Please tell me your personal experiences w/buying ScubaPro regs at LeisurePro?

[vladimir]

Some of my reasons and concerns:

- The significant price difference between the LDS and and LP. How can LP offer it for that much less, over 40%? My paranoid cynicism...

- About 10 yrs ago, I purchased a tripod & head from Adorama (in all fairness, it may have been B&H Photo, I don't recall) and the head arrived with obvious defects. They did replace it, but it was a PITA I'd like to avoid.



That's what I'd like to know. This is why I posted my original question. I have no experience with LP, and for all I know, they are a reputable company selling authentic, original products. I'm just interested in hearing others' experiences, good and bad.
PM me if you prefer.

Thanks.

They are a reputable company selling authentic, original products.

A great deal of effort goes into trying to sow seeds of doubt in the minds of cautious consumers, mostly by people with a stake in the business model that preserved a 100% profit margin for retailers. But a look around here will turn up a lot of satisfied LP customers. I have bought several items from them, both in the store and off their website, including two Scubapro BCs, one Uwatec computer, and a number of non-ScubaPro products. I have been satisfied with each purchase.

I am actually tired of defending them, because I have no stake in this endless battle, but I also get tired of propagandists trying to take advantage of the ignorance of new divers. Scubatoys, Divesports, Deepseasupply, and Divegearexpress are other online vendors I can recommend from personal experience. LP has their large inventory and prices accessible and transparent on-line, so I tend to default to them.

 

[DiverDawg65]

I have purchased a few items from LP and have been happy with both the prices and experience. I to am fairly new to diving and have heard all the negatives about LP...but have yet to experience any.

I have also supported the Local shops having spent over 2K in the last 6 mos. Great guys & love the service, advice & support.

We must also remember local is a relative term. Not everyone lives near a dive shop. I for one am 40-45 min from my LDS and I have heard of others that are over 3 hrs to their LDS. Maybe this might also play in to ones decision to purchase from LP or other online vendor. Acquisition cost certainly goes up once you figure in gas & drive time...in addition to the manufacturers set price. This in turns leaves less money to actually dive!!!

Now my 2 cents.

**Support your LDS where & whenever you can.**

It does however seem like we are being held hostage to the outdated pricing/marketing/distribution strategies. I have yet to here of any other consumer category where the supplier sets all the rules.

The consumer should be able to choose where & how we decide to purchase the products we use...not the supplier..remember it is our money.

If a LDS gets unhappy or refuses to service the equipment purchased elsewhere ( even LP) than take your business elsewhere...if they don't want your money don't give it to them. Also if they do not want to service your equipment, or to perform that service to the best of their ability without some guilt trip than are they putting your safety at risk?? If not you probably don't want to use them anyways.

Bottom line support your LDS but you as the consumer should have a choice. If the suppliers changed their business models more people might be able to afford the equipment thus bringing more people to the sport...more people= more sales = more money to the suppliers. Volume..volume..volume..This in turns leads to more equipment needing service= more business for LDS. More money in the consumers hands might mean more money/ time spent actually diving which = more money to LDS/ Charters/ Resorts..etc. Or perhaps more divers would get more or advanced training...yeah I bet you know where this is going!!! This in turns = more money out to the LDS/ instructors etc. As divers skills advance and they take on more advanced diving this usually leads to more equipment purchases...blah, blah, blah!!

Sounds pretty good to me!


Gee sounds like LP's business model as it has been described here on SB. According to several posts here on SB they are the largest vendor around...seems to be working.

 

[Hatul]

I bought a lot of stuff from Leisure Pro over the years and never had a bad experience (knock on wood).

Adam

 

[pepe2ya]

Leisure pro takes care of their customers.My Sherwood Avid had a leak after 6 months got a ra#, they fixed it and paid for the shipping.Aaron,is my sales man there and he makes sure his customers are taken care of.Call Aaron,
he'll give you a better price if he can.

