The Great local dive shop vs. online debate

[Mario S Caner]

Buying gear online is a dud. Yeah it's convenient, but your selections are limited. There's a grip of manufacturers whom will not allow anyone to sell over the internet... at least not yet. So if it's life support equipment you need, visit your local dive shop. If we don't support local shops, it's going to be a bitch to get cylinders filled online.... =0

 

[Mario S Caner]

Your website is a start... think about it as an outsider though. The site gives you zero information about the gear. Questions like how much is it, and how it compares to other gear, or even what your staff prefers to use aren't answered.

Just about every other business out there advertises "we'll meet or beat our competitors prices.... but if you don't advertise any prices, it does the web surfer no service. They are just going to go to the next page.

You should do something with your site, that seperates you from every other "mom-n-pop" out there. K?

Mario

 

[Iguana Don]

I have to agree with Mike & Mario, when it come to buying I like to pick up, feel, touch & examine it real close, dive gear is expensive so I want to check it out real good. I might buy lights or extras online, but life support equipment, forget it. I want to take mine to my dive shop & have it repaired or serviced by someone I can talk to & deal with in person. Price is not always the reason to buy an item some particular place, just because they were the cheapest.

Just my 2 cents.

 

[Mario S Caner]

One other thing that should be considered when buying gear online, is wether or not it comes with a warranty. Like you said dive gear is expensive, so it would be a shame if you had to get something repaired/replaced and found out that it didn't have a warranty.

But more importantly, we willingly participate in an activity where every piece of gear is (beleive it or not) life support equipement. We've all been tought that the smallest thing going wrong has the potential to snowball into something.... unpleasant.

If what you just read scares you... good it was supposed to. Think twice before you buy gear online.

 

[King_Neptune]

Mario,

I couldn't agree more, buying online is a great way to skim the price, but one thing that should NEVER be skimmed on is the warranty. There is NO reason you should have to give up one of them in exchange for the other, ever!

As long as the warranty and such is still included, it is a great idea to "kick the tires" at the local dive shops, then check prices online and see what other sites are selling it for. On thing to Note though, DONT FORGET to figure the price of shipping and other charges! It might not be cheaper after all to buy some things online!

To the benefit of ALL divers and the Industry in general is the presence of DETA, The Diving Equipment Technicians Association. It's about time we have someone watching and assuring the quality of training that goes into our equipment and its repairs. Again, it's only your life that's at stake!

=-)

 

[1seadog]

Since I work for an online gear manufacturer and retailer I can't give you an unbiased opinion on the subject, but I can give you a glimpse of my experiences as an online SCUBA retailer. First I want to start out saying that we are not in the business of: 1. making huge margins off of the public, 2. selling discontinued non-warrantied gear, 3. selling equipment that can't be serviced/repaired, 4. selling cheap unsafe equipment, 5. screwing up orders.

How we go about doing this is as follows: we are the manufacturers of all our equipment and thus control the price and quality on all of our items. We keep our prices low, not to put dive shops out of business, but to get more people into diving who otherwise might not be able to afford the equipment. The diving industry has been on a steady decline for years and I attribute most of that decline to the high retail price of equipment.

Manufacturers get their products made at prices that are fraction of the cost the consumer pays. They then sell those items to your local dive shop at a sizable mark-up, who then sells to the consumer at a huge mark-up. By the time the BCD gets to the diver he winds up paying 3-5 times more than manufacturing cost. Our mission is to sell our products at the most affordable prices and save the working man his hard earned money.

Since we are the manufacturer, everything we sell is fully warrantied and is backed by a 30-day satisfaction guarantee. If you don't like what you've purchased, for any reason send it back, unused, within 30 days and we'll gladly exchange it for another product or refund your money in full.

I admit we don't have the biggest catalog in the industry, but what we do have is 183 SKU's (and growing) of the most reliable and durable equipment at the best prices.

Aloha,

 

[Real-One]

I have just started diving and found it to be a total blast.
I am slowly but surely buying my equipment.

I am amazed however that every shop I speak with sells at
MSRP! I have been told the manufacturers won't let them sell for less. That is a load of crap. A manufacturer cannot
dictate what you as a reseller can charge. Besides, they all say that if you buy a complete outfit they will discount the gear. The problem with that is that each shop has only a few manufacturers in their inventory and would cause me to settle for something I'm not interested in. I am not cheap (especially when it comes to my safety) but after comparing prices on this web site I found, I am amazed at the markup.

I found a site called leisurepro.com that has a great selection. I am a little nervous about purchasing such important equipment online. Has anyone had any experience with them or any other web site selling scuba equipment?

 

[dsquid]

I purchased a "Weezle Extreme" drysuit undergarment from an online site... http://www.simplyscuba.com

The company is in the UK... I bought from them because
wasn't having much luck finding the suit anywhere else.
The service was terrific. I ordered Wednesday, and via
UPS Express, got it on Friday morning. This is from the UK to New Jersey! Not bad at all, and the item was perfect.

Their site does currency conversion.

I'm sure there are dozens more sites out there, but this is the one that I have experience with. Good luck.

 

[BadeInBulverde]

You are likely to get a jillion replies because "Buying Online" is a real hot button on the various SCUBA related fora ... to answer your question specifically ... I HAVE used LP in the past and will do so again ... with the following caveats - #1 SO FAR I have only bought one piece of "life support" gear from them and I did that with my eyes wide open - meaning I KNEW at the outset that I was NOT going to get a manufactures warranty of any sort (LP does provide a warranty themselves on gear that they sell w/o manufacturer warranty so just know that going in) ... #2 They DO have the best 'advertised' prices on virtually everything they sell ... BUT ... MUCH if not most of the gear they sell comes without a manufacturer warranty ... it's often referred to as "Grey Market" ... #3 There is at least one other online seller (www.DiversDiscount.com) that I HAVE used for life support gear and they DO offer manufacturer warranty on the gear they sell - they also have real life brick and mortar stores .... I have in fact recently had to exercise the manufactory warranty supplied thru this seller and it was valid ... ALSO ... they offer a "price match" guarantee ... that is ... if you go to them with a price from another seller (say LP) and they can validate that the other DOES have the item in stock and at the advertised price ... they will match it ... I have used this on several thousands of dollars worth of gear from diversdiscount and been very satisfied with their service ... but .. your milage may vary ... one person's experience here. #4 - I ALSO make an effort to buy gear, training and travel thru my local dive shop ... I believe that the relationship with the folks where you buy air is invaluable and they deserve a piece of the pie as well or we will all be trying to fill tanks thru 56kb modems ... not a pretty picture ...

 

[DiverInAk]

Leisure-Pro can be great for certain items. I don't know that I would buy a Reg or BC from them, but I have purchased masks, fins and computers from them with excellent service and prompt shipping.


I agree with you on the shops selling at MSRP. It's crap. If it's a "suggested" resale price, then the shop should be able to discount without being punished.