If you are going to have your regs serviced IAW the manufacturers recommendation (annual) then the costs of service labor (figure $15 to $25 per stage) and parts (about $20 per stage) need to be factored in. If you service every year then buying from an authorized dealer eventually will save you $$. OTOH, if you do not purchase from an authorized dealer or do not maintain the free parts program by having the annual service, you will also have to pay for parts. Now, I believe that annual service is grossly excessive and your regs should be able to go 2 to 3 years, or more, between an "annual" service with good user care; in which case you will lose the free parts program anyway.

The only thing I would add to this is that the warranty is "free parts for life," not labor. You still pay labor charges. Also with that, there is a window (30 days from the ate of purchase) that you have to have it serviced. Otherwise, the warranty becomes void. Based on my experience with both a SP reg under warranty and one that is not, I save about 45 a year with the "free parts for life." So, for your example, that would be roughly five years.

 

[parachute]

My main concern w/purchasing from LP vs an LDS is receiving a shoddy product/used product/conterfeit product/parts swapping, etc... and the headache & time that would be involved w/rectifying the situation.

Getting free airfills is not a big incentive for me because there isn't much attractive local diving where I live; I expect most of my diving will be in distant warmer climates or other locations where getting air from my LDS would not be practical.

Any other suggestions for package add-ons, incentives, etc are appreciated....

Thank you.

I hadn't thought of that, but free air fills are a great bargaining option, since the cost of running a compressor for an LDS is huge but the incremental the cost of giving free air to a single diver is pretty much insignificant (it costs a lot to run the compressor, but not a whole lot to fill somebody's tank every week or two).

That works out to a win for both sides. The dealer gets to sell the reg at pretty much full price and the diver gets free air.

Terry

 

[Web Monkey]

My main concern w/purchasing from LP vs an LDS is receiving a shoddy product/used product/conterfeit product/parts swapping, etc... and the headache & time that would be involved w/rectifying the situation.

Getting free airfills is not a big incentive for me because there isn't much attractive local diving where I live; I expect most of my diving will be in distant warmer climates or other locations where getting air from my LDS would not be practical.

Any other suggestions for package add-ons, incentives, etc are appreciated

Honestly, I'd suggest buying your reg from whoever has the best service department. You want someone that does a ton of whatever you're buying. You want fast, reliable service from a clean, well trained service department that has all the actual manufacturer's repair parts, kits and service literature.

Aside from my antique SCUBAPro MK1 that I bought for $50 on eBay, I couldn't tell you specifically how much most of the other stuff cost. What I can tell you is that I can drop off equipment that needs work at my LDS on the way to work, and pick it up for diving that evening. To me, that's worth every nickel.

Terry