Not buying from your local Dive Shop?

[Scuba.com]

Well that argument is BS around here,

I have resorted to buying most of my gear via Scuba.com and I call them when I need advice on gear. The claim their people are instructors, don't know if that's true, but I have found them to be helpful and non biased on gear advice and sales. And I will gladly pay for the expertise that they offer.

Just a shameless plug here since it came up. I'm sure somebody is going to think that we are full of baloney or boasting, but I only post this because it came up and to me it makes for a very unique working environment here each day. All of the guys you'll chat with over here about gear or diving in general hold AT LEAST the rating of Scuba Instructor. Of the 11 of us you may encounter, 3 of us are Course Directors, 1 is an Instructor Trainer, 1 is an SSI Platinum Pro 5000 member, 3 are Master Scuba Diver Trainers and 4 are our "lowly" Openwater Scuba Instructors.

Between us we have all managed somebody's dive shop, somewhere in the world. 2 are former shop owners, another a manufacturer's rep at one time. Yet another was a regional rep for one of the top training agencies. We have a travel agent, a scientific research diver, and the former head of technical support for a couple equipment manufacturers.

We come from Massachusettes, Oregon, California, and Ohio among other places and have had the good fortune to do the scuba instructor lifestyle "thing" in Florida, Cayman, the BVI, Hawaii, Puget Sound, the Midwest, Thailand and NE Seaboard. As you can imagine sometimes when the phones are slower the "who's appendage is bigger" conversations can get quite creative around here.

What's that mean for our customers? Lots of knowledge. If the person you have on the phone doesn't have your answer, it is usually a pretty good bet that somebody in here does. We feel if we can give you the information you need "pressure sales" will never be needed.

Hope you all are having a great weekend!

 

[redacted]

Just a shameless plug here since it came up. I'm sure somebody is going to think that we are full of baloney or boasting, but I only post this because it came up and to me it makes for a very unique working environment here each day. All of the guys you'll chat with over here about gear or diving in general hold AT LEAST the rating of Scuba Instructor. Of the 11 of us you may encounter, 3 of us are Course Directors, 1 is an Instructor Trainer, 1 is an SSI Platinum Pro 5000 member, 3 are Master Scuba Diver Trainers and 4 are our "lowly" Openwater Scuba Instructors.

Between us we have all managed somebody's dive shop, somewhere in the world. 2 are former shop owners, another a manufacturer's rep at one time. Yet another was a regional rep for one of the top training agencies. We have a travel agent, a scientific research diver, and the former head of technical support for a couple equipment manufacturers.

We come from Massachusettes, Oregon, California, and Ohio among other places and have had the good fortune to do the scuba instructor lifestyle "thing" in Florida, Cayman, the BVI, Hawaii, Puget Sound, the Midwest, Thailand and NE Seaboard. As you can imagine sometimes when the phones are slower the "who's appendage is bigger" conversations can get quite creative around here.

What's that mean for our customers? Lots of knowledge. If the person you have on the phone doesn't have your answer, it is usually a pretty good bet that somebody in here does. We feel if we can give you the information you need "pressure sales" will never be needed.

Hope you all are having a great weekend!

With all that knowledge, experience, and expertise; why has there been so much criticism of scuba.com on this board in the last few weeks. Are you still spending your time searching out and reporting MAP violations?

 

[John_B]

I have resorted to buying most of my gear via Scuba.com and I call them when I need advice on gear. The claim their people are instructors, don't know if that's true, but I have found them to be helpful and non biased on gear advice and sales. And I will gladly pay for the expertise that they offer.

You're aware scuba.com runs an online MAP violation reporting website to tattletail on web-based dive retailers that have gear priced below MAP?? I don't exactly get a warm fuzzy thinking of "good deals" and "scuba.com" in the same sentence. FWIW, there are apparently some accuracy issues. Make up your own mind:

http://www.scubacontest.com/office/violationlist.asp

I love the part where they try to claim copyright on other retailer's pricing.

John

 

[Mafiaman]

You're aware scuba.com runs an online MAP violation reporting website to tattletail on web-based dive retailers that have gear priced below MAP?? I don't exactly get a warm fuzzy thinking of "good deals" and "scuba.com" in the same sentence. FWIW, there are apparently some accuracy issues. Make up your own mind:

http://www.scubacontest.com/office/violationlist.asp

I love the part where they try to claim copyright on other retailer's pricing.

