You are behind on the news given that it has already happended. Scubapro does the same thing - they will make an on-line sale then route customer through a shop close to them that stocks the item.
It allows internet access, but is still in the end a face to face sales.
And lets be realistic. Scubapro recently discontinued the Terra and now has none in stock to seel throuigh authorized dealers if a customer wanted to get one through a legitamate source. Coincidentally, they showed up on Leisure Pro for $599, meaning either a lot of dealers bought the close out stock and immediately passed it on to leisure pro at very low markup, or SP sold it to LP directly.
Either way, Scubapro is very much into internet sales.
If I am behind on the news then, where is my tankless diving equipment. :shocked2:
I know all the major brands sells to online retailers but Scubapro and Aqualung are the two major manufacturers that took a very strong stand against online
purchases, not online sales. Hell it's even on their website. Before I posted this, I did a SB search for Aqualung online sales, and no one gave a link to the Aqualung Online Store.
Aqualung:
Warranty & Registration
Unauthorized Dealer Warning
Aqua Lung products are only available through authorized dealers and on the internet from the Aqua Lung Store. Any retailer that offers to sell and ship our life support products by mail, for orders placed by phone or the internet, is doing so without our permission. Such retailers are NOT authorized Aqua Lung Dealers. Only internet sales via the Aqua Lung Store are authorized and in such cases your purchase will be shipped directly from Aqua Lung to your specified address or to an authorized Aqua Lung retailer where you can pick it up. If you obtain Aqua Lung products from an unauthorized dealer your warranty will not be valid and we cannot offer you the assurances of quality and satisfaction afforded by the Aqua Lung Warranty Program. If you would like to verify whether or not a retailer is an authorized Aqua Lung Dealer, please check the dealer locator.
Scubapro:
Consumer Alerts - SCUBAPRO-UWATEC
IMPORTANT: Any SCUBAPRO or UWATEC equipment purchased from a non-aurthorized source will not be covered by the SCUBAPRO UWATEC warranties. These non-aurthorized sources include internet and direct marketing companies, who obtain our products from questionable sources and do not undergo the rigorous training programs necessary for proper representation of our products. Nor can we assure you that products obtained from these sources have not been altered or modified.
What I was refer to, Aqualung is selling online direct from their website, so they have to give warranties, unless they planned to scam a lot of people. Granted you have to select a local dealer so they can get the credit for sale. I just bought a pair of gloves, and I was charged shipping and tax, so we'll see if the product comes from the dealer I selected or some other place. I am not bad mouthing Aqualung for doing it; I am glad they did because now I can find the MSRP on their computers and regulators, without calling up the dealer who usually tells me "why don't you come on in, and we can get you a deal on it". We live in the internet age, where people communicate and buy stuff online. When I went to their website last week, they did not have the store up.
As of 7:20 am, December 16, 2009, Central Standard Time, Scubapro USA does not have a link to allow online purchasing, but they do have dealer locator, but what scuba manufacturer does not have that. After digging around, I came across a link for Scubapro Direct but the link goes to a blank white page, this might be Scubapro's online store, but I am making a big assumption on that.
