Is leisurepro.com the best place to buy?

[Moogyboy]

Clarification: since I've started diving I've only ever owned two regulator setups, both Dacors, both ex-rental, from my LDS. I have no idea if they were still under warranty, but every time I've taken them in I've paid for parts and labor, unless I'm mistaken. The whole new gear/warranty thing is new for me. I don't know what to expect when it comes to warranty work, whether LDS's will work on something at all or if they'll just charge me full price, etc....bear with me, folks.

Billy S.

 

[outlawaggie]

Clarification: since I've started diving I've only ever owned two regulator setups, both Dacors, both ex-rental, from my LDS. I have no idea if they were still under warranty, but every time I've taken them in I've paid for parts and labor, unless I'm mistaken. The whole new gear/warranty thing is new for me. I don't know what to expect when it comes to warranty work, whether LDS's will work on something at all or if they'll just charge me full price, etc....bear with me, folks.

Billy S.

bear in mind that yearly service and warranty work are two different things.

 

[Sean326]

Question is this: I have heard that on at least some brands LP is not an authorized dealer, the manufacturer's warranty isn't included, their own warranty is worthless when it comes to getting stuff serviced locally,

Well so how do you get LL Bean, Cabellas, Dell etc... stuff warrantee work done locally??? You don't... when my son's laptop from dell broke I sent it in for service... When I bought my last hunting coat from cabellas and it was the wrong size I sent it back for another. When the pressure gage on the transfer whip from LP was malfunctioning I sent it back and LP sent me another. (in fact they sent me the replacement whip before I even got around to sending the faulty one back) When the drysuit I ordered from them did not fit right I sent it back and they sent me another. They are a very good mail order/ website / retail dive shop just like all the other vendors we all deal with on a day in day out basis.... no more no less..

Service you can always get locally, no dive shop is going to turn away service business. A billable shop hour is a billable shop hour whether they sold the item or not.

the merchandise is gray market at best or outright subpar forgeries at worst, etc. Assuming it's all true (is it?)

I've bought so much stuff from LP it's insane (at least thats what my wife says) I mean Zeagle regs, Poseidon regs, US divers regs, dive computers, consoles, suits (dry & wet) boots, reels fins etc. not just for me but for my diving kids. I've never gotten anything from them except brand new in the box original stuff. I always fill out their warranty registration card and I also register with the manufacturer and I've never gotten a call or note saying my registration was invalid because i bought the product at LP.

what does that actually mean for me as an owner of this gear who has to get it serviced? I wonder if it's really enough to make me leery of going to them for, say, a reg. This is a stupid question, the "no stupid wuestions" axiom notwithstanding.
cheers
Billy S.

As far as getting stuff serviced you should always get it done at a factory trained / authorized service center / shop.

for example if the LDS only sells and services SP and Dacor regs I would not want them to service my Poseidon's or Zeagles...

Also, if your LDS does just sell for example SP/ Dacor / US divers etc... and possibly because of your diving interest it turns out that an OMS or Poseidon reg is the best choice for you do you think that your LDS is going to try and get you one??? no way he is going to try to sell you what he has in the display case even if it's not the perfect product for your needs.

 

[rescuediver009]

My LDS will not budge from selling at MSRP. Yet the owners drive around in brand new H2's. Now try and tell me these LDS owners are not making money.

I try and support them as much as I can afford, accessories, service, air fills, etc..., but I am not going to pay 20 to 30% above "street pricing" on major purchases, so I can watch them cruise around in vehicles that cost more than half of what I paid for my house.

While I agree that LP is not the place to buy for previously mentioned concerns, I also agree with this. These guys are likely taking advantage of the fact that they are the only place around or ripping off all the new, more gullable divers. I don't blame you.

 

[aaronlinder]

Not that this will change anyone's mind or necessarily should, but I just callled Aqualung and Scubapro, and they confirmed that dealers are only authorized to give a 10% discount on their products. If a dealer goes to a higher level discount the warranty is null and void. This policy is of course depends on the company. I only called two of them.

 

[ShakaZulu]

Not that this will change anyone's mind or necessarily should, but I just callled Aqualung and Scubapro, and they confirmed that dealers are only authorized to give a 10% discount on their products. If a dealer goes to a higher level discount the warranty is null and void. This policy is of course depends on the company. I only called two of them.

That is BS, how can Aqualung and Scubapro dictate how the dealers should run their businesses. If I have a product that is not selling, I will down mark it to get it out of my inventory. Otherwise it is costing me money to keep it on my shelfs.

 

[redacted]

That is BS, how can Aqualung and Scubapro dictate how the dealers should run their businesses. If I have a product that is not selling, I will down mark it to get it out of my inventory. Otherwise it is costing me money to keep it on my shelfs.

My understanding is that the Scubapro dealer agreement does restrict discounts to 10%. However, the "punishment" is not a voided warrenty but a threat that SP may pull the dealership. LDS's who want to get around it have a number of options to do so. However, some (many?) LDS's would rather use it as an excuse to stick the higher prices to sympathetic customers.

 

[Crowell]

My understanding is that the Scubapro dealer agreement does restrict discounts to 10%. However, the "punishment" is not a voided warrenty but a threat that SP may pull the dealership. LDS's who want to get around it have a number of options to do so. However, some (many?) LDS's would rather use it as an excuse to stick the higher prices to sympathetic customers.

What my LDS does on this sort of thing is charge us the MSRP on the books and on the receipt, but then give us a trade-in allowance on imaginary gear to offset the actual final price back down.

If a shop wants to get around the MSRP restrictions, they can, and still do it legally. I don't know about other shops, but the under-the-table trade-in allowance I get really helps me out, and I get the benefits of an absolutely stellar LDS with a reg-technician that's probably the best I've ever found, and that's enough for me.

 

[rescuediver009]

Not that this will change anyone's mind or necessarily should, but I just callled Aqualung and Scubapro, and they confirmed that dealers are only authorized to give a 10% discount on their products. If a dealer goes to a higher level discount the warranty is null and void. This policy is of course depends on the company. I only called two of them.

I don't think that it would be fair to assume that all price levels are the same. Suppose that they get a discount if they buy in bulk. Just to show that there are other variables and there are alot more. Not that leisurepro is doing it right anyhow. Just think that if you had a problem and you complained to Aqualung about a reg and Leisurepro was already in theirbad books do you think that they would work for you? Not likely.

 

[dscheck]

My assumption on this, and everyone knows what assumptions do, ids this is advertised pricinig.

I have some relationships with some manufacturer's and their reasoning on "price fixing", is that if the retailers start to have price wars, then the retailer's margins fall so low that they will stop selling the products.