The great big, all-inclusive Leisure Pro note

[Mario S Caner]

Yeah, easy money fro the manufacturer's and LP, but what about the fellow dive buddies who get shafted? No worries buddy, our numbers are growing and so is our strength, we'll change things for the better soon enough.

 

[scubaman40]

As the saying goes forget the experience remember the lesson........! LP is getting equip directly from the back door of the manufacturer. The manufacturer will not acknowledge this do to legal warranties. But I hope LP get a lesson from selling old gear wrong colors or older models they are known for that around the world ......... ummmm what a reputation.... well don't let the prices fool you. Stick with your local dive shop for sales and service!!!!!!! It's a little bit more but it's well worth it. Mail order reg service? nnnaaaa not for me I'd rather talk to the technician about the goings on inside my life support system. Not the place to squeeze a dollar out of a dime. Besides do they realy service it or clean it up to look that way? I know let's find out at 5 ata's!!!! Well shop at home you'll be glad you did. Safe diving to all!

 

[joewr]

There is something called the "grey market". It is a methodology that marketers can use to get products at less than wholesale and sell for a lower retail. In general, it violates most mfg's policies and does not allow the retailer to offer warranties. I do not want to go into the details of how the process works, but it can involve illegal acts or acts that are in violation of commercial contracts.

If the retailer cannot sell you a product with the mfg's warranty, be wary. Many will offer their own warranty and the quality of the warranty work may be poor. In addition, one usally cannot take advantage of local repair facilities. For example, there is some Nikonos equipment sold over the net or by deep discounters that does not come with Nikon's warranty--just the warranty of the retailer. If you have trouble with the product, you cannot get warranty work done by the extensive network of Nikon-approved shops; you have to send the product back to New York, etc. That can be a pain.

On a positive note, I have bought things via phone from Performance, Inc. of Chapel Hill, NC and have been very satisfied with the products and the service. Also have used Berger Bros. for photographic items and have been extremely pleased with them.

However, in general, I purchase things from my local scuba shops because I want them to stay in business. I have found that the difference in price--when all the shipping and handling, returns, etc. are taken into account--is small. And, boy, do I appreciate being able to stop by to get something two or three days before a trip.

Happy shopping!


Joewr

 

[Aegir]

I posted this on another thread , but thought it would be better suited here

I have access to some great prices on the internet from British internet dealers. For the sake of argument i was interested in a few different scubapro items. I called scubapro and asked if theses internet companies were infact authorised scubapro dealers....scubapro said no they were most certainly not. However, and this is the grey area, the internet scuba sites selling scubapro gear were advertising the fact that they provide FULL scubapro warranties. So i asked scubapro a direct question. I asked scubapro if they would honour a warranty on goods purchased from the store(s) in question (who are NOT authorised scubapro dealers). Scubapro sent me an e-mail saying this:

"********(I will not mention the store name) Scuba are not an Authorised Scubapro Dealer. They have no direct contact with the manufacturer and the products sold by them may or may not be genuine Scubapro products. If a regulator is purchased from them it must be supplied with the original box and warranty card from Scubapro. Upon receipt of a valid warranty card, we can validate the warranty. If a warranty card is not supplied, the product may not be warranted".

In other words...it doesnt matter where you buy the products from as long as they come with a valid warranty card AND the goods are serviced at least once a year by an AUTHORISED scubapro dealer.

 

[turnerjd]

Aegir,

Is that the point of view of scubapro worldwide, or JUST that of Scubapro UK? (or their importers?)

Jon T

 

[Aegir]

Jon

That reply came from Scubapro UK... although I would imagine Scubapro use this as an international policy, don't quote me on that one though.

 

[turnerjd]

Aegir,

Is scubapro UK a genuine scubapro company, or is it an importer trading as scubapro UK (with their permission of course)?

Certainly, Blandfords (importers of Mares etc..) have almost complete controll over everything mares in the UK, but no authority elsewhere.

Just a thought, I'm not sure, but I think that Scubapro are imported to the UK by UWI Circle, but I could be wrong.

Jon T

 

[Aegir]

Scubapro UK http://www.scubapro.co.uk are part of scubapro International. http://www.scubapro.com

You can see what UWI circle supplies at this URL
http://www.divernet.com/uwicircl/

 

[ericfine50]

The way LP gets some of the equipment is to go to dive shops that are dealers with manufacturers and are going out of business and offer them $$ to make a large order. Grey is not the market you want to be in and if you take it to your local shop, they may not service it.
When I worked at a dive shop, I saw an Oceanic computer that was purchased from LP and had leaked. We opened it up and found the SN# was scratched off the band and inside the computer. Then the customer wondered why it was not covered under warranty.

Eric

 

[Mario S Caner]

Eric, thanks for the input regarding LP's practices. With the increasing number of post's whether they are good or bad, we are all getting a better picture of the company.

Welcome to the boards, and hope to hear more from you soon!