Buying Dive Equipment in the Philippines

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lowtempo

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Hello everyone,

I'm new to the board and new to diving. I will be visiting the philippines Nov 2002 , mostly to get back into diving.

I'm looking into buying some dive equipment for myself. Something like a BCD, REG, Divecomputer. Since I don't have alott of money do you think it would a good idea to wait till I get the Phillippines to buy the equipment? Are the prices for gear in the Philippine dive shops similar to the United States?

thanks
lowtempo
 
Hi lowtempo,

The items you mention may be a little cheaper in the Phillippines than back in the States. However, these are also the items you depend on and that need regular servicing.

If I were you, I would buy your equipment back home, find a good shop that gives you a good advice and a good guarantee. You may pay a little more, but it will last longer and more safely.
 
From what I have seen the US seems to have the cheapest prices for SCUBA gear.

As mentioned its always nice to be able to walk around the corner to return something than have to fly half way around the world.

One key word to remember is discount.

If a dive shop is unwilling to give you a discount it is almost certain that an instructor almost certainly will , so make friends with an instructor and use their discount.
 
Hi lowtempo,

I've bought my gear from all over the place, including the Philippines where I do most of my diving. You can stumble into some good deals in the philippines but I've also seen some ridiculously high prices - it's pretty hit and miss. On the whole I would expect that you would do much better buying online from the states, which is what I've done for quite a lot of my stuff and then had it shipped to my home in Hong Kong. Don't try to buy stuff online and have it shipped to the Philippines though - you will have to pay a hefty duty and possibly wait for ages to get it (unless you know someone in customs, wink wink, nudge nudge :) )

If you do decide to buy gear in the Philippines then I would suggest you try a shop called Aqua One (until recently Aquaventure) in Makati. Good guys and they tend to have pretty good prices. Likewise their resort in Anilao where I do most of my diving.
If you are planning on buying your gear through a resort there I hope that you check around quite a bit. As with most places around the world, the dive resorts often gouge you pretty badly for the convenience of buying in paradise.


If you plan on buying your gear from a local dive shop in the States (if you are in the States? hate when people assume that) then I would guess from the prices I've seen people talk about here at scubaboard that you would probably do as well in the Philippines. As stated above though, the downside is the servicing and 'loyalty' issues that are beaten to death around here quite often.

Personally, I'd buy it all online and save the cash - I'm just not convinced it's in my best interests to pay huge mark ups to make friends, I tend to be loyal to my own finances first!

Good luck and have a blast in the Philippines.

Joe

PS Where will you go? How long will you stay? etc?
 
The Hamburger once bubbled...
From what I have seen the US seems to have the cheapest prices for SCUBA gear.

As mentioned its always nice to be able to walk around the corner to return something than have to fly half way around the world.

One key word to remember is discount.

If a dive shop is unwilling to give you a discount it is almost certain that an instructor almost certainly will , so make friends with an instructor and use their discount.

I dunno about the Philippines, but a lot of equipment is much cheaper in Europe. The EU completely bans price fixing, I believe... the US apparently doesn't feel this way. Big ticket items are much cheaper over there.. particularly regs and drysuits.
 
The EU may have price fixing (or anti cartel) laws as well as it's anti-monopoly rulings but this by no means makes Europe cheaper than the States for anything - you have to take into account that the States is a true homogenous market due to its use of one language within one country - the EU, as far as purchasing on a retail/mail order level, is not - even though one enlightened European dive retail company is attempting this at the moment.

Without a doubt the US is much cheaper - in particular were US manufactured products (incl. US inter-continentals that manufacture overseas) are concerned - larger US mail order concerns offer startling prices compared to the rest of the world. ...

So much so I actually flew to NY to buy a complete setup (Italian manufacturer!) at a fraction of the European cost (and much less than Asia). I also just finished looking at Ikelite prices for a stobe and found the pricing to be USA - $750, Thailand $1000, UK $1400 - there is no law that says a company cannot ask any price it wants for a product - my vote goes to the enlightened retail/mail order companies in the states (for every product from razors to cars) who seem to know exactly what the customer wants - an honest deal.

As for Asia - well it just stuns me that I can walk into a shop and say how much for that? The reply would be $xxx sir! Then I ask how much if I have a DM card? Oh then that would minus xx, sir! What if I have a INS card? Oh sir, then the cost is minus minus xx sir! Ok I am OW, can I have it for the minus minus xx? Sorry sir cannot do that. Ok I will go and see my instructor and he can buy it for me! Oh, OK sir! - obviously I never but it or go back to the shop because a) I do not pay instructors backhanders to buy gear and b) I do not do business with companies that consider the colour of my money different to other and beleive newbies should apy more for their gear- that's why I have all this old gear and have to fly to States to buy new stuff (more the fool me!)
 
