parheric:
Thanks doc - makes alot of sense. I went into LDS yesterday to chat about regs and computers. They service oceanic and scubapro, also checked prices again, still I don't think that they can compete with online.
I've bought a fair bit with them already, so I figure if i spend a little elsewhere hopefully they won't get overly upset.
Don't want to be a wet blanket, but I figure you haven't done a real complex search on this board. So...just for your information, there are numerous threads on this board that fall generally into the "LDS versus Online" category. In these threads are several horror stories where some diver bought a reg online, took it to his LDS (who carried that brand of reg), LDS gets a case of the azz because the reg was purchased online and refuses to work on it or charges a premium to work on it, refuses to honor the warranty, or other hard luck bozonity, because it was purchased for a discount online.
I'm not suggesting for a minute that you will encounter this, merely saying that other's have.
One thing you might want to do is have a frank discussion with your LDS. If you've purchased other equipment there, etc., you may have some leverage with them. Simply tell them that price impacts your decision-making, and give them a chance to come down some on their price. If they refuse to budge, fine, buy online. You'll have to take your chances down the line. And possibly they don't care. (But I wouldn't bet on it...) BUT...if they are willing to dicker and deal with you, at least consider doing so. You may get free air fills down the line, discounts on a nitrox class, or they may make it up to you in other ways. It often pays money in the long run to develop a good working relationship with your LDS. It seldom pays to have a bad working relationship with your closest and most convenient LDS.
You really want to think about all the "value-added" things that your LDS can throw into the mix, before you go off and buy a regulator online and then walk into your LDS and ask them to set it up or perform maintenance on it.
In some cases it may not make a difference at all. But on this board you can find a number of examples where it made quite a bit of difference.
It might be good to know this sort of stuff up front, rather than find it out by surprise afterwards...
FWIW. YMMV.
Doc