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When I was in class the other day, our teacher was telling us what brands are good to look for. He started talking about how companies (as an example) will buy lots of pistons for the regs and test them and throw the crap ones out. The he talk ed of dumpster divers and how they put the junked parts in their equipment and sell it real cheap. He wouldn't name companies b/c he'd get in trouble. Can anyone give me some hints or PM me about these companies? Or heck, if you don't care, post it here.
That is the biggest bunch of horse malarky I have heard in a long while. Find a new instructor, he is either stupid or delibertly misleading you. If he is misleading you on this can you trust him with yourself and if he is stupid then the same answer applies. NO.
I was discussing equipment with him and he said that many of the online scuba equipment providers (LeisurePro, DiveSport, and other online companies) buy equipment on the "gray" market, or get equipment that was discarded by the manufacturer as defective or of lesser quality, or even produced in asia with a brand name label slapped on.
I have difficulty believing him after reading what I have on this board, but I don't want to call him out on it because I still have 13 weeks of class.
I understand that SP has a dealer agreement with the LDS, that the LDS will sell a certain percentage of SP over other brands carried by the shop and won't sell under a certain price. Is this correct?
Like Nemrod said, if he's misleading me on equipment purchases, how can I trust that this guy isn't simply full of it on other issues?
I was discussing equipment with him and he said that many of the online scuba equipment providers (LeisurePro, DiveSport, and other online companies) buy equipment on the "gray" market, or get equipment that was discarded by the manufacturer as defective or of lesser quality, or even produced in asia with a brand name label slapped on.
I've heard about that last bit but I've never seen a clone piece of equipment for real so I'm calling it an urban myth. In any case it doesn't look like a huge problem.
As for the first bit, it's a big mystery how LeisurePro gets it stuff but they get it in huge quantities and it's not stuff that didn't make it through quality testing. It's the same stuff you buy at the LDS. If everyone followed the rules then LeisurePro shouldn't be able to acquire equipment from the manufacturers, but they do. If you're cynical then you'll say that the manufacturers have a back door to LeisurePro that they're keeping mum about. If you're a little less cynical then you'll think that LeisurePro has lines out the wholesalers who have a broad interpretation of the "rules" the manufacturers try to enforce. Either way getting the genie back in the bottle isn't going to happen any time soon.
As for your instructor trying to make you afraid that LeisurePro is like a dodgy back-alley drug dealer, that's just a scare tactic to motivate you to spend money in the shop instead of spending it online. It's a common and cynical lie. It's also possible (although in my mind less likely) that your instructor simply doesn't know how it works and is just repeating what he's been told.
I understand that SP has a dealer agreement with the LDS, that the LDS will sell a certain percentage of SP over other brands carried by the shop and won't sell under a certain price. Is this correct?
Yeah, the major manufacturers all treat the LDS's like slaves and put them under huge pressure to sell sell sell.... but the LDS isn't allowed to set the minimum price..... It's a very unfair system that leaves the LDS in the impossible situation that they can't possibly compete with the grey market retailers..... and.... you guessed it, the manufacturers don't seem to want to help. They just hang the LDS's out to dry while shops like Liesurepro are left alone to control their own business.... It's a big problem.
Like Nemrod said, if he's misleading me on equipment purchases, how can I trust that this guy isn't simply full of it on other issues?
Look at this this way. Most shops run on tiny margins and making students afraid to shop online is as much a survival tactic as anything else. Just take it with a grain of salt and judge your instructor on the quality of his training.
I was discussing equipment with him and he said that many of the online scuba equipment providers (LeisurePro, DiveSport, and other online companies) buy equipment on the "gray" market, or get equipment that was discarded by the manufacturer as defective or of lesser quality, or even produced in asia with a brand name label slapped on.
I have difficulty believing him after reading what I have on this board, but I don't want to call him out on it because I still have 13 weeks of class.
I understand that SP has a dealer agreement with the LDS, that the LDS will sell a certain percentage of SP over other brands carried by the shop and won't sell under a certain price. Is this correct?
Like Nemrod said, if he's misleading me on equipment purchases, how can I trust that this guy isn't simply full of it on other issues?
no the grey area means you get no manfauctor warrienty.. but if they were selling defective stuff they would go under very fast with the lawsuits..
I can understand the theory that the LDS will scare new (and naive) students into purchasing equipment that they might recommend because they "personally" know that the equipment performs well, but what I don't understand is why the LDS or any employee there would risk losing a long term relationship with a customer that is more valuable than selling only a single set of gear for around a grand to a "newbie" only to have the customer later feel that they may have been ripped off.
The only explanation for my situation that I can think of is that my LDS deals with a lot of college students that are only around the area for a few years before moving on, so the LDS must "milk" these students for what they can to survive.
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Originally Posted by NetDoc
