I was forced to go to LeisurePro!

I was forced to go to LeisurePro.

Yup, I was. My dive buddy recently purchased a Mares Abyss for me for my birthday. I now have 3 sets of high performance regs....two identical Mares Abyss 1st stages w/ MR22 2nd stages for my cave rig, and one Mares V16 w/MR22 2nd stage for my openwater rig. Well, I want a second MR22 2nd stage for my OW rig as I believe your secondary should be the same high quality as your primary........

NOooooo....that's not available anymore from Mares. They will NOT sell MR22's as OCTO's anymore....Nope, Nix, Nein, NADA! My buddy is a certified Mares tech and he services his regs and mine and says the current line of Mares regs aren't worth the powder to blow them to H@$% if you go below V16 for the 1st stage or below MR22 for the 2nd. (and lovely....you can't get an MR22 with the V16 anymore either!) Okay...this is no big deal....got 2 Abyss 1st stages and 1 V16 first stage, and 3, count them....THREE MR22 2nd stages..... I need ONE MORE!

The saga continues.... I go to my LDS, faithful parttime employee that I am.... and the very knowledgeable person at the shop contacts Mares to order an MR22 Octo for me....(okay, it's yellow...I can live with that.....) She's told by Mares...."No, we don't sell MR22/Abyss Octo's anymore". ARGGHHH! She calls the sales rep....He had no clue about this new policy or development. He checks around and there's not one to be had at the warehouse....nor from any of the LDS's he reps for. He's just as shocked as we are......go figure. Mares is only supplying the nasty Proton ICE or Axis (or lower) as Octo's now. GEEZ! My buddy and I tried out an ICE....NOPE...don't like it. I want an MR22! At this point I don't give a rats patootie if it's got the Abyss faceplate, or the Orbiter faceplate or a dayglo Yellow faceplate....just as long as it's the MR22 guts on the inside!!!! Mares won't sell me an MR22 without the FIRST STAGE...they won't break up a set. Talk about excellent customer service!! NOT!

So....my buddy and I are standing in the shop aghast (like that 50cent word?) at this new policy. My chin is hanging on my chest as I am racking my brain trying to figure out how to get an MR22 out of Mares, when the knowledgeable shop employee says...."The rep told me that he found out Mares blew out all the yellow MR22 Octo's and no more are in stock....he suggests and so do I, that you try one of the internet houses....maybe Leisure Pro or Divers Direct, if you don't have any luck there, we can try ordering all the parts and building one ourselves, but it will be pricey."

I came home last night.....about 1130pm after teaching an AOW confined session.......signed on to Leisurepro.com, found a Mares MR22/Abyss Octo (yes, it's yellow, I'll live!) and it will be here Friday.

End of story. And we wonder why the LDS in floundering in this country.

by the way, how much money did you save?

jviehe once bubbled...
by the way, how much money did you save?

Click to expand...

That is irrelevant to the point of the story.

LeisurePro is not a dirty word. I ordered a Suunto Cobra with compass from them for over $300. less than any of the LDS. That's only half the story. The computer failed and I sent it back to LeisurePro during the warranty period and they sent me a new one within a few days of receiving my defective one. Free enterprise and competition is the American way.

I don't usually advertise this..but, I purchased two regs and a BC from Leisure pro, 3 years ago, and, have had no problems.
I don't like taking business away from local dive shops, but they were so much more money, and not so much more service.
I might have bought from the LDS if I felt I was getting customer service to make up for the huge price difference, but I didn't.
So don't feel badly. We all do, what we need to do.

:sunny:

FYI: This is from LP website about their warranty. It is up to U if a manufactures warranty matters.


http://s1059kxm.leisurepro.com/webapp/commerce/command/ExecMacro/LeisurePro/macros/faq.d2w/report

Warranty Information
We are not authorized dealers of some Manufacturers, and some of the products may not be accompanied by the manufactures Warranty valid in the United States and/or with an english manual, However we provide in such instances our own Warranty, which offers equal or greater protection, For a Copy of our Warranty Card, Click here .

I agree that LP is not a dirty word. Is scuba the only industry where everyone has to complain about internet sales or does it exist elsewhere? Just curious. I have about $6000 worth of gear that I only paid $2000 for. does that mean I am a scuba rebel? Is my gear unsafe to dive with? My LDS is 150 miles away. think they will deliver to my door? How bout after I ask them to lower their prices by 60 - 75 %?

No, it's not a dirty word but don't assume they have the best deals. Recently I was looking for a backplate and wings. One shop near me wanted about $500 and I had seen it online for $350. I called up my instructor and told him the deal I found. He said it sounded like a good dead but he would check some prices for me. He called me back 10 minutes later and said he could do it for $315. Exact same thing as online, but he threw in some extra stuff and gave me a discount on some misc hardware I needed.

LP, Diveinn, etc have some good deals and I've ordered from them before, just don't assume they have the best deals around.

Cornfed

You know, i have no problem buying gear i want at the LDS IF they have it. If they dont i will go elsewhere.
However, the level of un-professionalism displayed by some diveshops is stunning. i have been harassed by the LDS on several occasions about not buying certain gear from them. They did not sell what i wanted but still expect me to buy some substitute as long is i buy it from them, it's ridiculous.
Have you ever gone into Home Depot and had them tell you you are not allowed to buy anything at Lowe's
i dont think so.

that is not the way to keep me their customer. i buy my gear where i want and i shouldnt need to 'feel bad' for buying gear online, i have bought gear online and am very happy with it.

:upset:

Cornfed-
Here is an example of what I am talking about:
LDS
wing $400
AL Backplate $75
Standard harness $75
Manifold $400
M1 Computer$460
Tax 8.25 %
300 Mile round trip
$20 gas

LP:
Wing $190
AL Backplate $32
Standard harness $26
Manifold $180
M1 computer $235
Shipping $15
Arrives at my door 3 days later.

I dont assume they have the best prices I search for the best deal. In almost every case LP wins. FWIW I bought my tanks through LDS because they were competative with L.P.