First time shopping at the LDS. I didn't do well, lesson learned.

[RAWalker]

Returns are just part of doing a retail business.
I have no problem with someone returning unused goods.
How many of you have tried on shoes at a local store only to purchase them later at another store for whatever reason?
For those people that want to save their hard earn money, the internet gives them some extra tools to do so. If making purchases online becomes too slow or impractical because of sizing then people will pay more for the service. On the other hand if a LDS can't purchase goods at the lowest cost because they don't move enough merchandise then they may need to be price competative to make more sales and get the cost discounts and make their profits on volume.

 

[Ben_ca]

A proper fit is important yes...

But without having access to a pool or a particular model of gear in the rental fleet annoys me. I could care less how the BC/Reg/Fin feels while we're on the showroom floor... I want to be able to test it out in the water where it's really gonna count....

 

[shoturtle]

Totally wrong analogy, but thanks for playing. Does your wife go to Nordstroms to get the perfect fit on a new dress, only to go home and buy it online b/c she likes that price better? That's lame. I hope your wife isn't that lame. Hopefully the OP realizes he was being lame and stops. Lame is lame.

Like TSandM, this just doesn't strike me as ethical behavior.

It does not matter why, it is the right of the buyer to return. We live in a free society, as longs as it is unused, there is no foul. Nordstrom's return policy just ask that it is unused. He is using the same policy all retailer use in the US. What makes a LDS have special privilages? And the US economy is more of a service economy, so if we do not get the service we expect there is someone else willing to provide the service we expect.

And if it was about ethical behavior, the shop should not have stuck the mask scrub in his cart to get the extra couple of bucks. That is really lame of the lds. OP did keep the big ticket item, that gives him some creditability for those who believe in supporting the old fashion LDS.

 

[Rainer]

It does not matter why, it is the right of the buyer to return. We live in a free society, as longs as it is unused, there is no foul. Nordstrom's return policy just ask that it is unused. He is using the same policy all retailer use in the US. What makes a LDS have special privilages? And the US economy is more of a service economy, so if we do not get the service we expect there is someone else willing to provide the service we expect.

And if it was about ethical behavior, the shop should not have stuck the mask scrub in his cart to get the extra couple of bucks. That is really lame of the lds. OP did keep the big ticket item, that gives him some creditability for those who believe in supporting the old fashion LDS.

Right, we can't legislate against being a loser. Feel free to "use" the LDS because you're a cheap *****. No one will will arrest you (yup, free society), but doing so most definitely makes you a loser.

This isn't an issue about supporting an LDS. It's about (1) not being so lazy as not to do your HW on price before showing up, and (2) taking advantage of a shop to get what online can never offer (the ability to try something on). If you're new to any "activity" you should be doing MORE homework than ever.

How you can think it's unethical for a shop to sell something to someone who was too ignorant or lazy to know the price (a whole $1.50 more than he could have gotten online) and yet totally willing to pay is beyond me.

 

[almitywife]

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...

i really think its important to recap what OP said

his post is quite apologetic for HIS mistakes

you know my thoughts.... hes a newbie, hes learning, lets cut him some slack

 

[shoturtle]

Right, we can't legislate against being a loser. Feel free to "use" the LDS because you're a cheap *****. No will will arrest you (yup, free society), but doing so most definitely makes you a loser.

This isn't an issue about supporting an LDS. It's about (1) not being so lazy as not to do your HW on price before showing up, and (2) taking advantage of a shop to get what online can never offer (the ability to try something on).

If you want to get personal it up to you. It the net, and it does not matter to me if I get personal attacks. I have never went down to the level of name call, seems senseless.

To me it about the service, best buy will refund you the differece of an item within 14 day, if you find the item you bought advertise for less. Will any LDS do that? It is not about be lazy, he was over zealous and rush. He made a mistake, and in the good old USA we then to forgive the first mistake.

I notice you did not comment about the mask scrub. Wonder why?

 

[Rainer]

I notice you did not comment about the mask scrub. Wonder why?

It was so absurd I didn't think it needed comment at first. Go back and see; I addressed it just for you.

 

[Rainer]

To me it about the service, best buy will refund you the differece of an item within 14 day, if you find the item you bought advertise for less. Will any LDS do that? It is not about be lazy, he was over zealous and rush.

Again, just a horrible analogy. And this isn't personal in the least. Look, Best Buy isn't going out of their way to sell you the product in most cases. But, if you spent a few hours at BB (or any shop) asking all kinds of questions and getting really good personal advice, only to turn around and go online to buy it to save some dough, ignoring all the time spent in the store, well, yeah, I do think that's really lame.

And I know of at least a few LDSs that WOULD most certainly refund a difference in price if you found it elsewhere for cheaper. I know just as many that will price match online if you simply ask. Those issues are orthogonal to what happened in this case.

 

[shoturtle]

I think fleecing a newbie is way more unethical, if your stance it ethics. If you chose the ethical point, LDS should be promoting Scuba and sell things at a fair price, instead of fleecing the newbies. I pretty sure when a LDS looks at a new student, the see the dollor signs, how much I can fleece from them on equipment. So where is the ethics in that?

Do not preach ethics when you are all for fleecing a newbie, trying to learn the sport.

 

[Rainer]

I think fleecing a newbie is way more unethical, if your stance it ethics. If you chose the ethical point, LDS should be promoting Scuba and sell things at a fair price, instead of fleecing the newbies. I pretty sure when a LDS looks at a new student, the see the dollor signs, how much I can fleece from them on equipment. So where is the ethics in that?

Do not preach ethics when you are all for fleecing a newbie, trying to learn the sport.

It's not fleecing. For you to think it unethical for a retailer to charge a price, in plain view of the customer, and then have the customer willingly pay that price is nuts. Do you seriously need someone to hold your hand when shopping? It's not like any of this is hidden info. And seriously, do some homework, of retail businesses, scuba has amongst the lowest mark ups. Do you feel fleeced buying clothes that cost 1/10 what you pay? Same for food? Your house? Really, your stance on the shop charging a reasonable amount (and those prices ARE reasonable, just higher than online--gasp, where you can't try things on!) just doesn't have any traction. Again, thanks for playing. Welcome to economics and free market society. If you want a nanny state, go elsewhere.