Anyone have trouble with online SCUBA store??

[RTee]

Me and my GF have bought five regs on line altogether, 2 BP&W, a replacement mask, a wetsuit and a drysuit, just to name a few items. They all were bought new and in the process, I dealt with five different online agencies including LP, Cave Adventurers, DRIS and Zeagle Express. I would not have second thoughts ordering from any of these places again.

 

[RonFrank]

Grey market has nothing to do with who you purchased it from or if they were authorized. It is purchasing gear that was intended for sale in another country. So if you purchase a camera from China that is likely Grey Market. If you purchase a Zeagle reg from a non authorized dealer that is not Grey. The regulator was made in the USA and sold in the USA by an unauthorized dealer but otherwise a USA product. Authorized dealer has nothing to do with with Grey Market. Authorized dealers like B&H sell both Grey and USA warranted stuff. So you can purchase a Nikon 60mm f2.8 in both Grey and USA models.

With scuba gear grey market makes little difference. The exception is dive computers and maybe wetsuits/fins where the sizing is labeled based on a country's standards. Other than that who cares where a mask was intended to be sold as it does not change the product. So a camera may have menus supporting French in France. It would matter a lot if you purchased that camera grey, live in the US, and it had no English option. It also matters when the warranty is for China and you live in the US. This means if you purchase a camera from China there is a very good chance you will have to mail it to China for service under warranty.

Grey market does not matter much in Dive Gear as who cares if your BC speaks Spanish!

However I do not think the dive industry has the grey market issue that the electronic industry has. Its a confusing issue and even scuba dealers do not understand what grey market is. It has nothing to do with authorized or MAP..... those terms are worst than Grey!

 

[Dive the World]

i have bought 2 first stages, 3 second stages, SPG, and bunch of other stuff from Scuba Toys. They were GREAT to deal with and all equipment works great - no problems at all.
I would buy from them again and again and would recommend them.

 

[James R]

disregard

 

[chrpai]

agreed

 

[redacted]

I was at my local dive shop last just chatting and I made mention that I bought myself a new reg (Cressi Ellipse Titanium) and that I got a fairly good deal on it from LeisurePro, $100 off since it was marked as used but in like new condition. After I said that he had a funny look on his face so I asked if he had heard bad things about it? He said that one of his friends had bought a reg (Atomic something or nother) from one of the online stores (Scubatoys i think... not trying to name bash or anything, just relaying the story) and had gotten a good deal on it but when he went to use it, it was breathing hard. So with this he took it to his dealer to have it repaired and the guy said the internals were gutted and replace with some junk components. Because of this, the guy from my dive shop didn't trust the online stores for important things like regs and such.

My long winded question is this... has this happened to anyone else? Is this fairly common? I'm a little nervous now about my purchase and wondering if its misplaced.

You are not alone. I have heard quite a few tall stories at LDSs and have heard of many more from others.

The specific line of crap you were fed is not uncommon and has quite a few variations like rusting springs and levers. It is not that defective components are unheard of, but they are provided by the manufacturer rather than some "unscrupulous" online dealer.

You need to find a new shop. Yours will likely treat you poorly in the future for being a disloyal customer who broke your LDS vows.

---------- Post Merged at 11:34 AM ---------- Previous Post was at 11:28 AM ----------

You think THAT is bad? I ordered one of those mail order Brides off the internet once...talk about worn out and gutted parts!

Did the wife take that news any better than the LDS?

 

[jbomb001]

i bought my first set of EVERYTHING online in a package deal for about 1200 bucks. not bad equipment not the best. i did however have a problem with my intergrated inflator the purge button fell off after 6 dives... should i had haven to need my backup reg i would have gotton nothing more then a lung of water.. this was a mares reg/inflator i have sense gotten a atomic ss1 and a scuba pro set and moved my "online reg" to my pony and tossed my mares air intergrated inflator in a drawer and have not looked at it sense

 

[Dive the World]

i bought my first set of EVERYTHING online in a package deal for about 1200 bucks. not bad equipment not the best. i did however have a problem with my intergrated inflator the purge button fell off after 6 dives... should i had haven to need my backup reg i would have gotton nothing more then a lung of water.. this was a mares reg/inflator i have sense gotten a atomic ss1 and a scuba pro set and moved my "online reg" to my pony and tossed my mares air intergrated inflator in a drawer and have not looked at it sense

WOW - integrated inflater - thats school - do people still use them?

 

[NAM001]

Since the names were brought up.....I have used both leisurepro and scubatoys and have had nothing but good experiences with them. Heck i buy from scubatoys and it is on my doorstep the following day in nit the next. They have my vote of confidence.

 

[NJDiver_Chris]

I've bought stuff from my LDS, Ebay, LeisurePro, and Scuba.com, never had any trouble with the gear. All the stuff i've bought online came sealed in the box and was brand new, I recommend people buy online because its so much cheaper. As was said though, don't mention buying stuff online, some dive shop owners get annoyed. If asked where I got something i normally just say it was a gift or a friend sold it to me.