Scubapro online sales

[scubapro50]

The big boys have been getting smaller as new upcomming SCUBA companies have slowly ate away sales. Back in the 60s and 70s U.S.Divers threaten to cut off any dealer that sold their equipment over the phone or by mailorder. Too many of the local dealers were being undercut by Berry Diving Supply, Central Skin Divers and New England divers advertising in Skin Diver Magazine. They never did anything because they finally figured out that 20% of all the U.S. sales were comming from these three mailorder companies.

 

[redacted]

I remember hearing/reading? that scubapro wa ssuing LP for selling a bcd that had a scubapro logo on it but was not scubapro..seems lp had a company make knockoffs..
I also did a annual on a supposedly Aqualung micra regulator and when I had it apart the parts looked funny..The pin in the 2nd stage that holds the demand lever in place was rusted/pitted almost gone..never happened before on any other aqualung regulator I've seen..maybe this is another knockoff..
guy came into the store with a broken bcd,broken at the fitting where the bcd is connected to the corrugated hose-was a sherwood..When i asked him where he got it he said LP..took the same model off the wall and showed him how thick the plastic is on a REAL bcd from the manufacturer and compared it to his very thin plastic one..again another knockoff?? He broke it by simply pulling the assembly to dump the air..good thing he was not in the water at the time..

I'm pretty sure that the myth that Leisurepro is selling conterfit goods is just another deception maintained by some unscrupulous LDSs who are trying to discredit their competition. I saw a conterfit Scubapro BC on ebay once being sold by one of the high volume used scuba gear sellers. It was missing the right shoulder pull dump. It is my understanding that one of the independent manufacturers who build so much of our "name brand" gear decided to make a few extra runs, unfortunately even leaving the Scubapro name on them. Although I'm sure that the grey market suppliers of Leisurepro could slip in some bogus good and the operators of LP would be none the wiser until customers started complaining. Many of the differences in good sold by LP just reflect their largely European distributor origins.

 

[mike_s]

This thread has been going on too long for the folks at Scuba Toys to not know about it, have someone email them or have someone call.

I'm really surprised I haven't seen Larry 'chime in' as one person put it.

 

[aquaoren]

I remember hearing/reading? that scubapro wa ssuing LP for selling a bcd that had a scubapro logo on it but was not scubapro..seems lp had a company make knockoffs..
I also did a annual on a supposedly Aqualung micra regulator and when I had it apart the parts looked funny..The pin in the 2nd stage that holds the demand lever in place was rusted/pitted almost gone..never happened before on any other aqualung regulator I've seen..maybe this is another knockoff..
guy came into the store with a broken bcd,broken at the fitting where the bcd is connected to the corrugated hose-was a sherwood..When i asked him where he got it he said LP..took the same model off the wall and showed him how thick the plastic is on a REAL bcd from the manufacturer and compared it to his very thin plastic one..again another knockoff?? He broke it by simply pulling the assembly to dump the air..good thing he was not in the water at the time..

Have you reported this "counterfeit gear" to the appropriate companies and authorities?

 

[nauifins73]

I can't imagine he (Larry) will "chime in" on this thread.

 

[TSandM]

I went in to my LDS yesterday to talk about buying an SPG. I told the owner what I could get an SPG and hose for at several sites on line. He wasn't pleased, but we have discussed the fact that he wants me to come to him and tell him what I can get stuff for elsewhere and see if he can match it, before I actually BUY elsewhere. So I went in.

They had an SPG, and it was competitive in price when you considered shipping.

But they took the one they had and calibrated it before they sold it to me, and it was reading high, and they wouldn't sell it.

This is why I buy from my LDS if their prices are within 20% of what I can get elsewhere (including shipping).

 

[scubatoys]

Gee... I could have "chimed in" a long time ago... but it's way too much fun to hear everyone's opinions!

It's really very simple... When I got into the Scubapro line, one of the top execs from Scubapro came out to my store and said while they don't allow internet sales now, they realize the world is changing... and if I wanted to carry the line for local sales, I'd be perfectly positioned for when they changed policies...

Well, they never got around to allowing authorized dealers to sell on the net... but interestingly enough, they never stopped the gray market. I've heard, "We're working on it... but it's just not that easy..." for years now. Somehow, however, you have not been able to buy any atomic regs on LP for years... They don't have any Aeris product to speak of... but SP... No problem.

SP sent out a notice that they are putting serial numbers on fins to help combat gray market sales.... Perhaps they haven't noticed that there are serial numbers on their regs and bc's and all those are readily available domestically or from overseas on the net...

