Buying a Reg Online

[echerk]

I've also bought a regulator online lately.
I've found that the cheapest deal you can get is on Ebay.
A lot of people think that ebay is mostly used stuff so they don't check it for life-support equipment. But the truth is that there's a lot of shops there that sell brand newe equipment for a lot less than any other online/offline shop.

 

[Web Monkey]

I've also bought a regulator online lately.
I've found that the cheapest deal you can get is on Ebay.
A lot of people think that ebay is mostly used stuff so they don't check it for life-support equipment. But the truth is that there's a lot of shops there that sell brand newe equipment for a lot less than any other online/offline shop.

The truth is that you have no way of knowing anything about an eBay item unless you have it disassembled.

I bought a cannister light on eBay that almost burned my house down. After the charger caught fire, I took it apart and found that the fuse had been bypassed with a piece of wire.

Your eBay reg could be brand-new, or used in salt water and left to dry in the back yard for a few years, or been flooded and ignored or have stripped threads or be internally damaged or stolen.

The point is that your bargain needs to have the price of a complete rebuild factored in to the purchase price, and you have to be willing to take the risk that you'll send them your money and have nothing to show for it.

Terry

 

[Texas Girl]

Are there any brands that are difficult to get repaired while you travel? In other words, they are US brands that you wouldn't be able to find parts for while on vacation. I have a sherwood and blew a seat while in Bonaire; the shop had it fixed in a few hours. What brands in general can you find throughout the world?

 

[jsado]

I bought every last piece of my scuba gear online and most of it from eBay sellers. My Oceanic excursion BC, GT3 reg and CDX5, Veo 100nx computer and Air XS2 all came straight from an eBay store. I got it for what I consider to be an amazing deal - $800.00. The BC alone goes for $525 @ retail costs! All the equipment has full warranty paperwork that they sent in and I got copy of. Plus, everything has paperwork indicating that it was all tested and in proper working order prior to shipment.

Do your research before you buy. My lds was twice the cost and wouldn't budge. Pretty ridiculous if you ask me. Even more frustrating is that the same lds wants $550.00 for the PADI cert.

 

[Marek K]

I definitly do NOT recommend the Mares Rebel.

Ah but, see, ScubaToys had real nice things to say about the Mares R2 Rebel (entry-level unbalanced piston) when I bought two from them a couple years ago for my wife and daughter. Shallow, recreational, warm-water diving.

We've had no reason to complain thus far.

What have you found?

--Marek

 

[ReefHound]

The truth is that you have no way of knowing anything about an eBay item unless you have it disassembled.

The truth is that there is no such thing as an "eBay item", there are items for sale by Ebay sellers who come in all shapes and sizes. Ebay is a venue not a vendor. Do your basic consumerism and separate the wheat from the chaffe, just like you do on the general internet or the general B&M market.

Some of the biggest online vendors like LeisurePro and Scuba.com sell on Ebay, they are not selling used equipment that was "used in salt water and left to dry in the back yard for a few years". There are plenty of brand-new items available from many reputable sellers and it's ridiculous to say a "complete rebuild" needs to be factored in to the purchase price. Unless you have an inability to distinguish from a legitimate dealer selling new gear from an ex-diver or salvager pawning off old crap.

 

[Tim Greaves]

My buddy bought some Scubapro regs from leisurepro.com and they work great.. Leisure pro also will service the regs for you but he just takes them to the LDS and gets them serviced..

I bought my OMS bc from leisurepro.com and it was perfect and delivered quickly..

 

[Web Monkey]

The truth is that there is no such thing as an "eBay item", there are items for sale by Ebay sellers who come in all shapes and sizes. Ebay is a venue not a vendor. Do your basic consumerism and separate the wheat from the chaffe, just like you do on the general internet or the general B&M market.

That's exactly my point. Buying something on eBay is no more reliable than buying something at a flea market. The individual sellers can be selling you absolutely anything or nothing.

Terry

 

[RonFrank]

ScubaDiving magazine does some nice reviews on regs.

http://www.scubadiving.com/regulators

I like Zeagle, and dive a 50D/ZX. I like Scubatoys, and if I had to do it all over again, I'd likely just call them up, and take their recommendation.

Using an LDS generally limits you to the brands they carry which for most LDS's means two, or maybe three manufactures. If price is your main objective, the Zeagle Envoy is a great reg for the $$$, but it is not sealed.

Good Luck!

 

[muddiver]

When I got really serious about SCUBA diving back before the Internet had pictures, I bought a full set of gear from someone via the newspaper classified adds. My point is that if you are broke (i.e. student, part-time employed, a Divemaster, etc.) buy your gear used. Then just toss the parts that don't fit, are worn or you don't trust and take the regulators to your local dive shop and have them rebuilt. I've been diving a used Sherwood Blizzard regulator set since around 1995 and it works just fine. It's the parts that get replaced during a service that wear out so the hard portions of the equipment will last forever.

I did have to buy a new BC after about five years, because the bladder in the old Sherwood vest became brittle and ripped.

You can also get good stuff like masks at Play-It-Again Sports or other stores that re-sell sporting goods. I got a TUSA Liberator mask there for about $10 and bought a new silicone skirt for it through the local dive shop. It worked just fine for years. I think I even still have it some where.