Where/how to buy gear ?

[BarrelRoll]

From my experience LDS's tend to rely on people's ignorance when it comes to pricing.

I asked an instructor friend of mine sort of in private/confidence why I would ever drop that much cash on stuff I could buy online, and he started in on the, "Authorized to do service and repairs on the equipment, warranty work, blah blah".

I kind of winked at him and reminded him who he was talking to and he did the whole look over his shoulder thing and said, "Just buy it online, we make our cash from rich idiots from {insert local high end community here}".

I go to Scuba Toys' retail location here in Dallas and they match and beat the crap out of LP.com on most things, but the price tags on the floor are still 20-50% premium pricing. They make their cash on people who expect to pay retail, and hook up guys like me who are bold enough to ask for a match to earn my loyalty. And yes, they earn it every time.

Give them the opportunity to earn your business, but don't drop your shorts and thank them for the lack of lube. Good business is good business. There should never be a desire to support bad local businesses, dive or not.

 

[ScoobaDood]

From my experience LDS's tend to rely on people's ignorance when it comes to pricing.

I asked an instructor friend of mine sort of in private/confidence why I would ever drop that much cash on stuff I could buy online, and he started in on the, "Authorized to do service and repairs on the equipment, warranty work, blah blah".

I kind of winked at him and reminded him who he was talking to and he did the whole look over his shoulder thing and said, "Just buy it online, we make our cash from rich idiots from {insert local high end community here}".

I go to Scuba Toys' retail location here in Dallas and they match and beat the crap out of LP.com on most things, but the price tags on the floor are still 20-50% premium pricing. They make their cash on people who expect to pay retail, and hook up guys like me who are bold enough to ask for a match to earn my loyalty. And yes, they earn it every time.

Give them the opportunity to earn your business, but don't drop your shorts and thank them for the lack of lube. Good business is good business. There should never be a desire to support bad local businesses, dive or not.

I just purchased my first set of gear from Scubatoys.com and I will tell you this...they will gladly let you buy the items as priced on the site with no problems, but they are also more than willing to cut a deal for those that ask. I asked them about a package from LP.com as well as a wetsuit and they came back with a matching package, included the wetsuit, and beat the LP.com price. No haggling, no fuss...just asked if they could do something better. Scubatoys.com has my business, thats for sure!

 

[SkimFisher]

Why pay extra for a "personal relationship" with a shop? Paying a fair/matched price should achieve the same result. I won't deal with any shop where my gear purchases are scrutinized. Some places notice when you show up with gear you didn't get from them and think its their right to question you. The dive industry is the only industry I've come across where customers are treated like s*** and expected to like it.

 

[diver 85]

Show them, the LDS, a hard copy of what the difference will be & ask them what can you do??....Can't hurt---& also--, depends on the equipment ie regulators(needing future service a bit) vs a wetsuit, fins, BC etc that won't.......Will be your call on a hundred & fifty bucks(or so)

 

[Stu S.]

If you are rich, read no further.

Since the 1970's, I've seen a lot of folks "get into" and out of diving. Many underestimate the total cost of it. If a piece of gear is $350 on the web or $500 in a store, pay the $350; as there will be something unexpected that will gobble up the $150 you saved. Boat fees, driving, trips, food on the road, and extra training makes the sport more costly than anticipated. I have known people who spent so much on gear that they had no money to dive. They are gear rich and cash poor.

The way to go is to buy as little as possible as cheaply as you can, keeping cash in reserve for (get this) diving.

Have fun with it.