danceswithoctopus
Guest
pt40fathoms and dvleemin:
You crack me up! I'm lmfao!
You crack me up! I'm lmfao!
The Great local dive shop vs. online debate
- Thread starter Scuba Sal
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dvleemin
Contributor
Glad to help
. You see I'm pretty bitter about the whole exchange thing. It costs us Canadians about 50% more to go on the same vacation you Americans do Darryl
Just ask them where they send it. In general a shop is only authorized to service the brands they deal and send out the others. Often there is no markup. We do it to save people a drive or the hastle of shipping it themselves. We send Aqualung to one place and Scubapro to another. We make no secret of where we send them. Ask.
The shop is an authorized dealer, though the reg brand is their secondary line. I was very surprised to learn halfway through the process that they didn't do it in house...
I also have regs from their primary line, which aren't due for service yet. Definitely time to try a little disintermediation.
The more I read, the more it sounds like you're running a stand-up organization, Mike, and the LDS is not.
BTW, they offer "rush" pricing (roughly 50% more) on reg annuals....I didn't elect that, so that might explain the "unexpected delays". Nothing like training the customer to pay more next time....
To my dismay, I called Uwatec to see if their warranty is validif the computer is bought on line and they replied "NO." I would have no problem with buying them at the LDS if I was rich and could afford one, but after buying all my gear it's pushing it just buying one on line. I can get the SmartPro on line for just over $400, the LDS's want just over $700 for the same thing!!! that's simply outrageous IMHO.
I really don't want to cheap out and get a decent at best computer. i need nitrox capabilities and really like the Uwatec's as well as Suunto's Vyper and Vytec. What to do, what to do?
Have any of you bought a computer on line from LeisurePro, Diveinn, sportextreme, etc. and had to deal with warranty issues? If so, how did the on line stores help out and how easy was it? How good of a reputation do the on line dealers' "equal to manufacturer warranties" hold up? If I can't afford the LDS prices, should I just forget it, or are the on-line risk to savings ratio not bad at all? I really don't want to buy a computer on line then have a problem down the road in a few months and find a less then friendly/adequate customer relations/warranty service department to help me out. I also don't want to hear answers along the line from them as "well, our warranty only covers xxxx or yyyyy under these circumstances. unfortunately this isn't the case with your claim and it will cost you 35 million dollars out of your pocket to fix it."
Thanks for your time and I'd really like to hear from anyone with on-line buying/warranty experience with dive computers!
-jason
I really don't want to cheap out and get a decent at best computer. i need nitrox capabilities and really like the Uwatec's as well as Suunto's Vyper and Vytec. What to do, what to do?
Have any of you bought a computer on line from LeisurePro, Diveinn, sportextreme, etc. and had to deal with warranty issues? If so, how did the on line stores help out and how easy was it? How good of a reputation do the on line dealers' "equal to manufacturer warranties" hold up? If I can't afford the LDS prices, should I just forget it, or are the on-line risk to savings ratio not bad at all? I really don't want to buy a computer on line then have a problem down the road in a few months and find a less then friendly/adequate customer relations/warranty service department to help me out. I also don't want to hear answers along the line from them as "well, our warranty only covers xxxx or yyyyy under these circumstances. unfortunately this isn't the case with your claim and it will cost you 35 million dollars out of your pocket to fix it."
Thanks for your time and I'd really like to hear from anyone with on-line buying/warranty experience with dive computers!
-jason
Price is a lagitimate concern but do we buy our watches from the guy on the street corner who has watches lining the inside of his coat? Many people have used the online prices as a basis for deciding the real value of a product. The problem is that many of these vendors are not authorized dealors (which is why the warrenty is not valid). These vendors come by the product by unknown means. There is no tracability therefore the manufacturer does not want to be responsible for th product. There is no way of even knowing if the product is authentic. Bait and switch is a very old game. I am not saying that all online vendors are crooks. But, as a lds owner who is working on setting up some online sales of my own, it sure looks like some are at the very least less than above board. I seen a "new" Scubapro reg that was full of sand and didn't work. This reg came from one of the most popular online stores. I also personaly examined an Apex reg purchased "new this year. The problem was this reg had the Zeagle name on it which means it was at least a couple years old when it was sold. The second stage was spewing air. It was delivered "new" in need of a rebuild. Aqualung now has Apeks and niether Aqualung Zeagle or Scubapro have authorized their products to be sold online. This reg also was purchased from one of the big online names. The reason these three manufacturers and other do not want their products sold online is that , right or wrong, they believe that is the best way to protect the customer and themselves. My advice would be to buy from an authorized dealor wether you buy online or not. We all must live within our means.
kodiak
Guest
jigster
I have found some real deals on line but because I didn't want to buy online for what ever reasons I call some of the local dive shops and see if they well price match. Then just do a print up of the item and the price, take into the shop and walk out a happy diver.
