your local LDS

[spankey]

so what does your LDS have (or prehaps not have) that makes you go there or that you would like to see them have? e.g. a travel desk with good information, large selection of gear to see and try-out etc etc.

even give us a pic or two of the small little things that make your LDS great or not

 

[tracy_from_oz]

so what does your LDS have (or prehaps not have) that makes you go there or that you would like to see them have? e.g. a travel desk with good information, large selection of gear to see and try-out etc etc.

even give us a pic or two of the small little things that make your LDS great or not

All of the above.

In Australia gear is so expensive that retailers only really stock from 2-3 companies and within that our country will only get a selection of the gear as well. The range is not great and the prices are ridiculous. Eg Mares Proton Ice Extremem retails here for $1495 AUD, USA $650.

I would love to see larger selections as well as a try out area of gear, but having the ability to let people try out many regs or bcd's I am sure cuts into the cost of things.

More information posted on local dive areas would be a good thing as well as monthly dive meetings where someone comes along and talks.

 

[dive_lover88]

the lds that i normally go to is also a travel agency. They have a good range of equipment which is cool.

 

[dsteding]

Like a lot of smaller LDSs, mine (Northwest Sports Divers in Kenmore, WA) doesn't carry a heavy amount of inventory. Enough to satisfy the walk-through-the-door customer, but they keep things lean. I'm cool with that, they get me whatever I need quickly, and at prices that generally beat whatever I could get elsewhere.

When I started diving around here, I walked into about 5 different shops and bought some stuff from each one. The shop I settled on treated me well when I first came through the door, Matt (the owner) wasn't condescending, nor was he too pushy about selling stuff. Dan (the tech) is super helpful, and just an all-around good guy. I like the fact that I can steer people their way knowing they'll treat everyone the same--newbie to experienced diver--no one gets any attitude from these guys.

I keep coming back because they are buddies now, and because they treat me really well. Little things like leaky exhaust valves on drysuits get fixed quickly, fills are always top-notch, and I know they will never take advantage of me. That makes for a perfect dive shop, IMHO.


Plus, they laugh at my stupid jokes . . .

 

[PePaw]

Well so far I haven't needed anything that I couldn't find there.
But the best reason I go there as often as I do is the NEED to talk diving with others that love it.

 

[Doc]

so what does your LDS have that makes you go there

Air, the compressed variety.

 

[argos59]

lds has air fills, so I try to buy most of my equptment from him.If he closes down Ill need to buy a compressor $$$

 

[Diving Doc]

My LDS has me owning it, and I so love myself!!

 

[Carribeandiver]

we have 2 lds here in the New Orleans area. the one I prefer carries predominently 2 brands, Scuba Pro and Oceanic but pushes the Scuba Pro stuff hard since that makes up most of his inventory. Well, that and the fact that I think he believes it to be the best and I cant argue with him on that opinion.
I agree with one of the post above in that it would be great if we, his customers, formed some sort of club to meet regularly and discuss diving experiences including equipment, sites, trips, etc.
The owner is friendly and offers information every time I visit but I hardly ever see anyone else there and when I do we do not get into those diving discussions that get your adrenaline going.
This shop always has 4 or 5 trips planned and so far something has prevented me from joining the merry band. Sometimes the pricing is very high and sometimes the timing is very bad for me.
I frequent the joint knowing I pay lots more than if I got the same stuff online but I feel I am better off with a lds than not so I pay for the privilege. I never argue or negotiate price; although, sometimes I leave and mutter under my breath about the pricing hose job I just willingly took.
Still, if I ever have a problem with my stuff, I KNOW he will be right there to service it and get it resolved.

 

[scubawally]

I like my LDS because it attracts divers of all sorts rec/tec/com and with that wealth of experience floating around you cant help but learn something new everytime you go in there.....add that to the fact that the owner was servicing scubapro regs before I was born never hurts either