John

It would appear the above claim is accurate

SCUBACONTEST.COM


Registrant:
Melinda Herndon
1752 Langley
Irvine, CA 92614
US

Domain Name: SCUBACONTEST.COM

Administrative Contact, Technical Contact, Zone Contact:
Melinda Herndon
1752 Langley
Irvine, CA 92614
US
(949)221-9300
(949)221-9323 [fax]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Scuba.com

Registrant:
Melinda Herndon
1752 Langley
Irvine, CA 92614
US

Domain Name: SCUBA.COM

Administrative Contact, Technical Contact, Zone Contact:
Melinda Herndon
1752 Langley
Irvine, CA 92614
US
(949)221-9300
(949)221-9323 [fax]

 

[MikeFerrara]

Care to give me a heads up so I know where to stay away from? Being new I would appreciate any insights that would be helpful. PM me if yuo dont' want to name names here.


Thanks,​

I don't care to warn you off of any specific shop by name based only on conversations with whoever was behind the counter that day. The heads up that I would give is that you can NOT assume that the person in the dive shop (instructor or not) is any kind of expert of that they have your best interests in mind...just normal buyer beware stuff.

I would be comfortable recommending someone to talk to though. Last I heard, Reefraff on this board works for some dive shop up there (I don't remember the name of the shop) and is an instructor now. I've never dealt with the shop and I don't think I know anyone else who works there and I've never watched him teach. I have dived with him though and I would do it again. He and I don't agree on everything but I'd say that he is a knowledgeable and experienced diver who would be a great resource whether your interests are rec, tech or someplace inbetween.

I could probably come up with a couple of other people but I'd have to give it some thought. He's the one who comes to mind first and it's probably a good place to start.

If you get in touch with him, let me know how it works out.​

 

[The Chairman]

Personally? I buy from the E-Tailers that support www.ScubaBoard.com! They are the ones bank rolling our fun, and I would imagine that you spend a WHOLE lot more time here than in your LDS. I have bought from Scuba.com, 123Scuba, ScubaToys.com and a few others like Capt Gary down in the Keys. Sure, I have a vested interest in them doing well here, but so do YOU.

 

[jpsexton]

Their pricing model works for them, but it does not work for me! I shop elsewhere for most things, and that is fine.

That pretty much sums it up for me as well. It used to get under my skin that I could not deal with any of my LDS's but I don't much give it a thought anymore. They seem to be doing fine without me.

 

[TSandM]

My LDS is run by very good people. I like them. I think they try very hard to run good classes, and they support the folks they train -- They dive with them, and run shop dives and charters. They're good to me. They've inconvenienced themselves more than once to get tanks filled when I needed them. As a result, I try very hard to buy things from them. That means that, when I've decided what I want, I go to them and offer them a chance to give me a recommendation and a price on the item or items. But I also may visit other shops, and I definitely shop on line as well. There's some amount above the "best price" that I'm willing to pay to buy it from these guys, but there's also a limit.

It's not a whole lot different from anything else I do. I'll pay a premium for customer service, but not a ridiculous one, whether it's in a clothing store, an auto repair company, or our local non-chain hardware store, where everybody knows everything there is to know about what they sell and how to use it.

 

[RonFrank]

Personally? I buy from the E-Tailers that support www.ScubaBoard.com! They are the ones bank rolling our fun, and I would imagine that you spend a WHOLE lot more time here than in your LDS. I have bought from Scuba.com, 123Scuba, ScubaToys.com and a few others like Capt Gary down in the Keys. Sure, I have a vested interest in them doing well here, but so do YOU.

In that vein, I'm a BIG supporter!

ScubaToys is my go to shop. I dive with Brenda, and Gary when in the Keys, and why not? They run a class OP. We even purchased some shirts from them last month!

 

[daniel f aleman]

A big hurdle to overcome when dealing with an LDS for equipment purchases is that most shops also offer instruction where personal relationships can matter. My rule is never buy equipment from those of whom you are taking instruction.