"Unsafe At Any Depth? Mail-Order BCs" - Huh??

[QKRTHNU]

http://www.scubadiving.com/gear/mailorderBCs/

So What's Wrong With Mail Order?
Ordering products to be received through the mail has long been a valuable part of our economic distribution system. From the days when a farmer would order seeds from a catalog to today's toll-free numbers, fax and internet orders, mail order has served us well, especially for specialty and hard-to-get items. In remote areas, mail order is sometimes the only viable alternative. But when it comes to scuba life-support equipment, mail order is on very shaky ground.
Consider this: Two years ago we tested the five best private-label mail-order regulators. None of the five was recommended for purchase. We pointed out that several name-brand regulators, previously selected as Tester's Choices and Best Buys, were available at dive stores in the same price range as mail-order regs.

Same for the BCs tested here. Even if these six were offered for sale in a professional dive store, they would still be substandard. But in that same dive store, you could find BCs that have made our Tester's Choice and Best Buy lists in the same price range as these mail-order ones.

Ok, is this article just hogwash or am I missing something?

Why would a product purchased mail-order be any different than one from an LDS?

[MechDiver]

The article is talking about private label items that you cannot get in a LDS, primarily because, as the article again states, they are junk.

There is no difference between mainstream goods purchased mail order and the same items in an LDS, other than warrenty in some cases.

MD

[ckharlan66]

They seem to be referring to products that are only available through mail order. Not the manufactures that are being sold through both.

Or am I misunderstanding it?

Chad

[metridium]

Shame their scaremongering tactics didn't involve testing my 'mail-order' Halcyon BP/wings, or my 'mail-order' Apeks regs, or my 'mail-order' DUI drysuit.



Their choice of terms leaves a lot to be desired.

[gfisher4792]

I definitely consider mail order/online purchases a viable option. With that in mind, I would rather purchase the critical life support gear (BC, reg, etc.) from an LDS. Cons: More expense, wait longer to afford desired gear. Pros: Peace of mind, doing my little part to support the LDS.

With all other support gear (clips, slate, etc.), I'm pretty much dealing out my cash online, and in the long run, I figure I save a ton of money anyway.

However, I know a lot of people who have purchased regs and bc's online and not one has had trouble with theirs.

[ElectricZombie]

The article is correct in that most "off brand" BCs are probably junk. I would not buy any piece of gear that I had never heard of via mail order.

The debate isn't mail order vs. LDS, it's junk gear vs. quality gear.

[leadweight]

One could reasonably draw the conclusion that the issue is quality gear vs private label junk. However, the tone of the article definitely was intended to condemn mail order sales.

I suspect that the reviewers were intentionally hard on everything to boot.

Things have changed since that article was written. Some legitimate manufacturers (Scubapro and Aqualung) have become strident about prohibiting mail order sales while others, particularly in the tech diving area, have embraced it.

[gfisher4792]

Yes, it's funny how in their review section, all of the BC's listed are private "junk" bc's that any self respecting diver wouldn't want to use; but on the opening page, they have an random list of name brand BC's, to draw the reader into thinking that the article reviewed good brand BC's that they got through the mail.

[norcaldiver]

I thought it was pretty cut and dry.

We ordered the six best private-label jacket-style BCs from the six leading mail-order discount catalogs.

and

BC'ing you? Not with any of these six private-label BCs available through mail-order, we hope.

Then if you click on the BCs in review link, the 1st thing listed is the BCs in review...

Berry Scuba Traveler
Divers Discount Supply Ocean Quest Pro
Divers Supply Sea Elite Quest Plus
Leisure Pro Blue Reef Admiral
Mr. Diver Pro Duck Black Shadow
Performance Diver Solace Pro

Weird, but then again, I just read it for what it is, and don't try to read into everything..especially scubalab results.

[OglalaDiver]

I didnt get out of the article that it was the mail-order process of buying gear that was bad, but the gear that is available only through mail-order, i.e., private label gear thats bad. You can order ScubaPro, Aqua-lung, whatever name brand gear through the mail and be fine. Its the stuff like.."Bob's Regulators" or "Joe's SCUBA Manufacturing" that they are talking about.