Am I obligated to buy gear from my LDS?

[zaberman1]

How about you just go to your lds and say I can get x elsewhere for y and see if they can price match or at least drop it down a little...

 

[gearhound]

I don't think you understand that she is in the middle of the Canadian prairies. Not a lot of beautiful reefs to dive there. So, dive shops are few and far between and perhaps the only game in town. If you enjoy the convenience of having one around, you need to support it. Within reason of course. Are you obligated? No. Should you make an attempt? Yes. And as already discussed, there are costs for shipping and importing. And servicing is a big thing. If the shop won't service your gear, where else are you going to take it? You're in the middle of the prairies. Ship it off? That $60 rebuild now becomes $120 after shipping. This is something you need to factor into the cost of your purchase.

 

[gearhound]

Holy crap! People are fast with their posts. My posts are obsolete as soon as I post

 

[SkimFisher]

I understand where you're coming from, and would probably do things similarly if I was in your shoes. But please remember that not all of us live near an ocean where dive shops/clubs/divers are probably a dime a dozen and there's lots of selection and competitive pricing. *so jealous*

I just thought I should bring up that point since I know there are land-locked divers like me elsewhere who share similar problems. Maintaining relationships seems to be pretty important when the diving biz and community are small. Please correct me if I'm wrong.

You're absolutely correct. Two different locales. You're in an entirely different boat. I should have probably prefaced my post with that.

 

[DiveDocMD]

When I bought my last reg I shopped around online and then printed out the best deal for the regulator I wanted. I took this to the LDS. He's a businessman. He wants the business. He knows if he treats me right, I'll treat him right. He met the online price. I'll wager he still made a profit! I stop in there with frequency and that's where I spend money on training. That's where I pick up the little things without having to pay shipping cost (and are likely his greater markup items too).

 

[breechan]

When I bought my last reg I shopped around online and then printed out the best deal for the regulator I wanted. I took this to the LDS. He's a businessman. He wants the business. He knows if he treats me right, I'll treat him right. He met the online price. I'll wager he still made a profit! I stop in there with frequency and that's where I spend money on training. That's where I pick up the little things without having to pay shipping cost (and are likely his greater markup items too).

I like this approach! I think when the time comes, I'll take some online printouts of regs I'd like to consider...talk it over with the owner and see what kind of deal he's willing to give me.

[rant] I don't feel comfortable just asking for a discount....reminds me of when I worked for a big-box sporting goods store and people would ask for discounts on everything...even socks! It used to annoy me so much since I had no authority to change the price in the computer!

 

[Hatul]

Hello all, appreciate any advice you can give.

Some background:

I recently completed my OW cert in Autumn, and did a bunch of dives on a trip to Australia so I'm still pretty new at diving. I have a 3mm suit, mask, snorkel, fins and booties. Since I live on the Canadian prairies, there's a small diving community and not a lot of competition. I'm a member of my local LDS club which organizes winter pool dives and fun events, lake dives in the summer and trips. I'm really enthusiastic about SCUBA but don't have tons of money to spend.

My question is whether I'm sort of obligated to buy from them. I would want to have my gear serviced by my LDS of course. I'm wondering if I I showed up at the shop wanting to have a reg serviced that I bought off scubatoys (way better prices), would that be taboo? Would they give me a hard time?

Also, would it be a suitable compromise if I bought my regs at the LDS and bought my BC and console online?

Am I stressing too much over something thats not really that big of a deal?

I just don't want to do something rude or taboo unknowingly. Someone on the scubachat told me yesterday that asking my LDS about used gear was taboo....whoops! aranoid:

Can I ask you which city you're in and where do you plan to dive?

Adam

 

[rodman4085]

How much maintenance does your mask, fins, snorkel, and wet suit require? Worry about your air rig, and if the locals don't like your outside purchases, show them the invoices on like minded equipment....I saved quite a bit on my recent fins purchase...and there is no maintenace/warranty issues with those....ever....using the online guys....one instructor locally said that "we all go online, just don't bring it up!"...This from a LDS with 3 shops in a 2 county span.....in Wisconsin!(I leave for Cancun in 10 1/2 hours......

 

[Papa_Bear]

Maybe not all, but if your LDS supports you (Diving community, Clubs, Air, etc.)then yes only if you want it to be there when you need it to be! So should you support any local business in your community? I say yes the job you save maybe your own!

 

[MuddyRubberDuck]

I always like to go with my LDS. This is not where I got certified. I refuse to use his shop anymore. He constantly complains the whole time I'm in there about how hard his life is and how online is going to put him out of business. This coming from a guy who refuses to sell anything but scubapro at outragous prices and never wants to help out. If you take gear for service that you didn't buy there, he either wond do it or will make you wait..... Months.
On the other hand. The guy I use is very friendly and helps me ou when ever I need it. Just the other day he repaired my girls bc for free. I went in there to buy a new pod for my spg. He noticed it needed som orings replaced for free. It's these little things that don't cost him much but he decided to do for free b/c he could that made me buy a full set of gear soley from him. Could I have spent a hundred less online after shipping. Sure. When I agreed to buy a whole package from him. Bc regs mask knife ect. He offered me 20% off. Cool. Now like I said, I could have save a couple bucks. But you know what, he's always willing to go the extra mile for me. So why shouldn't I help him out? He's always willing to sit down and explain anything I need to know. And if I need something done, he takes care of me. If this sounds like your lds, talk to them see if you can get a package price. If it's only a few bucks and it won't bankrupt you, support him. If it sounds like that first guy, buy everything you can online IMO. Serves him right for being a PITA.

Ps sorry for grammar. I typed from my iPhone and didn't proofread.