You know thats another thing I think so many people misunderstand as well. When you purchase something at a "true" savings and have done your reasearch, purchase from a reputable DEALER and KNOW what your getting is the exact same thing as in the LDS, give the LDS a chance to try and get close to the price, and if they can't make the purchase online, I think alot of LDS will understand. For instance, lets say you read about this set of regs, and want to upgrade, so you do your typical research: read reviews, read posts here, look at the online shops, read posts here. Then you go to the LDS and it turns out to be a reg that they carry, you look at the price (have asked no questions or advice of the LDS at this point) and its $500, no here's where I see that the road can honorably come to a "Y".
A) You go home, look up the same reg on the internet at your favorite online dealers, best price $350 so you come back to the shop the LDS (no questions now about the product, YOU did the research on this one). You talk to the shop employee, explain that you would like to purchase said regs, but have been doing research on your own and did find it for $350 ($150 price difference, but in most cases you've still got $25 to pay in shipping so we're talking about a real "savings" of $125). You explain that if they could simply come down to, lets say $450 you'd much rather get it from them. Now if they choose to do so, you've saved $50 off their price and have a face, a name, and readily available walk-in service in your favor, so even if you purchase online, your still going to only spend $75 more for the LDS product, with the value added extras to show for it.
B) You go home, look up the same reg on the internet at your favorite online dealers, best price $350 so you come back to the shop the LDS, this time you ask questions. What are the differences between this reg and others or maybe even the one that your using, what are pros and cons to the reg and why is it that an online shop can sell it so much cheaper. Now we come into multiple possibilities again
1) The reg has a history of problems, yeah its top of the line, but tends to need servicing ALOT.
2) Or perhaps its a damp breather, just a by product of its construction
3) Or perhaps it's an ok reg, but you could really get most all of the same features in perhaps just a slightly larger foot print for $100 cheaper model.
4) Or perhaps you find out that the manufacturer has 2 different models of the same reg, one for LDS purchase the other for online purchase only because they use different parts and not all LDS that are dealers for that brand can service the internet model, therefore the internet model would very likely have to be shipped off for its yearly maint. (major downfall).
From here on, I think its pretty easy to see that yeah there are some upsides to doing business online, but only if you are TRULY aware of ALL aspects of the product you are buying, otherwise its worth the extra money to purchase through your LDS. Now, somebody is bound to come back and accuse me of working at an LDS, to answer that question no I don't, I'm IT manager at a small business, I simply spend alot of time with our LDS and am working towards my Divemaster there (and no DMs don't get paid for helping out) and they are good people, very helpful, and and very knowledgeable. I made the online mistake a couple of times and now see the value added difference. I hope this whole thread doesn't offend someone, because like I said before I know there are those that are completely capable of making good choices online, but when I see instances like I saw this weekend it really gets my dandruff in a fluff.