Hi, I'm from the Philippines and have just gotten certified last May. For the past four months, I have been on a spending spree for scuba gear. :) Here's how I bought my equipment in their proper order:

1. adjustable Forcefin (~$200) -- bought this in Singapore through my brother-in-law who works there
2. mask, snorkel, booties, wetsuit (~$170) -- bought these here
3. regulator set -- Genesis GS2000, ocotopus, Oceanic console [spg, depth gauge, compass] (~$400) -- bought the equipment here; got the regulator 1st and 2nd stage at a discount ($200) since the shop was emptying their inventory
4. Seaquest ProQD+ BCD (~$350) -- Singapore, again through my brother-in-law
5. Suunto Stinger dive computer stainless steel (~$400) -- got this just las Saturday

Before I purchase any gear, I first check prices online just to make sure I am not getting ripped off. Here in Manila, it is usual for dealers to agree on a certain price (talk about price-fixing) and while you can buy direct from distributors, the latter sell the equipment at a higher price to protect their dealers.

I've gone to two dive shops here to buy equipment (one's a dealer and one's a distributor) and it is usual for them to sell in US$ (xP52 if you'll pay in pesos). After giving you the regular price, they then give you a discount (up to 40%). Actually, they could have just given you just the discounted price but I guess the present practice encourages a customer to buy the gear, thinking that he is getting it at a big discount.

If I bought the Forcefin here, I could have been charged as much as $300 for the pair. The same Seaquest BCD would have fetched $400. I know that I don't get warranty when I buy abroad but I guess I'm just taking my chances. The Forcefin would not be so much of a problem since they seldom break.

About the dive computer, I think I got it cheap. I was searching the Internet and most online shops were selling it for a higher price than the shop where I bought mine. So, I decided to go for it.

If I were you, I would buy from the US. I think that as a whole, scuba gear in the Philippines are more expensive since these are imported. Hope this helps.

P.S.
I recommend Tubbataha, Palawan for your diving adventure if you're a reef and creature person. You can also try Coron, Palawan for World War II shipwrecks (we have eight or nine in that area). Anilao and Puerto Galera are the most popular for us who live in Manila since these are the nearest.

Regards,
Swordfish
 
About prices of equipment being cheaper or not depends on the distributors and dealers having a sale. For comparison, I recently bought a Poseidon regulator for under USD230, based on 53-1 exchange rate. Beat that price.

As for service... it is pretty standard that if you buy your equipment from another source and bring it to the service center in another area, they will charge you for service, but not the parts under manufacturer's warranty.

As for which company to buy from, depends on what brand.
 
newwavedivers once bubbled...
About prices of equipment being cheaper or not depends on the distributors and dealers having a sale. For comparison, I recently bought a Poseidon regulator for under USD230, based on 53-1 exchange rate. Beat that price.

As for service... it is pretty standard that if you buy your equipment from another source and bring it to the service center in another area, they will charge you for service, but not the parts under manufacturer's warranty.

As for which company to buy from, depends on what brand.

In most dive shops in the Philippines, the price they give you will depend on your level. Instructors and divemasters get the biggest discount while ordinary divers would have to settle for a higher price. Well, that really sucks.

I don't think you should be charged higher just because you're just an open water diver. And one more thing. Most dealers offer almost the same prices for the same model and brand of gear (talk about price fixing). Most dive shops won't give you a more competitive price (especially if you go direct to the distributor) since according to them, they are just "protecting" their dealers.

I'm sure such business practice would have subjected these shops to charges of price-fixing/cartelization had they done this in the US.

Regards,
Swordfish
 
Swordfish

About prices for instructors and divemasters being cheaper, the reason for that is because the shops want to give incentives to the professionals, enticing them by offering lower prices in return for promoting their equipment. Nothing wrong with that.

Some instructors and divemasters actually pass on the savings to students by buying equipment for them.

As for price fixing, if you would check out the prices of several brands being sold in the Philippines in other countries, the price difference should be about constant. There is no such thing as price fixing on scuba equipment in the Philippines.

I can assure you that scuba equipment distributors are virtually killing each other and from time to time, one or a few of them would go on sale - offering discounts normally up to 30%.

There is no protection for dealers when the distributors go on sale. When this happens, the prices you can buy is virtually the same as the prices they give to their dealers.

Prices vary from country to country. You have to understand that scuba equipment are imported, and as such, subject to tax and other charges such as shipping. The companies also have to pad up their profit margin as they import by the bulk but do not sell them fast enough to recover their investment. Also, countries which have high volume of sales would be cheaper because the distributors there get their stocks cheaper than the distributors here.
 
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