 

[rab1412000]

the problem i believe is not with LP but with the LDS trying to make a killing with each sale.
the business paradigm of LP is sound and it is based on bulk orders and sales. of course you lose the personal touch when you buy from LP or any other online store and thats what a LDS provides.
i buy from LP, even if im from the philippines, and i buy stuff too from the LD'es but my major purchases go to LP. i even inform them of the price and items i get from LP. my thinking is it will force them to be more competitive in pricing , which has happened in ecent years, though i dont think as a direct effect of LP.
as buyers of scuba gear, i believe we should make the LDS aware that we have other avenues of purchase if they cannot compete effectively, wether it be through pricing or service. if the LDS refuses you, so what, go to another store. in these financially trying times that kind of attitude could be the stores doom.
in the end, i think the winner in all these is the consumer who is offered with a choice. and how can that ever be a bad thing .....

 

[dori fish]

i purchased a reg set with wireless trans and computer, i wouldn't buy from them anything ever again. the reg set not only shut down, but the my lds wouldn't touch without a letter from the lds. IMO avoid buying from them for life support equipment like regs b.c.'s computers but wetsuits fins maybe masks are okay not drysuits

 

[deepstops]

It's my understanding from other SP dealers that LP buys directly from SP but without the SP warranty.

 

[Dutch552]

I have purchased several thousands of dollars worth of diving gear from LP over the years and have had zero complaints. Never ScubaPro Regulators but two AquaLung regulators who have similar warranty practices as SP. They stand behind their warranty from my personal experience and their in-house warranty equals the manufacturer's: I had a defective BC that they overnighted a replacement to me prior to a liveabord trip at no additional charge.

 

[DiverDawg65]

the problem i believe is not with LP but with the LDS trying to make a killing with each sale.
the business paradigm of LP is sound and it is based on bulk orders and sales. of course you lose the personal touch when you buy from LP or any other online store and thats what a LDS provides.
i buy from LP, even if im from the philippines, and i buy stuff too from the LD'es but my major purchases go to LP. i even inform them of the price and items i get from LP. my thinking is it will force them to be more competitive in pricing , which has happened in ecent years, though i dont think as a direct effect of LP.
as buyers of scuba gear, i believe we should make the LDS aware that we have other avenues of purchase if they cannot compete effectively, wether it be through pricing or service. if the LDS refuses you, so what, go to another store. in these financially trying times that kind of attitude could be the stores doom.
in the end, i think the winner in all these is the consumer who is offered with a choice. and how can that ever be a bad thing .....

From my understanding it is not the LDS's but ScubaPros policy. From what I have read and been told SP sells their product to the dealer. The dealer must sign and adhere to SP's Minimum price offered to the consumer. The most the dealer can give is 10% off. This 10% off I believe is to give the customer a good warm and fuzzy feeling as the whip out the plastic for an amount that is equal to a car payment or a months rent. If the LDS violates SP's policy they will suffer the wrath?? Now don't get me wrong I do not think for one minute that the LDS are sorry to take your money..after all they are in the business to make money. I do believe however that many if not most would like to offer their loyal customers a break from time to time. They probably would not mind having sales as well to compete for your business.

Unless your LDS gives you a deal on something else in a combined purchase, provides you outstanding service or something else to set them apart from the other shops there really is no reason to show any loyalty if you want to pick up a SP/AL reg. The price is set...!!! If they give you any grief on anything (i.e. no service on regs purchased at LP etc) whatsoever take your biz elsewhere. I don't know about you but I sure do not intend to listen to some sort of guilt trip when I am spending my money...Besides on any reg purchased from LP would either have to go to LP for service or the customer would have to pay for both parts and labor..seems like that would be more money in the LDS coffers.

Bottom line is support your LDS every chance you get...They are the ones supporting you in the field. The fight should be with SP and other manufactures that have set up such an antiquated pricing structure.

 

[Compressor]

One of the benefits of buying from a LDS is that if you run into problems between service intervals (1 year), you can take it in and they will fix it on the spot w/o charge. My LDS does that. Not important to you: you have your answer.