Supporting your local Dive Shop

[The Kraken]

Pilot Fish,
An Atomic B2 regulator is an Atomic B2 regulator, regardless from whom it was purchased.

I can assure you that the manufacturing methods and practices of a company are not altered on a given unit based upon what company may be selling the unit.

If you have doubts regarding my hypothesis why don't you call Atomic and ask them if they vary the safety aspects of any of the products that they manufacture because they may be sold by a tertiary dealer.

I just cannot understand your blatant posturing that anything purchased on-line, to be interpreted as "not purchased at a local diving shop", is of inferior quality and is inherently dangerous to life and limb.

I'm sure you will carry your argument "ad infinitum", therefore I acquiesce . . .

 

[pilot fish]

I feel it is important to support local industry in any way one can unless it is in opposition to good and proper personal financial management.

Kraken, what about the safety factor?

 

[pilot fish]

Pilot Fish,
An Atomic B2 regulator is an Atomic B2 regulator, regardless from whom it was purchased.

I can assure you that the manufacturing methods and practices of a company are not altered on a given unit based upon what company may be selling the unit.

If you have doubts regarding my hypothesis why don't you call Atomic and ask them if they vary the safety aspects of any of the products that they manufacture because they may be sold by a tertiary dealer.

I just cannot understand your blatant posturing that anything purchased on-line, to be interpreted as "not purchased at a local diving shop", is of inferior quality and is inherently dangerous to life and limb.

I'm sure you will carry your argument "ad infinitum", therefore I acquiesce . . .

Well, OK, I see that you just might not know some issues concerning the online purchase of dive gear. Often times online "merchants" [non divers] will purchase gear that is made in Europe. Many times they differ slightly, or a lot, from US gear. When you send that unit in to get it repaired [ under NO warranty] in the US ,they do not have the correct parts to fit that European unit so it will not get repaired till they send to Europe for that part, long wait, if they will do that at all. Your call.

 

[redacted]

Often times online "merchants" [non divers] will purchase gear that is made in Europe. Many times they differ slightly, or a lot, from US gear. When you send that unit in to get it repaired [ under NO warranty] in the US ,they do not have the correct parts to fit that European unit so it will not get repaired till they send to Europe for that part, long wait, if they will do that at all. Your call.

PF

Can you identify any specific regulators for which this is true?

Thanks

 

[ringmiller]

I think that in this world of let's buy it cheap that if you don't buy from your LDS you are soon to have only one or two outlets and then they can really jack up the price. Lack of competition is not a good thing in the retail world. And on another thought, Why do snow skiers boast about having thousand dollar jackets (that are for show mostly) and scuba divers boast about having paid five dollars for a reg at a garage sale (that is hopefully going to help you breath)?

 

[RonFrank]

One can purchase online FROM DIVERS, with an Authorized dealer with full warranty if that is what is wanted.

There are MANY Diveshops that are authorized dealers that sell online. Most have store fronts INCLUDING LP, ScubaToys, Joe Diver..

The logic that purchasing from the LDS somehow get's one BETTER advice is bunk. While I believe that most LDS try and provide good advice, I KNOW that Most work within the confines of their inventory. A LARGE LDS that a friend is taking OW with basically told him that Zeagle BC's may have have fit issues for him... WHAT?? I dive a Medium Ranger, and it fits a HUGE variety of sizes and shapes out of the box. No surprise that this DS did NOT carry Zeagle...

As for service, should I expect to be OVERCHARGED to have service done if I don't take it back to where I purchased it, and get free service if I do?? Not with my LDS's. They have set prices, and that is that. If you purchase a reg from them, they offer one year free service. As regs generally don't need service in the first year, not much of a savings there. Ater that, you pay the same amount as EVERYONE else does for service.

Don't cry for the LDS. The place I did my cert from has $500+ of my cash, and at LEAST 50% of the OW students who cert with them purchase personal gear from them at UNREAL prices (more like 90% in my OW class).

Maybe rather than cheering the LDS we should be questioning why the LDS is charging 20% OVER MSRP for personal items, and then offering students (basically most of their customer base) a 20% discount?? This puts their pricing at MSRP. For a Genesis panview mask they end up selling it for $60 (with discount), and one can purchase this a LP for $23+7 ship... or HALF the price.

I'm not into shops that play games, and overcharge. Unfortunately I discovered the LDS that I like very much does exactly that... That is their option, and mine is to purchase things there only when I feel I'm not getting ripped off. I have made some purchases there on sale items that were OK.

