Purchasing expensive gear - Where?

[parrothead600]

I just got the Oceanic Atom computer. I went on my first dive trip with it and after the second dive I noticed the thing was fried. One of the push pins came loose and flooded the computer. I called my LDS which is authorized dealer and told them about the trouble. A few hours later I got word that the new computer was on the way and we would just replace the two computers. I may have payed a little more but the fast fix made it worth every penny. Oh ya the LDS went out of its way to repay me for the rented reg. I had to get to finish the weekend of diving... I do buy off the net but It payed off to use the LDS... Good luck....

Here is a perfect example of the benefits of buying your equipment from the LDS. I'm just as guilty of wanting to save $$ as anyone else.
I recently bought a Sherwood blizzard reg from Scuba.com for half the price of the LDS. This is a new unit with a full factory warranty. If it fails, I can not expect the LDS to drop everything to get me serviced. Nor can I expect him to preform the warranty service, since he didn't make any $$ on the sale. If it does need waranty service, I'll need to send it across the country to get it repaired, or pay the LDS out of my own pocket. Either way, I would problably be renting a reg for a while. But with the $$ I saved, I feel that it's worth the risk.

 

[slammer]

Don't buy it from LP. You won't get a manufacturer's warranty with LP and if you ever have trouble, you'll have to wait 8 weeks for LP to service it. Buy from ScubaToys instead...they will match LP's low price AND you'll have a decent warranty.

I HAVE JUST HAD A GREAT EXPERIANCE WITH AN ONLINE SITE (ALSO L.D.S. LOCATION) THE DIVE TANK OUT OF B.C. CANADA. I SPOKE TO THE OWNER RICHARD HALLY LATE ONE NIGHT (WAS SUPRISED SOMEONE ANSWERED THE PHONE) WE AGREED ON THE PRICE OF A COBRA PACKAGE @ $660 TO MY DOOR. I HAD NEVER BOUGHT ANY DIVE EQUIPTMENT ONLINE BEFORE SO I WAS A LITTLE WORRIED ABOUT THE QUALITY I MIGHT BE GETTING. RICHARD SAID I SOUNDED LIKE A HONEST GUY AND HE WOULD SHIP THE COMPUTER. IF I LIKE IT I COULD PAY FOR THE COBRA WHEN I WAS HAPPY WITH EVERYTHING. WOW WHAT TRUST!!! HE SHIPPED THE SET UP TO A P.O. BOX TOO! NO QUESTIONS ASKED. HE INCLUDED A EXTRA YEAR WARRENTY AND WOULD GIVE A LOANER (COBRA) IF NEED BE DUE TO ANY DELAYS IN REPAIRS. HE EVEN SENT A NICE DVD VIEDO OF SOME DIVING RICHARD HAD DONE. SEEMED LIKE A GREAT WAY TO RUN A BUSSINESS. TRUST AND GOOD CUSTOMER SERVICE....WHAT A CONCEPT. SLAMMER