Join DiveBuddy.com

Meet new scuba divers, maintain a virtual dive log, participate in our forum, share underwater photos, research dive sites and more. Members login here.

Buying gear on the Internet.
Anonymous - 4/25/2006 2:14 PM
Category: Anonymous
Replies: 16

What are your thoughts/concerns about buying gear online? I wouldn`t buy a wetsuit, weights or a tank online...but I would look into buying everything else. It`s so much cheaper.
Anonymous - 4/26/2006 8:36 PM
I bought a reg and bc online and it`s great. I also got lots of accesories from different websites. Dive shops really don`t like it when you buy gear on the net though. But the difference in price is hard to justify.
Anonymous - 4/27/2006 12:28 PM
WHAT HAPPENED TO SUPPORTING YOUR LOCAL DIVESHOP; BEFORE YOU BUY ANYTHING ONLINE , GIVE YOUR LOCAL SHOP A CHANCE TO COMPETE
Anonymous - 4/27/2006 1:39 PM
i always give my dive shop a chance first. but i wont pay inflated prices just to "support" the dive shop. like any other business, dive shops need to figure out a way to join the revolution. the internet is here to stay!
Anonymous - 4/28/2006 11:14 AM
i agree with your saying. i would buy just the accesories. no wet or dry suit, and no tanks. i did buy a camera online.
Anonymous - 4/29/2006 8:13 AM
Nothing wrong with buying gear online. Unless you are talking about used gear!!
Anonymous - 5/01/2006 8:59 AM
We just boufgt quite a few things from a web site and am very pleased with everything. As far as needing to get real specific with a size I think I will stick to a walk in store.Although we did need to size a bcd and the web site was right on with the measureing chart and the final fit.
Anonymous - 5/03/2006 2:20 PM
I know of several dive shops that will NOT honor warranty on stuff you did not buy from them This could make on line purchases pretty expensive. Reg`s & stuff that need maint.
Anonymous - 5/13/2006 10:33 PM
Any dive shop that won`t honor a valid warranty does not deserve my business. I have bought stuff on line, and have had no trouble getting the LDS to honor warranties.
Anonymous - 5/14/2006 1:37 PM
Your point is valid if it is in fact a VALID Warranty. Many online gear sales are not from authorized dealers and therefore the warranty is not valid since the manufacturer will only back a product purchased from an authorized dealer. Before purchasing online check to see if the dealer is in fact authorized or if the dealer is merely offering an in-house warranty.
Anonymous - 7/30/2006 8:46 PM
I have had great luck buying online. As a matter of fact, I just got my wife a complete setup similar to my "dive shop" setup for about a 1/3 of what I paid for mine. As far as online dealers, most are LOCAL DIVE SHOPS in larger cities that are in tune with the internet revolution and have expanded their business 10 fold by selling online. Example: www.scubatoys.com This is a huge shop in the DFW area which I have physically visited. Great shop with great staff who sell online every day. Sure, you can get some shady stuff online but just do some homework. And believe me, I support my local shops very often for those little "need it now" items!
Anonymous - 9/12/2006 12:41 AM
I have purchased everything but tanks online. I have always tried to bargain with the local shops but they were offended that I asked them to come down in price so screw them. I understand you should support your local store but not when they double or triple prices. Sorry, I`m not rich, maybe they should try another buisness on the side or try selling online
Anonymous - 10/02/2006 8:14 PM
This is a real dilemma. I worked in a small motorcycle shop and saw the problem first-hand. We had to keep stuff, like helmets, in stock, which cost money. People would try them on for size, and then buy them from a mail-order house for less than we could sell them for. After a while the stuff gets so shop-worn you can`t sell it. I`d hate to see my local dive shop go under, because where else am I going to get fills? But at the same time how can I justify paying more than I have to? I try to compromise. I buy a lot of stuff online, but if I`ve spent a lot of time gettng advice and trying it on at the shop, I`ll bite the bullet and pay more.
Anonymous - 12/29/2006 4:07 PM
HEY , NOTHING WRONG WITH BUYING USED GEAR AS LONG AS YOU GET IT CHECKED OUT ,AND SOMETIMES IT WORKS OUT TO BE BETTER THAN WHAT YOU THOUGHT IT WOULD BE AND YOU SAVE ALOT ON $ TOO
Anonymous - 3/01/2007 2:27 AM
ok here is what I did , I got the price online that was of authorized dealer. went to dive shop let them know that I found what I wanted for about 80$ less , They checked and gave it to me for the same price. now , I didn`t have to wait,bought other gear that they matched the price of. they had a chance to turn my bussiness away but opted to make a sale.no bad feeling on my part,they seemed happy.hummm they met the other price,maybe ,they overpriced it anyway, so, always try to give the shops a chance to compete. you may not have to wait for your stuff.
Anonymous - 3/31/2007 5:06 PM
I have no problem with buying online as long as I can know that what I got was good. But frankly that means I`ll be scheduling a maintainer course MINIMUM before I dream of buying something off of ebay if it has a life support function. But for other items like knives, books, fins and such. As long as I can verify sizes and such, why should I pay a higher price. There are ways for dive shops to capitalize off of this. For one thing, they can sell online. Go through the ebay listings and see how many have a link back to a shop.
Anonymous - 10/14/2007 5:11 PM
I`d prefer to buy locally but on the other hand a reseller should earn your business each and every time you walk in their store or click on their website link. This is done by offering an item as a best value. Since any authorized dealer can sell you an item with the warranty local dealers that want to sway customers must offer incentives to offset the conveinence of the internet. Incentives can be knowledge, Having the item in stock, or discounts on future items or service just to name a few. Many retailers complain that they just can`t compete the fact is they really don`t want to. They want their markup and the margins they had in the past. After all what`s stopping them from opening a e-tail store to compliment their brick and morter.