Where do I buy Gear????

[mbb97fxdwg]

Help,
Been a "c" diver for a few years and ready to buy own gear for wife and I. The prices on gear at websites like leisurepro, joediver etc. are within my range. Local dive shop says that service will be almost impossable to get and that gear Manufs. do not honor warranties on thier products sold from these sites. Since all parties here, (dive shop, websites,me) have a financial interest I don't know who to believe. does anyone have some input? Thx

 

[gfisher4792]

A popular subject around here. If I may say so, check out scubatoys.com. Leisurepro prices, and backed with full manuf. warranties. It is also recommended that you call them up and talk to Larry. Very well informed guy (and member of this board). There are literally dozens of stories on scubaboard about diver talking to Larry and taking an hour's worth of time to help people out.

BTW, Leisurepro purchased products don't have manu. warranties, but that doesn't mean that the LDS won't service it. You just won't get free parts.

 

[jonnythan]

By "warranty" they mean "service plan" which may or may not be meaningful.

 

[D_O_H]

By "warranty" they mean "service plan" which may or may not be meaningful.

As I understand it, you get a liesurepro warranty on some brands, rather than the manufacturer's, depending on whether leisurepro is an authorized dealer for that brand. I don't know whether LP's warranty is as good as the manufacturer's, but I imagine it requires shipping items back to LP for repair, which sounds like a pain to me.

Buy your stuff from Larry. He will match LP's prices and you'll get the full manufacturer's warranty (and he's a great guy to deal with).

 

[jonnythan]

Correct, Doh. Unfortunately buying from Larry severely limits your options, but he certainly has a lot more than your typical LDS.

 

[Carlos Danger]

Well, I certainly wouldn't believe everything you hear from retailers. If you are interested in something in particular, I would first contact the manufacturer with any and all questions that you have. Personally, I want to know the manufacturer of anything I buy. Owning a great product can often be a pain if the manfacturer is not capable of fully supporting what they produce. Sometimes just talking to them is enough to change my mind about a product, or it could just as easily solidify the choice.

If you have taken the time to educate yourself about equipment and about what's out there - then try to cut through the crap and narrow-down your choices. After that, a common practice is to go out on the web and find the best price, then approch your LDS to see if they will match the prices you have researched.

...Or, you could just go to Scubatoys: http://www.scubatoys.com/

I've purchased just about all of my equipment from Larry. You'll never go wrong with those guys. They generally always have the best prices anyway, and the service is great.

Hope this helps

 

[skeet]

Call Larry and let him explain "warranty" and honoring recalls. I go to his store often and he has a whole lot more than is shown on the website, he spends so much time willingly helping and conversing with customers that he probably does'nt have the time he would like to give to updating the site. Larry will meet or beat any price and enlighten you responding to your questions. Most of the time half of the Leisure Pro items are labeled "out of stock" and when you call them you get a " I dont know ".