Ron

That's true, and you also have a resonsiblility to youreslf to stay safe with safe,good gear that comes from a reputable, authrozed dealer. You can buy stuff cheaper online, cheaper upfront, but it winds up costing you a whole lot more when, and if, it needs reapair and you find you do not have a mfg warranty. If buy stuff online you miss possible recalls for defective parts etc. You'd also want to buy stuff from divers, people that have used the gear they are selling you and know how it works from personal experience, no some schlocky business person that doesn't know a reg from a beachball. In the end, if you buy something from cut-rate places, online merchants and non-divers, it'll wind up costing you a whole lot more if anything happens to you gear. We all know that at some point something might go wrong. Stick with the people that will stand behind their gear and know divng first hand.

 

[miketsp]

..snip..
Why do snow skiers boast about having thousand dollar jackets (that are for show mostly) and scuba divers boast about having paid five dollars for a reg at a garage sale (that is hopefully going to help you breath)?

Completely different worlds.
A diver is normally recognised by his peers for his technical competence and not the size of his bill-fold. How many respected HUB-divers do you know?

Bet you not many skiers could tell you how Gore-Tex works.

 

[detroit diver]

There are some minor difference between regs based on where their intended market is going to be. For instance, I had some Apeks regs a while back that were purchased from my LDS. As I sometimes do my own service work, I found out that one of the parts was slightly different than the normal reg set here in the US. It turns out that there was a different standard used in the European regs than here in the US (it had to do with restricting freeflows). For some reason, my LDS was shipped a European model and I wound up with it. It was no big deal to modify (just a matter of clipping off a small piece of plastic), but it did make the reg breath better when I did change it.

Pilot Fish,
An Atomic B2 regulator is an Atomic B2 regulator, regardless from whom it was purchased.

I can assure you that the manufacturing methods and practices of a company are not altered on a given unit based upon what company may be selling the unit.

If you have doubts regarding my hypothesis why don't you call Atomic and ask them if they vary the safety aspects of any of the products that they manufacture because they may be sold by a tertiary dealer.

I just cannot understand your blatant posturing that anything purchased on-line, to be interpreted as "not purchased at a local diving shop", is of inferior quality and is inherently dangerous to life and limb.

I'm sure you will carry your argument "ad infinitum", therefore I acquiesce . . .

 

[RonFrank]

Dive shops have wanted more customer base, and more divers, for decades. In the 70's diving was EXPENSIVE. I looked into it, and a new regulator was something like $500. For me to get certified was going to cost me over 10% of my small income... I could not afford it... To put this in perspective $500 then would be about $1700+ now...

Time, marketing, PADI, technology, and an increasing market ALL brought diving, and diving products in the realm of affordable, and it has become MUCH more popular. This is something that one would THINK the LDS's would applaud.

In fact it maybe very much the opposite. With a larger market comes competition. Add the internet on top of that, and the market is changing. In days gone by, one had ZERO options when purchasing scuba gear. The LDS's only had to compete among themselves, and price fixing was the norm. There was no *KMART* in the Diving world.

Those days are gone, and now the LDS's have to compete. I'm not sure they like it. Price fixing is a reality in the Dive industry. The whole grey market concept (borrowed from foreign import issues in cars/electronics) largely does NOT exist in that there ARE no import/manufacturing issues, just manufactures that want to control how and what dealers can sell.

I'm over simplifying some of the import issues, but *Grey* market in diving gear is a joke compared to other industry where products, specs, environmental issues (like emmisions), warranties, and MANY other factors actually DO create a grey market.

I 100% agree, competition is a good thing.

LP is the Kmart of the diving world, and they WILL change the way others do business (in fact HAVE). LDS's will NOT go away, in fact they can prosper off the service business that places like LP do NOT support!

Compressors have come WAY down in price. The air fills that we all say can't make any money.. well I don't believe that for a second.

Unfortunately insurance has their hand in EVERYTHING, and like a casino, they FIX the odds so they can NEVER loose. Add the lawyers in, and we have what we call the health industry in the USA today.. a mess....

K, off my soap box

Ron
Evolve -or- Die

I think that in this world of let's buy it cheap that if you don't buy from your LDS you are soon to have only one or two outlets and then they can really jack up the price. Lack of competition is not a good thing in the retail world. And on another thought, Why do snow skiers boast about having thousand dollar jackets (that are for show mostly) and scuba divers boast about having paid five dollars for a reg at a garage sale (that is hopefully going to help you breath)?

 

[GW Diver]

this turned into to a good post. alot of differant thoughts ,which is good