can a person ever buy used equipment?

[Paco]

My LDS actually helps people sell their used gear.

 

[Jeff Toorish]

Yes and I would say at some point most divers buy used gear, either to fill in for some needed piece of equipment that broke; or possibly as Bill mentioned, because the manufacturers stopped making some piece of gear that is a preference; or because someone was selling something that you wanted to try.

In fact, buying used is a great way to test new equipment without the expense of paying the full price.

Needless to say, however, if it is life support equipment, it needs to be thoroughly checked at the LDS or by a qualified technician. And when buying used equipment, it is a good idea to factor that into the price.

Jeff

 

[Zeeman]

I've bought 2 used BCDs - a Zeagle Scout (which I still use and was actually in brand new condition - with the tags still attached) and a Zeagle Tech BCD (which was obviously used but in excellent condition). After sevral test dives, I found myself preferring to dive the scout, so I sold the Tech to my buddy who dives it happily to this day. I'm now looking to put the Scout on ebay and using the proceeds to finish off my BP/W setup.

I suspect the LDS makes out like there is something dreadfully wrong because they didn't sell it to you. But why even tell them you got it 2nd hand? Tell them your uncle/brother/best friends dog who has 10000000 dives under their belt loaned you a spare set of gear while you get a feel for it...

 

[Zeeman]

My LDS actually helps people sell their used gear.

That is probably the smartest business decision an LDS can make.

 

[FredT]

If you are dealer for any specific product you should service that product even if your customer purchased it used and for a reasonable price for that item.
this thinking of putting down equipment as old and wore out and it will take alot of money to fix is not wright.
When you buy expensive equipment they tell you there going to service ten years down the road,but you take the same brand that you prchased used in and lets say its 4 years old then suddenly it is junk,or big fix.
if i have to send my stuff far away to get serviced i may buy it from far away to! good service sells new product and loyalty

Please note that some equipment is "orphaned" by the manufacturers by not making parts. Other times the shop people aren't trained on the specific gear, and are incapable or unwilling to think the problem through. When you hit one of these the expedient answer is often to "change shops". There are several shops that will never again see any $ from me based on the kind of behavior you describe above. Experienced active divers don't spend a lot of $ at one time on gear since we generally already have a set or three about the place, but we do need to replace the stuff that just flat wears out. Over the years that adds up to quite a fair piece of change. I also tend to pass that recommendation on to new divers when they ask me where to go to learn.

Before buying used gear be sure the SAME ITEM is available for sale new in several locations. This helps to avoid the orphan gear problem. Some manufacturers use "standard" parts that interchange, but you can't count on it. Buying used tanks is generally safe once you have educated yourself on what to look for. The first of which is the "magnet test." If the magnet does not stick to the tank it is suspect unless proven oterwise. If the magnet sticks it's time to remove the valve and look inside. If no gross internal rust or pitting is there it's probably fine. There are bunches of suspect aluminum tanks out there on the used market. A date or manufactureer check can help clear that issue if the tank passes visual. in either case condition the final sale on it passing a hydro YOU pay for at a negotiated DOT retester facility (not a dive shop). If it fails you're just out the $12-15 hydro fee. If it passes you are good to go for at least another 5 years, and you owe the original owner the rest of the $s you negotiated. Then you get to become educated on the simplicity of tank maintenance.

OTOH there are several shops that do "mail order" equipment repairs that are quite highly thought of. The one I used to repair my gear after it went for an extend swim in Katrina Soup charged about $600 for the job, but it included 5 full regs, plus several "spare bits" like gauge sets and extra second stages. The repairs were excellent quality and up to my standards, which after repairing my own gear for 30 years is a bit higher than the average diver's expectations. I just didn't have time to get to them with all the other rebuilding going on.

FT

 

[boulderjohn]

You definitely can buy used gear. In fact, I have a wonderful Mares Abyss regulator sitting on a shelf that you should probably be interested in right now.

 

[Carribeandiver]

I sent a guy from this site $410 for a SmartCom computer and I got nothing and he got my $410. His name is Gary Natkin out of Mundelein Illinois. I know he changes his screen name often so dont expect to see him as scubaiteach but if you run into a guy from Mundelein Illinois and his name is Gary Natkin, be forewarned, dont send him any money in advance.
that's cures me, I will never attempt to buy anything used.

 

[redacted]

I retired most of my new plastic regs and prefer to dive old Scubapro metals I pick up on ebay. I taught myself to service them so service is not a big expense. I was getting pretty confidente so I bought a few nasty looking regs at really great prices. On purchase was 3 SP 2nds (one HP and two Adjustables) for $15 total including shipping. I expected to piece together 1 or 2 I could use. To my surprise, all three are restored to working order.

You need to know what you are doing as there is a lot of unuseable junk out there. But there are also plenty of opportunities to get good and even high perfrormance gear at great savings.

 

[Vtdiver2]

You can always learn to service the gear yourself, buy gear used that doesn't need any meaningful service (fins, backplate, etc) and/or send it in for service to someone who doesn't bust your balls about it.

By the way, what would happen if you bought something from the LDS and then sold it to a buddy who also used the same LDS? Would they bust his balls because it was used while not busting yours if you had continued to use it?

....and the ugly "anti-LDS monster" reared it's head and roared......
My LDS will actually take in trade-ins both towards new gear and for cash, and has a rack in the corner where you can try on used BCs, diveskins, wetsuits and drysuits. They even have stuff on the used rack made by manufacturers they don't carry. Everything on the rack has been gone thru to make sure it's safe to dive with. The few times I've seen regulators there, it was sold after being serviced with a bag with the old parts in it.
Yes, you can buy used gear, sometimes you can even get it from your LDS.
C-Dawg

 

[herman]

You can get junk and you can find some really good deals. Quality scuba gear will last a lot of years as most of the old time divers here will tell you. Used gear is fine as long as you understand what you are buying. Look it over carefully, do your homework and use gear can be a great bargin. Consider this, we ALL dive with used gear..the only difference is who "used" it last.