WARNING: This post got away from me!
I hate the whole brick and mortar verses internet debate. What is an internet shop? I know for a fact three of the shops mentioned in this thread, SCUBA Toys, DRIS, and Leisure Pro all have real stores that you can walk into and talk with someone and buy stuff. Usually at even better prices than what might be on the internet. I also know there are many other shops including Dive Gear Express and Cave Adventurers that are physical shops with excellent online stores and great service. All these shops treat you the same whether you call in, buy online, email them, or walk in the front door.
I don't think they should be knocked just because they have found a more efficient way of doing business while helping customers keep cost down in what is a very expensive sport. Expensive sports usually bring about educated clientele. An educated consumer will not fall for the scare tactics for long. It's a shame, I hear of so many people getting overcharged on gear with crazy markups when they get certified and that leaves a bad taste in their mouths with the LDS that did the training. If they stay with diving they usually purchase elsewhere in the future. Repeat business is the best business and the industry seems to push this away. The practices of price fixing (Let's call it what it is) and scare tactics should be done with.
There have been several shops I've walked into needing something immediately. If I ask them to match a price I often get the response, that is a counterfit, death by internet price. If you need to spend that amount we have this other over-priced POS here for you that doesn't fit your diving but its not from the internet so you won't die. At this point, if I really need it right away I suck it up and never enter the store again. Or I walk out and they lost the sale. I understand if you can't match something, but work with me without giving me the BS lines.
Money is in expendables and service. Gear doesn't need to get replaced all that often. Active divers spend money on repairs, gas, advanced training, and of course more gear. To be an active diver - diver's need gear. Active diver's also wear out, break, and dismember gear in a variety of ways. This gear needs to be replaced. Active divers also know what things cost and know when there are being overcharged. Instead of worrying about the evil internet, shops need to be more concerned with helping people remain active divers and providing fair pricing.
While we're on service . . . Lots of divers have lots of gear from various places. If you an authorized repair shop . . . don't harass me about where my gear came from. Give me a price and do the service. Imagine what would happen if car dealers started giving you crap and charging you extra on service because you bought you car used from someone else.
Luckily, there are a lot of shops that are starting to realize this. Hopefully, the gear manufacturers start to come around as well and give smaller shops the ability to compete by fixing their pricing structures. How can shops compete if there not allowed to market to larger audiences and have to sell and advertise the exact same product and the same exact price as every other shop. (Hint: Try bundling services, air fills, rental or store credits on other gear, discount on dive trips/classes). Make me feel like I'm getting a fair deal and give me a reason to come back to your shop and I'll spend money. Treat me like a mark . . . and hopefully i'll catch on and never step foot back in the shop again.
A couple of last comments:
LP does do things differently because they do offer grey market goods. But in every case they let you know what your getting and they provide their own warranty. They are also authorized dealers of lots of brands as well.
I've purchased stuff from all of the above and never had any issues and service from all three is excellent.
One last thing because this is very much becoming a rant . . . and I hear the scuba police at my front door.
If there is a demand for something, someone will always offer the service to meet the demand. As long as there are diver's diving in your area, there will be shops filling tanks. All industries need to evolve and I think we are starting to reach the peak of this evolution in the SCUBA industry. Those that don't evolve will become extinct, but life will go on.
So yes to OP, I wouldn't worry about your purchase.
