where to buy equipment

[Kmoney]

I am looking at buying gear in the next few months.

What pieces of equipment would you buy from the LDS and what pieces would you be willing to buy online?

I am more concerned about the price of servicing the equipment ending up costing me more than paying more upfront from my LDS.

Thank you for the help.

 

[dwhthediver]

IMHO, I buy life support and equipment where fit is critical at the LDS. lights, cameras, signaling devices, clips, etc. I buy where I get the best deal

 

[Garrobo]

I buy nothing from an LDS. Some I have bought on Ebay, used and new, and some online, mostly from Leisurepro. The savings from buying online offsets any returns and replacements costs. Why would one pay full price for a set of regs from an LDS when you can buy the same thing from an online supplier usually at half price? Seems dopey to me. Yet there are those who insist that you are getting a better deal by buying locally. I live in east central Ohio where there are only a few quarries to dive in. An LDS here is usually just a sales room with maybe an inspection and air statiion.

 

[emoreira]

Hi, I can only tell what worked for me.
The scuba gear has items that fit anyone, and things that must be tested to define the size that fits.
Things that are independant of fit (like knife, PDC, reg, etc) can be bought on-line, and things that need to be tested for fit should be bought in a dive gear shop or the LDS, or can be ordered on-line if you know exactly the size and brand that fits you, for example wetsuit, BCD, boots, gloves, etc.)
For buying on-line there are several on-line stores that ship items world wide. There are excellent deals with free shipping within continental US. This also saves taxes.
Somethings can be bought used off ebay.
To buy on-line you must know what to buy. The dive gear shop can give you advise, but be aware that they will tell you to buy what they have.
To gain experience what's good for you, you need to rent gear and learn.

 

[AndrewA]

I live in a city in the middle of a desert and dont have a LDS. When I go "home"to the UK Í always visit one large dive store that I have built up a good relationship over the years (SDS in Sheffield), they also do online and telephone sales and I buy anything I have to try on from them. Everything else I get online from Dive Gear Express in Florida (US prices are much better than British and those guys do free shipping on larger orders)

 

[Straegen]

Anything I have to try on (mask, fins, wetsuit unless you go custom). Pretty much everything else online. If ScubaToys were local to me, I would probably just get everything there.

 

[emoreira]

There are good on-line stores like Scubatoys, Leisure Pro, Scuba.com, Divers-Supply
I did severals deals with Divers-Supply and I'm more than satisfied with them. I've also done some purchases in scubatoys and e-bay
At least in my case, all the deals I did on-line (scubatoys, divers-supply and e-bay) were all 100 % ok. Some of the people I did deals with on-line are also SB posters.

 

[Herk_Man]

I am normally a "shop for the best price" kind of person. So this is not my normal operating method. But I have a pretty good dive shop that does a lot more than just teaching classes and selling gear. I frequently correspond with the owner about diving related information and I appreciate the service he provides in this area, at no cost to me.

So when I'm shopping for gear, if the dive shop is a little over what I'd get online, I support my LDS by buying from them. Their prices are higher because their overhead is higher. They have to pay rent, utilities, employees, etc. But what I get from them would be sorely missed of they went out of business so I buy from them where it makes sense.

But if I need a dive light and they want $100 when I can get the same light for $30 on Ebay or ScubaToys, then I have to draw the line someplace.

JMHO

 

[Skier-Diver]

I bought my reg setup complete with computer on ebay for $200. I took it to a dive shop and had it checked and serviced for $120. I came out smelling like a rose on that deal. I bought my BCD on ebay for $30. It's not beautiful, but it works just fine. I have bought several things from Divers Supply online (wetsuit, light, mask, fins, boots, gloves, hood, etc.). As a matter of fact, I've bought all my gear online except my rash guard which I bought in Roatan between dives (probably paid too much for it).

 

[deepwater]

It sounds like I'm the same as most people, shop on ebay, board classifieds, craigslist, and online stores. Even if I go to an LDS to try things on I'll still look for a better deal on line.