Would you buy a reg and computer online?

[agilulfo]

I did it, and with no regrets.

In fact, I purchased 2 complete setups from Leisure-Pro and have never had any regrets.

Same here.

 

[redacted]

The guy told me that even though you will find stuff cheaper online you will end up laying out the funds later for parts and servicing and you could have warranty issues.

Did he tell you what those labor charges would be? Did he also tell you that you must pay those labor charges every year with Scubapro regulators even though such service will usually last at least 2 years and often 3 to 5 years with good user care?

If you really want to save $$ on regulators, take a look at used high performance regs. I would expect to pay about 25% to 30% of MSRP but it may take some shopping to find the right deal. Most scuba mfgr's policies severely reduce the value of quality used gear.

 

[SandyUT]

Well - I am happily surprised. The local LDS's need to clue in! When I bought my fins I went in and said "will you match the online price at LP (it was 30% less thatn thier sticker) they said "no, the best Ic an do is 10%". I bought them online.

So pretty much SP, AL (seaquest), and Atomic are the only guys who dont allow online sales and call it "Gray Market". Is there any truth to the gray market line or is it just a line of BS?

Thanks for all the replies!!!

 

[shoturtle]

There is a gray market, but under Federal guild lines if the product perform the same as the ones sold here, they will not stop them from being imported from Europe or Asia. They are the same product, just that SP and AL like the price fixing policy. So to cut the cost of the item, some shops buy overseas model and import them, or when AL or SP want to liquidate inventory, they may sell it in volume to an dealer out of the sales network and label it gray market. Or if an authorized dealer is looking to get ride of stock they may chose to sell their product to a non authorized dealer, and AL and SP will label that product as a gray market item.

 

[SandyUT]

How can they get away with all this price fixing BS?! It turns me off their products in a big way. It is a rare day that some price negotiation cant take place. that is what drives free markey and why some stores do better than others. Because they are will to deal with people who value the money they earned - and inturn are about to spend. I dont work my tail for the man just to throw it away on price fixing!!! ARGH!!!

The whole "gray market" nonsense is the same issue. If a store can buy over seas and sell to US markets for a deal - let them. Its the same damn product. They are just screwing us over - and over - and over- and not in the way we like ; )

 

[Web Monkey]

the local LDS is very limited in the dicounting area and this is frustrating. My wife and I are lookign to buy full sets of equip and we are hearing on ly a 10% discount from list price. All LDS have evry thing at full retail list. seams like price fixing to me! If we are looking to drop 1500+ each at the same time, dont you think that is worth more than 10% discount???!!!

You have to weigh price, convenience and service.

I get phenomenal service from my LDS and would never buy anything anywhere else that I could get there, however if the service sucked, I'd buy wherever I felt like it.

Note that by "service" I mean actual service, meaning "a guy at a bench with tools and manuals and parts, and fills of whatever mix I want", not just "lip service."

Don't let the discount (anybody's discount) weigh too heavily in your decision. The part that matters is where can you get good fills and excellent regulator/BC/drysuit service. You'll only buy your regulator once, and in a year or two won't even remember what you paid. However you'll be bringing your tanks in for fills all the time (if you dive a lot) and will be bringing your regs in for service at least once every year, and maybe more often if they need a little tuning now and then.

Terry

 

[Desert_Diver]

SandyUT-

Check out a variety of LDSs. Neptune, Dive Addicts, Scuba Utah and Dive Utah. They all have their "house" brands that they will push,. Compare prices and don't be afraid to dicker. If, as you say, you are buying full load outs for two divers, you represent a chunk of change to the shop owners. If you aren't happy with the prices, I would price on-line sellers. I have consistantly heard good things about Scuba Toys in Texas bending over backwards to make their customers happy. I don't think they will dicker on line, however.

Good luck.

Art

 

[Rhone Man]

Yes - I would and I did.

I bet if you had started this thread as a poll, the results would come out heavily skewed in favour of buying online.

 

[shoturtle]

How can they get away with all this price fixing BS?! It turns me off their products in a big way. It is a rare day that some price negotiation cant take place. that is what drives free markey and why some stores do better than others. Because they are will to deal with people who value the money they earned - and inturn are about to spend. I dont work my tail for the man just to throw it away on price fixing!!! ARGH!!!

The whole "gray market" nonsense is the same issue. If a store can buy over seas and sell to US markets for a deal - let them. Its the same damn product. They are just screwing us over - and over - and over- and not in the way we like ; )

Some companies don't want to change, some do not want to deal with the customer, and push it off to their dealers. Remember back in the days, it was even an more expensive sports.

If you are turn off by those companies, there are other brands that have just a good products.

 

[TSandM]

I bought a regulator set for my husband from ScubaToys. The price was very good, and he likes his regs, but we found out the nearest local place we can get them serviced is a) a very inconvenient drive away and b) doesn't appear to do particularly good work, at least as evidenced by the three times we had to take the reg back after service before it worked properly. This is something to take into consideration when you are thinking about buying on line. You can, of course, send the regs in to the on-line dealer in some cases (ScubaToys being one) but that's not terribly convenient, either.