Purchasing own equipment online/lds?

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All of this talk about buying from your LDS or online store, but no one mentioned buying from a private party or ebay. How many people get certified, then get talked into buying their own equipment right away. Only to quit diving in a year. So there is some equipment out there that is almost brand new. It can be bought cheaply, but no warrenty. As a matter of fact I just purchased a Scuba pro BCD and regulator on ebay. I saved about $450.00. But now I want to take it into my LDS and see about getting it serviced before I use it. If they give me a hard time about it I will go somewhere else and buy my wife's equipment. I saved some money on my gear but I will just use that to get good equipment for the wife and hopefully keep our LDS happy.
When we talked to our LDS about getting equipment, he would not budge on the price, or what equipment came with the package. He offered no added incentives.I just my have to stop in to see Mike at Dive right in Scuba since it is close to home.
 
yup, ebay is a blessing

i've also bought and sold gear through our exchange here
 
Yep, especially if you go ahead and check what a rebuild costs ahead of time.
 
Many of the web prices you find are excellent. I have been in the technology industry since 1992, so the web is a second home, if not a primary residence for me. Many of the good prices come from large scale purchases, bulk buying is something your LDS can not afford to do and I would not expect my LDS to be able to compete with a Sucba.com or a LeisurePro.com. What I do get is personal service and most importantly a solid warranty center for issues. No matter what an on-line company tells you, most of the time there factory warranty will not be honored. This is from experiencing an issue. At the most recent DEMA show, this was a topic that could be heard at every major vendor.

The web is great for accessories items, dive slates, retractors, etc. But when it comes to core equipment, go to the LDS. The price you save on-line may not be worth the headache you experience if something goes wrong or if find that the fit is not right. Try to return a BC to LeisurePro.com if it is not what you expected. You will be lucky to get 100% back in less than 8 weeks, but you loose your shipping cost twice; the initial delivery to you and the cost of the return. For a BC, that is around $50.

:mfight:
 
Well right now i'm looking at Poseidon regs which only have a 2yr warranty anway, going for the 800's to 900's with a dealer, and the 400's online without warranty. So if it breaks I can buy another one and still save money.
 
This is a hot topic in a lot of places. Be sure that wherever you get your gear is an Authorized dealer for the gear. As was mentioned earlier, the grey market folks have low prices, but the manufacturer will not stand behind the warranty unless it is purchased from an authiorized dealer. The warrantys on a lot of gear include free parts for annual servicing. That can add up over time. The other issue is that, if you're on vacation and bump into an issue, you can go to a local authorized service center for warranty work. If it's not under warranty, it's whatever they want to charge you for the work they do plus parts. There are some really good online gear sites that have both the warranty and lower pricing.
 
Dive Right In Scuba:
Gander Mt. Sells ATVs and services the ones that they sell with there warranty...

You should see some of the tanks that I get that, we had one that had a Vis done last year from a local shop, and always had the air filled there....They thought there was something wrong with the taste, we opened it up and there was all kinds of oil in it.....Took over 2 weeks and 25 hours to clean it for him......You should have seen his face when we showed it to him

That one still makes me shiver....these are reasons why 6 months ago we decided to open our own store

So, what was the main cause of the oily tank, either unethical VIP or bad compressor?




Back to the topic, there is no right answer because everybody is in the different situation.

If you know the source and serve the equipment by yourself, you can be free from the LDS.
Many LDS used to threaten the local divers with an air refill. But, you can be totally free from them once you have your own fill station. Some day you will realize that you can open the small dive shop.. LOL~~~~
 
BrianO:
This is a hot topic in a lot of places. Be sure that wherever you get your gear is an Authorized dealer for the gear. As was mentioned earlier, the grey market folks have low prices, but the manufacturer will not stand behind the warranty unless it is purchased from an authiorized dealer. The warrantys on a lot of gear include free parts for annual servicing. That can add up over time. The other issue is that, if you're on vacation and bump into an issue, you can go to a local authorized service center for warranty work. If it's not under warranty, it's whatever they want to charge you for the work they do plus parts. There are some really good online gear sites that have both the warranty and lower pricing.

Well to the point with the vacation: Don't count on that. I just get ripped off badly because I purchased my reg in a other country, so they charge me full. And yes there is worldwide warranty but they just don't care.......
 
h90:
Well to the point with the vacation: Don't count on that. I just get ripped off badly because I purchased my reg in a other country, so they charge me full. And yes there is worldwide warranty but they just don't care.......


Oops!!! Another victim!

Check out this post

Back up or spare gear can save you always anywhere in the world rather than being dependent on an unknown resort shop;)
 

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