Scuba Lessons for Xmas. Where should I buy gear?

[sperlingjr]

I bought all of my gear at Sports Chalet.(A southern California sports store) They blow the LDS's away when price is concerned. Take a catalina alum. 80 tank for instance, at an LDS $149, Sports Chalet- $99. Savings on other gear is comparable. I'm with the other guys on E-bay-be carful- got a good computer for my brother-in-law from ebay but prices tend to too HIGH on most things.

 

[Groundhog246]

sperlingjr once bubbled...
I bought all of my gear at Sports Chalet.(A southern California sports store) They blow the LDS's away when price is concerned. Take a catalina alum. 80 tank for instance, at an LDS $149, Sports Chalet- $99. Savings on other gear is comparable. I'm with the other guys on E-bay-be carful- got a good computer for my brother-in-law from ebay but prices tend to too HIGH on most things.

Hmm. That's about $154 CDN. Did that include VIP and fill? If not, how much did that cost? Boot? Does Sports Chalet do annual VIP/Visual Eddy, air fills? If not and you don't support your LDS, where are you going to go? I've seen the cost of compressors, high pressure tanks for an air bank, filter media, air testing (although many LDS skip air testing). There's not much money to be made selling air. In fact my LDS, doesn't charge me for air.

My LDS has AL80 (I think they're Catalina) on at the moment at $219 CDN (about $140 US), with VIP, filled and I think it incudes boot and mesh. They're always fresh tanks (very recent hydro), not something been hanging around and will ned a hydro in 4 years, instead of 5.

I'm not against competition, but let's make a fair comparison. Buy a reg set and gauges online. Get em in boxes, assemble yourself and go dive, UNTESTED (unless of course you are a tech), of course you trust the mfg has tested them before packaging. Everything always works properly right out of the box, right. vs. Buy them at the LDS, assembled, tested and ready to go. And then when you need your annual. Box em up, ship em to someone, wait for them to come back, pay shipping both ways? Or drop em off at the local LDS and pick em up in a few days? Mine will often loan a rental set n/c, if he can't get yours done quick enough.

Same issues in any business. Last new car I bought, I paid a little more at a dealer close by, but he offers FREE loaner vehicle, if yours is in for repair. Probably paid $400 to $500 more than I might have. Over the 2 years I had it, the door locks kept freezing and a few other issues, I had loaners for a total of 17 days. No car, no work. Renting would have cost a LOT more than the extra I paid. And I'm not hassling him or his mechanic to get my car done now. I'd buy another from the same dealer in a heartbeat.

 

[MikeFerrara]

Often the only way to know if a mask/fins work for you is to use them in the water.
Ok you buy somewhere other than the LDS where you take you class. You get in the pool and you mask leaks non-stop or there is some other problem with it. What do you expect the instructor to do to keep the class going? If you are unable to complete that days training, how do you expect to catch up to the class? A free private catchup pool session perhaps? Some pools cost as much as $80/hour. Maybe you wouldn't mind paing $120/hour to catch up with the class. I only pay about $25/hour for a pool. How much per hour are you willing to pay me for the extra time I must work because of your mistake?

The thing is this we try to make sure in the store that the mask fits. We have a real interest in getting one that fits. Sometimes were wrong and the mask we help you choose doesn't work. We swap with you loan you one or what ever we need to do. So if we make a mistake we need to work a little harder but we do it and everything will work out.

 

[Lawman]

I took the class, got to know the instructor and the LDS then bought my gear. I bought the entire package from the LDS with my instructors advice. Buying the entire package gave the LDS a chance to give a substantial discount. Also they threw in free overhaul for the next year. After the discounts I paid only slightly more than if I had bought thru the net, plus I had some expert advice from someone that knew my diving skills when making the purchase. For a new buyer, paying a little extra for expertise is worth it.

 

[ERP]

MikeFerrara once bubbled...
The thing is this we try to make sure in the store that the mask fits. We have a real interest in getting one that fits. Sometimes were wrong and the mask we help you choose doesn't work. We swap with you loan you one or what ever we need to do. So if we make a mistake we need to work a little harder but we do it and everything will work out.

As Mike points out there are advantages to paying the premium at the LDS. My GF bought her mask at our local LDS, she used it for the pool sessions and had minor problems with it all the way through the first two OW dives. The store gave her 100% credit against a different mask, no questions asked.

Personally I always find the experience of buying dive gear at the LDS much like buying from a music store. Unless you have a rapor with a sales person or you know what you ought to be paying, your likely to come away overcharged.

Personally I hate the experience, and my LDS has been pretty fair on prices, I'm always second guessing what I should have paid.