Then to increase my level of disgust with the situation, I had several important individuals I have a lot of respect for in this industry, explain where a large portion of the flow of gray market SP goods came from... It's not that hard for a manufacturer to figure out.. buy a reg, track the serial number, cut off the dealer... Some has said it is due to some personal relationships and the sheer volume of dollars... this has not been done.

I hate double standards... not only are they not legal, I don't believe they are moral. I think everyone should have a level playing field. You are all aware of the MAP (minimum advertised price) policies that a lot of manufactures have. If you look at LP, you will see they have agreed to follow the MAP pricing on several manufactures, other manufacturers make sure they don't get product, but for some reason, a company with the resources of SC Johnson cannot track where they get goods and cut them off?? Give me a break...

So we have decided that continuing to knock our heads against the wall is a tad futile, and SP and I have parted ways. We are selling off our remaining stock, which as it was sold directly from SP to us, and was not trans-shipped through any 3rd party, it will all come with manufacturers warranty... and when it's gone... it's gone!

I have plenty of other products that I support, and support me such as Zeagle, Aeris, Oceanic, Sherwood, Tusa, Dive Rite, OMS, Atomic, Henderson, Mares, etc, etc, etc...

There... was it worth the wait?

 

[GreenDiverDown]

But they took the one they had and calibrated it before they sold it to me, and it was reading high, and they wouldn't sell it.

Lynne, something about this sounds a little weird to me.
Hmm... probably not a big deal... but there's no 'calibrating' a SPG. It's either within tolerance or not. Are you sure they checked it?

There... was it worth the wait?

... no surprise at all.

 

[Rick Inman]

Larry,

You are my hero - kicking SP to the curb. I'm printing out this thread for my LDS.

 

[Rinkopr]

We are all to blame for jobs going overseas.

We shop to find the lowest price on everything from Gas to Airline Tickets and even Scuba equipment. The companies that manufacturer these goods that we buy need to find ways to keep the price of their products low so consumers will continue to support their manufacturing facilities. To do this they use differing methods, but the highest cost to business is labor, and no labor is cheaper than that overseas. The companies also have another problem. We, the cheap consumer, are also stock holders and demand that they turn a big profit or we will sell and the stock will decrease in value. To make a big profit they cut costs in any and every area they can including labor. By keeping the cost down the American market will buy the product, and sales will continue.

It's a bad circle that we are in. Please do not blast me as being BIG COMPANY, as the internet has made many LDSs honest and those that were at 400% deserved the fall, but there are many shops that are well below MSRP and still get hosed for trying to make a decent profit.

At my LDS, a guys wife came in and bought $2000 worth of gear for his christmas. I don't know what he said to her, but she called in tears saying they had taken advantage of her. I gave the shop owner a list of the gear if purchased from LP, and they were $235 apart. I told the shop owner to let it go, but he offered fre Nitrox training, a free wetsuit, and a few other things.

I was glad I was at the store when he came in mid conversation about my listing my home. Here is the conversation...
"I would be glad to list you home for you, that's what I do".

"Oh thank you, but I am going to save myself the $21k fee and use the internet"

"You'll never sell your home that way, and the laws are to complicated for the average consumer to understand. Not only do I list your house, but I network with other realtors, use local listings, MLS, and have an agent at your home during any open house. It is also safer for your family using an agent to sell your house."

"I understand and appreciate the offer, but I could use the money I save from this and use it toward upgrades on our new home."

" The people that sell homes on the internet are usually selling property that is in bad shape and are hard to track after the sale."

"I'll let you sell the house if you are willing to do it for 2%, thats still $7k, and I am sure your costs will not exceed $1k."

"I can't stay in business if I sell for 2%. I have fixed costs like my office and support team that get a piece of the pie. Nor would it be fair to the rest of my clients if I took your home for less than the 6% fee."

"Well home team realty here advertises 3%, how do they stay in business?"

" They are a low cost agency, that provide virtually no service and I hear they don't always return calls to perspective buyers."

"Thanks again, but I think I will do it myself and save that money for other things."

"You'll regret not using a licensed realtor as we are always here for you in case there is a problem from the time you start to show your house, till closing. I don't think you understand the issues that can arise when selling your own home, but you'll learn that saving money is not always best in the long run and that is not enough for the trouble instore for you."

"You could be right, but how much should I save to make it worth it? You are back here complaining that you were taken advantage of with the price of your equipment and that will only save you $235. And to add to that your gear purchased from here comes with the full manufacturers warranty. How much do you think that is worth?"

"Well this is different, once I buy the gear the sale is over, your house may take 2 months to sell, and there is a lot that needs to be done. This shop will make plenty of money if the sell at the same price as LP."

At this point I gave up, as I know the LDS owner is just to nice, but I thought it was interesting how defensive he was about his own job, but thought that everyone else should make less....

Off my box now, and gosh i feel better.