Today was the day, so I went to the LDS to buy my first wetsuit. I felt like a child going to the candy store with the pockets full of hard-earned quarters. And I even had my wife's approval. "Shop for what you need and make sure you buy it ONCE", which means, buy good stuff. Oh yeah!:monkeydan. I found a nice, professional and attentive lady at the shop. So I tried a Scubapro wetsuit 3mm everflex steamer that fit me perfectly. (Tonight I'll sleep into it. Eh eh).
$273 + taxes.
Ok, since I'm here and the lady is very helpful let's see if I can get other basic stuff.
Boots $45
Tusa fins x-pert zoom yellow $189.00
Tusa Mask splendive 2 $72.00
Mask scrub $3.00
Mask defog500 psi $ 7.00
and the bag! $46.25 (bag tilos mesh side zipper)
I even went "Ma'am, I'm buying quite a bit of stuff here, I mean, are your price competitive?" (I know, it's a stupid question, what kind of answer do I expect...)
"Oh yeah our prices are veeeeery good".
Ok, paid $635.25 plus taxes. :confused6 I'd better to be nice to my wife for a long while because I have to explain the extra purchases.
Here is the traumatic, for me, part.
I go back to my office, which is near the LDS.
"Let me check how good I did". I checked on the internet and I found out that I didn't do really good.
Tusa fins paid $189.00 plus taxes. At Leisurepro.com they cost $149 with free delivery.
Tusa Mask splendive 2 paid $ 72.00 plus taxes. Leisurepro.com $36.95.
Two items, already wasted, included taxes, around $80.00.
I didn't have the guts to check how much more I paid on the other stuff. Please don't tell me.
Well, I went back to the shop, this time less enthusiastic, to return fins and mask. This after two hours from the time of purchase. They offered store credit. I made a funny face. They gave me a full refund. I said thank you and apologized for the trouble. I kept the rest of the stuff.
First time i return something in 10+ years I live in the U.S..
Lesson number one. I'll do my homework, read more scubaboard.com more, go to the shop prepared.
Lesson number two. Try to win my enthusiasm and don't buy anything before you check other sources. If not, I'll be broke even before my first dive.
I still support my LDS because it's important to have a LDS nearby, I don't believe I was ripped-off; they simply cannot be competitive against an online store because of the higher overhead. I'm ready to pay a little extra for the time the salespeople take to explain and to make me try and answer to my questions. A little extra Not that much extra.
Oh well, lesson learned, let's move on.
Sorry guys for the long post. Newbie pain...
)
...and the days go by, water flowing under ground, into the blue again, into the silent water, under the rocks and stones, there is water underground... - talking heads
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