Like a kid with candy, internet prices

[Bigcape]

Just remember 2 words when considering dive gear like regs "LIFE SUPPORT", Price should be considered but not the main factor in choosing this type of gear.

The gear I use I bought new in 1990. It is Oceanic. I have spent 125.00 every year servicing it. Do the math.

Now, if I were to sell it I might get 50.00 or so bucks for it. Does this make it dangerous for the new buyer to use it? It has been supporting my life why wouldn't it continue to do so?

I bought a MK25t/S600t that retails for 1200.00 for 400.00 bucks!!! I am going to spend close enough to the same to service it as the Oceanic. Free parts? = Higher Labor in alot of cases. I feel i am ahead of the game. Do some homework

There are NO COPYCATS/PHONIES in the reg game. to expensive and not enough demand to justify.

Are there DISCONTINUED stuff that you cant get parts for? Yes. Do some homework.


The arguement you might hear is that through "warrenty cards" that is how you are notified of a recall or defect. But it is also how you end up on every mailing list known to man and the advent of the "spam" folder for your Email.. Do some homework



So, In the name of SAFETY do some homework. Here is a link that WILL SAVE YOUR LIFE!

http://www.cpsc.gov/

 

[TheRedHead]

If you are an experienced diver and know what to look for you can find some great deals. I bought an Apeks TX50/DS4 with a little Oceanic thimble guage (which I will probably sell) for $155 plus $37 to have it serviced. I'm not going to get the free parts for life, but this one is going my deco bottle and won't be used as hard as my other regs.

On the other hand, JahJahwarrior spent $120 for a regulator that doens't have a MP port for a backup 2nd stage.

 

[JahJahwarrior]

I will say, the parts kits were only a combined total of $32, and they charged somethin g like $50 to work on it. On the other hand, I have a friend who has a reg from a few years ago that has never been serviced since he's owned it. I'm willing to spend the money to have my gear serviced, apparently he's not. I paid almost double what you spent to service your reg, that is what made my purchase so expensive. The reg itself was cheap If I had purchased the same regulator, my cost would be $250 or so. If I paid $140 plus shipping and handling for the Mares reg you mentioned, in a year I'd have to have it serviced and would pay atleast another $50 probably. I didn't get ripped off really, I got a pretty good deal on the reg and had to pay alittle bit to get it serviced. If it had been serviced before I bought it, it would have been an amazingly good deal. oh well, live and learn.

good luck with the reg from ebay!

 

[TheRedHead]

I paid almost double what you spent to service your reg, that is what made my purchase so expensive. The reg itself was cheap If I had purchased the same regulator, my cost would be $250 or so.

I bought the Apeks partly because I knew how much the LDS would charge to service it because they are an Apeks dealer and they service my other Apeks regs. I've never paid more than $40 to have a Mares serviced either. You need to look into finding another LDS to service your reg. Seriously.

 

[Vicente]

Search for LeisurePro and you will find any number of threads discussing the "grey market" and the upsides and downsides of it until your eyes get tired.

There's no right answer here other than internet-sales are growing, and manufacturers and LDS had better get used to it. If your LDS for example services Oceanic, but won't service YOURS because you bought it used or "grey" quite frankly I'd find another LDS.

To contribute something useful to the discussion, I started with a used Sherwood Brut. Simple and damn near indestructible. Still plenty of people diving them. You might check your LDS for used units, they do sell their rental regs every so often as they buy new sets that's how I got my first one. They were upgrading all theirs to new models and were willing to toss in the 1st year service free. Did I care if the chrome plate was not factory-pretty anymore and the yoke knob was missing the big-S logo? No.

 

[Web Monkey]

I continously hear shops and manufactureres exclaim, don't buy over the internet!!! The price quoted on this one reg on ebay right now (GT3 & CDx5 with enviro kit) for $189 new. I can't stop looking at it. How do I not look at something like this? My question is, if they are not suppose to sell it, how do they get it, do the manufacturers still sell to them?

One problem with Ebay is that you may end up with nothing, or "not as described".

Getting your money back takes something just short of an act of Congress.

If you want to buy online, that's fine, but at least use a real dealer where you can pay directly with your credit card and have your bank to back you up if there's a problem.

eBay may be great, or it may be a 100% con, or anything in between.

Terry

 

[DaytonaDave]

If you want to buy online, that's fine, but at least use a real dealer where you can pay directly with your credit card and have your bank to back you up if there's a problem.

I agree. I disagree. I've never bought dive gear on eBay, but I have bought other items. Some brick-and-mortar stores actually use eBay stores... do your research and only buy from reputable companies... check their ratings and read the reviews on the eBay site.

 

[JahJahwarrior]

redhead--from what I understand, pretty much every dive shop in north central florida sends their regs to the same guy who lives in Alachua County (I live in Alachua County too). All three locals places I'm sure send them to this guy, so I just found the one that quoted me the lowest price. $24 for second stage rebuild, $8 for first. Something like $50 for labor/inspection/testing of it and whatnot. Maybe in the future I won't have to pay for all the parts.

It has helped me to have a local friend who can let me into some of the secrets of local dive shops--if the starter of this thread has one of those, then you can find out which shops might try tomake you buy this or that, and which ones will really push this product on you, etc. That's made my life easier sometimes! It also helps to know which shops work on what primarily. In my case, all the shops will take in almost anything, and they all send it to the same guy. However, one shop sells mainly scubapro, another mainly oceanic.

 

[cerich]

.


The arguement you might hear is that through "warrenty cards" that is how you are notified of a recall or defect. But it is also how you end up on every mailing list known to man and the advent of the "spam" folder for your Email.. Do some homework





http://www.cpsc.gov/

We DO NOT use or sell the warranty registration information for any means other than getting an occasional email from Oceanic ONLY if you express your desire to do so.

You have us confused with big business....

 

[Bigcape]

We DO NOT use or sell the warranty registration information for any means other than getting an occasional email from Oceanic ONLY if you express your desire to do so.

You have us confused with big business....

I wasn't referring to you guys spicifically. I made a general statement. This is a fact about warrenty cards.

So, NO I do not have you confused with anybody.