I have also done this with other sports, and parts for boat.
I have found some real deals on line but because I didn't want to buy online for what ever reasons I call some of the local dive shops and see if they well price match. Then just do a print up of the item and the price, take into the shop and walk out a happy diver.
I have also done this with other sports, and parts for boat.
I'll make this simple dvleemin.
I am a canadian, I want to buy American dollars. In my example I showed you, "To buy US dollars with CDN dollars: $1.00 USD = $1.55 CDN".
Soo, it would cost me 1.55 CDN for every American Dollar I buy. You have so graciously confirmed that when you posted:
"I just checked the bank of montreal - the buy sell rates are $1.558 and $1.511. Nowhere near $1.42 unfortunately"
Thank you.
On the other hand, if I were an American buying Canadian dollars, my $1.00 U.S. would get me $1.42 Canadian dollars in return. On this I may be off, depending on where in the USA you buy your currency.
I have found that the best exchange rates can be made in the border states of the USA when buying American Dollars, and most Americans who come up here, get a better rate of exchange when buying our currency in Canada.
So you see my friend, I too an right when it comes to the rate to buy US Dollars in canada, and MAY be wrong when it comes to buying Canadian dollars in the USA.
So your last post, where you claimed that I was wrong twice was in itself wrong, making you wrong three time to my possible one wrong,,,,so,,,I win. Nah Nah.
(just having a little fun, please don't take too serious)
I am a canadian, I want to buy American dollars. In my example I showed you, "To buy US dollars with CDN dollars: $1.00 USD = $1.55 CDN".
Soo, it would cost me 1.55 CDN for every American Dollar I buy. You have so graciously confirmed that when you posted:
"I just checked the bank of montreal - the buy sell rates are $1.558 and $1.511. Nowhere near $1.42 unfortunately"
Thank you.
On the other hand, if I were an American buying Canadian dollars, my $1.00 U.S. would get me $1.42 Canadian dollars in return. On this I may be off, depending on where in the USA you buy your currency.
I have found that the best exchange rates can be made in the border states of the USA when buying American Dollars, and most Americans who come up here, get a better rate of exchange when buying our currency in Canada.
So you see my friend, I too an right when it comes to the rate to buy US Dollars in canada, and MAY be wrong when it comes to buying Canadian dollars in the USA.
So your last post, where you claimed that I was wrong twice was in itself wrong, making you wrong three time to my possible one wrong,,,,so,,,I win. Nah Nah.
(just having a little fun, please don't take too serious)
and I must say I feel a hell of a lot better knowing that I have a 2 year manufacturer warranty to fall back on if need be. I actually got one hell of a deal. I didn't quite get the exact computer I wanted, but for my price range I got exactly what I wanted.....if that made sense?!
Anyhow, I bought an Oceanic Data Pro Plus AI unit w/o the compass for $400 at a local LDS tent sale. I thought that it seemed cheaper than on-line pricing and I got home to find out that I bought the computer for $100 less than LeisurePro sells it for. Can't beat that.....substantially cheaper than on-line and has a manufacturer warranty! I am very happy to say the least.
Again, thanks for the advice! Now, if I could only scrounge up the $$$ for my octo I'd be totally set except for tanks, which can wait.
-jason
Anyhow, I bought an Oceanic Data Pro Plus AI unit w/o the compass for $400 at a local LDS tent sale. I thought that it seemed cheaper than on-line pricing and I got home to find out that I bought the computer for $100 less than LeisurePro sells it for. Can't beat that.....substantially cheaper than on-line and has a manufacturer warranty! I am very happy to say the least.
Again, thanks for the advice! Now, if I could only scrounge up the $$$ for my octo I'd be totally set except for tanks, which can wait.
-jason
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