USED Dive Shop Equipment

[Hallmac]

I wasn't saying that AL would be a bad choice, but the USD brand is so old that it's not even dive gear any more. They sell snorkeling gear, but I have never seen serious dive gear from them in years.

That is because Aqualung is USD. Same company, Aqualung is the name of the first regulator sold by USD, when Jacques Cousteau passed, the family wanted a name that did not sound like it was an United States Company and yet still reflected his dream. They took the name of the first regulator he made.

At least that is the story given to me by a company rep.

 

[LakeCountyDiver]

Buying used gear from a shop can be great and can be bad. Are they busy? successful? or are they rather broke and just scraping by? usually a good shop as you already know replaces there rental regs every year or two. With a new purchase you should have a new service on it either FREE or before you buy it. If no service then you should only pay around 40%-50% of retail for it.

Don't be afraid to speak up and tell them what you want. It is a buyers market when it comes to the SCUBA market.

 

[Indian Valley Scuba]

Keep an open mind with regards as to why the shop is selling it's used gear. There are a lot of nice reasons posted here and a few more from a financial depreciation/amortization point of view, but I am happy to share our position here.

Our used/rental/class stuff is in great shape, we service it and keep it looking great so that we are proud to rent it, so there is no incentive for us to sell it (and replace it with new equipment that comes with a new cash outlay). As equipment no longer meets our standards (even if just from an appearance point of view) for rentals, it moves to our class gear and we get another hard year or two out of it.

So when it is ready to retire, we retire it, and frankly, it is no longer a "great deal". In fact with most items, such as BCD's & reg's, we cannibalize and strip them for parts until the balance of the "fleet" is ready for the dumpster.

Just one way of looking at the equation, hope that helps the original poster a bit with their decision.

 

[al248005]

There would be no way I would buy a used regulator. I don't want to take anything away from the LDS, I am sure they do keep their gear in good condition. However, this piece, I want to know what it has been through and how it was maintained. I feel more safe about using something that I know has been maintained correctly versus someone else's word on it. Remember this thing has to provide air to you underwater.

 

[Jim Lapenta]

There is no reason to not buy rental gear that has been properly maintained. The life support argument is not a big deal. I worked with a shop that was changing class/rental brands. We did complete overhauls of all the gear, the owner provided a two year warranty, and the gear was like new other than some cosmetic issues. Bc's may take a bit more wear but they are still perfectly usable. I'd rather see a new diver spend less money on used and get a full set they can use instead of being talked into a few items they really cannot afford. My first reg was used. I bought another one as well. Then 6 new ones. I redid one of the used ones and sold it to a guy who wanted a reg he could rely on. I had no problem doing that.

 

[Indian Valley Scuba]

Hi Jim!

Frankly, I'd rather see a new diver rent gear and have money to get a lot of dives in, rather than buy gear and wish they were diving!

It's all about the experience, as you well know!

 

[Jim Lapenta]

Dave , That is the ideal. But in some areas that is easier said than done. IVS is big and can offer that. In my area with smaller shops there are times when having a couple classes on the same weekend may mean a shortage of gear. Should not happen but it does as shops cannot afford large rental fleets. Some of that is also due to poor planning by instructors. I keep my classes small and that is one of the reasons. I know I will have enough gear.

I could not afford a new reg just starting out and had I not been able to buy a used one there were times that I could not have gone diving with the shop on checkout weekends. Saving money by purchasing used assured me I'd have gear, saved me from paying rental fees, and as I soon found out you can never have too much gear. For the once a month or every other month renting is fine. But for those who really dive and especially the ones who dive local like me, renting would have kept me from diving. Buying used allows the new diver to also learn to care for their gear much more than rentals do.

Rental regs get a quick rinse by the diver and dropped off at the shop. Having my own made sure I not only rinsed but regularly checked hoses, pulled hose protectors back to rinse that area, learned to remove the gauges from the boot to rinse that out, and gave me the assurance that comes from knowing one's own gear. I knew how it was going to breath, knew the gauges were accurate, and was a safe peice of gear.

Shop owners like renting and I understand that. When you pay dealer price for a reg and can make 10-times that or more renting it's better than say double if you sell it. Even the maintenance is no real big issue as it just gets done whenever it is convenient and can be set aside if need be. New divers need to understand if they are going to dive regularly it's better to have your own gear. Cheaper as well when you figure some shops are charging 50 bucks a day or more for a reg and BC rental!

I managed to dive every other weekend the first year I was certed. Literally. That would have been over 600 in rental fees. I did pay more than that for my reg and bc but now it was mine and I had it at the time. The next year was a bit leaner work wise and so I had a little less disposable income. But I had my gear and even if I would have had to rent tanks, $20 for a weekend was much better for me than $100 or more. Used gear allowed me to gain experience and dive when having to rent would have kept me from diving.

I do not work for a shop or sell gear at this time. The last may change at some point. But I hope it will never get in the way of considering not only my students short term needs but their long term ones as well and the means that they have to pay for those needs. Selling them a used reg may allow them to take another class or dive a few extra weekends next season.

 

[2 Big 2 Fail]

I briefly considered buying x-rental, but... For one thing, I reflected on how I saw some of the regulators treated by the class, dropped, banged on the tile wall, etc. And I asked if they would come freshly serviced. At least the shop answered honestly that they were about due for service, and no, it wasn't included. X-rental tanks weren't much of a deal, considering they had only a couple of years left on the hydro, and new tanks came with free fills for year, which the x-rentals did not. (I might have talked them into it, but probably not a free hydro.) I didn't like the offered x-rental BC all that much, but the price was okay.

But in the end, a lot of the decision to buy new was that most gear has a long life, and I'm going to be servicing it periodically whether it's used or new, so the percentage difference in cost over the service life wasn't much.

I would buy used, but it would have to be cheap enough that it could be fully serviced and still be a big savings overall.