Buying some equipment

[scubajb]

Hey all,

Stupid questions I'm sure but I need some help. Very recently certified so not a lot of experience with teh array of choices out there in equipment.

Live in a small town. Local lake, reservoir diving. We travel quite a bit to the Bahamas and Mexico so whatever we buy needs to be able to work there as well. My interest is to do quite a bit of wreck diving, in time. My son, junior diver wants to dive with me all the time. My wife likes to dive and really a warm water enthusiast. So much for the background!

We are wanting to buy 3 full packages. Already have masks, snorkels, and fins. now we want to buy BCD's, regulators, computers, etc. We have the dive shop that we were certified about 2 1/2 hours from us. Or we can go to a city about 4 hours the other direction that has some dive stores. Then, we have scuba.com, scubapro.com, etc. Do you recommend buying through the dive shop (which will be somewhat more money) or going through the scuba.com route (saving quite a bit of money)? I am thinking of service issues, etc. Plus, I don't want to upset the dive shop by buying elsewhere - they are a great group of people. If I buy from the scuba.com type of store, is the equipment universally servicable? Don't mind spending a little extra if that is the best way to go. Any recommendations?

Excited,
Jim

 

[scoobadiva]

Hi Jim! I'm a newbie as well and recently bought all my equipment. My suggestion would be to go to dive shop and have them work up the entire package for you..nuts to bolts...then research online if you can get it for a better price. Most shops will match the price on the internet if you can prove it, which would be easy to do. Which is what I did. If they are a reputable shop, they totally understand the cost factors involved and will not want to lose your business. I'm sure others have bought their equipment on the internet, but unless you really know what you want and what will work best for you, I suggest going through the shop. Ask them for a deal, especially with all you're buying, I doubt it would be a problem.. I'm sure you'll get some great advice from others with more experience, but as a newbie, it's a bit daunting and overwhelming. By the way, love the area you're in. I have a townhouse in Jackson Hole. GREAT Skiing! Good luck to ya! Christine

 

[Homunculus]

i bought ~70% of all of my scuba equipment on-line. i have great respect for LDS and i buy things that i have to try from them (fins, exposure suit, mask). if you know exactly what you want to buy (brand, sizes, color, etc etc) i'd go with the internet unless you can get the same or cheaper from your not so local DS
make sure you get a warranty that you're happy with if buying on-line. not all stores are authorized dealers, so do a good check of the store.

 

[adjuster-jd]

I would certainly encourage you to try to make a deal with your LDS. With the size of the package you would be purchasing, I would think they can make you a pretty good deal.
Keep in mind that your LDS does have more overhead than the online vendors, but they also are there to help fit you with the gear, make recommendations, provide service after the sale - both with assembly and testing of the package, etc.
Also, it is sometimes common that gear might need some minor adjustments, etc. Your LDS will be there to make these adjustments, etc.
That having been said, it will likely cost a little bit more to purchase locally, but you will get local service. With this volume of a purchase, I would hope your LDS can be competitive on the price.

 

[ekewaka]

For the type of diving you are doing, you should really look into getting a backplate wing rig. It works great for singles and doubles. Don't make the mistake of buying lower quality gear now, and thinking you will upgrade later. You will only spend a lot more money that way.

If your dive shop gets upset when you buy something on the internet, or if they act like you owe them a living, then they may not be as great as you think they are. I like my lds, and I spend a lot of money there, but I don't buy everything from them. Sometimes they don't stock the brand that I want, or their prices are a lot higher than internet prices. I am willing top pay a little more to buy something locally, but if what they have is not exactly what I want, or if I have to pay hundreds of dollars more for it, then I will buy it on the internet.

Some people say that they respect their lds and it is better than buying buying on the internet, but that does not help you if their lds is half way across the country. All shops are different. Just because someone else likes his lds, that doesn't automatically mean that yours is the same. If you like your lds, then buy from them, but don't let them guilt you into buying something you don't want or need.

 

[jsmharley]

I have bought a mix of LDS and on-line for my self and girlfriend. Our bc's, wetsuits, fins, mask came from lds. Our regs, lights, spools, smb and other misc items came form online mostly from Scubatoys.com. Our regs get serviced locally so don't let anyone scare about not having a warranty. Scubatoys is authorized dealer for all the sell. I say go for the best bang for your buck, its alot of oney for this sport ecspecially when your getting multiples of things. Hope this helps some.

 

[musicalmike]

There are some great deals on the internet and most of what you buy can be serviced by your LDS. As stated earlier you may need to have your equipment tweeked a little or need a differsnt size. If you buy from the internet and you get the product in and it's not working, then what do you do? You can always buy cheaper on the internet, but as said before, many of these guys have no over-head. Think about this. If everyone purchased gear on the internet rather then the LDS, the local dive store would eventually go out of business. Dive stores can not make money on instruction alone. If you don't have dive stores, where can you get instruction.........on the internet? Many stores will match internet pricing, so work up the sale with your store and I'm sure they can be competitive.

 

[ekewaka]

If you don't have dive stores, where can you get instruction.........

A dive shop is not the only place you can go for training. Some of the best instructors are not attached to a shop.

 

[mph005]

It's one thing to "support your local dive shop", and another thing to actually be able to afford what you want. You can get great prices online, but be careful who you buy from. There are plenty of grey market dealers who aren't authorized by the manufacturer to sell, and you might be out of luck when you try to get some warranty service. Plus, I had a nightmare of an experience with scuba.com when the sent me the wrong BC after I placed a huge package order, and took over a month to get resolved (finally had to write the owner an email to get anything done). That being said, scubatoys.com is awesome all around.

But, give you're LDS a chance to price match, most will. Plus, certain manufacturers (Oceanic is one) have strict prices that (authorized) resellers have to follow, so the price online vs LDS may be very close. Still, if you end up saving several hundred dollars online, there's nothing wrong with that in my opinion.

 

[philmayer]

I'm a strong proponent of supporting your local dive shop. But if the nearest shop is 2.5 hours away, that's not very local!

Make sure if you're buying on the Internet that the seller you purchase from is an authorized retailer for the manufacturer.