Leisure Pro & Aqua Lung

[nrembis]

I will ask

HelenOster... do you buy your Aqualung AND Scubapro items directly from the manufacturer or receive them by other means.

It's a simple question that needs answered

Im sure if I asked larry where he buys his Zeagle items from he will quickly without hesitation say directly from the manufacture

[cummings66]

I don't know. The way it is with many industries is you buy from a distributor who buys from the manufacturer. Now I can imagine and I do know for a fact that some scuba manufacturers sell direct to the dealer, but I bet not all do. When I bought some new Genesis scuba cylinders a long time back the shop had to buy them from a distributor for the region. I know the same thing went for the regulators I bought.

But I do know of at least 3 scuba manufacturers that sell direct to the shop.

[awap]

Originally Posted by nrembis

I will ask

HelenOster... do you buy your Aqualung AND Scubapro items directly from the manufacturer or receive them by other means.

It's a simple question that needs answered

Im sure if I asked larry where he buys his Zeagle items from he will quickly without hesitation say directly from the manufacture

Why would you even think you would get an honest answer to this? She clearly can not answer that they are purchased directly. If it were true, she would be severely damaging the LP relationship with her supplier.

And then, there is the question of what, exactly, you mean by buying directly. Do you mean does LP calls the President of the company and places their order? Or do you mean that LP contacts some authorized distributor and places their order. Do you mean that the order travels directly from the company shipping facility to a LP LP warehouse? Or does it travel through intermediate shipping/warehousing nodes? Does it ever actually cross an ocean before LP receives the shipment?

You might have better luck asking Coke for their recipe.

[nrembis]

Dont guess it really matters, I'll stick with ST anyways

[HelenOster]

Originally Posted by nrembis

I will ask

HelenOster... do you buy your Aqualung AND Scubapro items directly from the manufacturer

We buy from a distributor, as do all retailers of the above products.

[TJDiver]

Still dancing around the real question I see. Do you buy from distributors authorized by Scubapro, Aqualung, etc.? Nevermind, we already know the answer, given the fact that no factory warranty is available. Now, I understand why Larry has the "slimy" take on grey market onliners. I had thought about ordering some things from LP at one time, but am now changing my mind based on Helen's responses. Do any of you really want to do business with someone that dances around the edges of your questions in such a manner?

[Draq]

FWIW, and it is only my opinion, but asking LP to talk about is distribution chain for SP and AL products is not all that reasonable, given the the issues surrounding their sale of those products.

I understand Larry's point about the grey market issue, but I blame the issue on SP and AL. If they would simply step into the 21st century, and come to terms with this crazy internet fad, and also allow their dealers to set the price for the products they sell, the whole problem would go away. LP is a merchant selling products for a profit, and as far as I know, they make no pretense about the factory warranty issue.

Ridiculously enough, you can buy AL and SP over the internet from authorized dealers in the EU and Great Britain at better prices than authorized dealers in the U.S. are allowed to sell them for (although you still have no U.S. warranty). it is only in the U.S. that we have this problem.

I was really pleased when Atomic agreed to allow internet sales of their products. It seems they are willing to let their products and their authorized dealers compete in the free market.

My simple solution is to avoid AL and SP products in most circumstances, or if for some reason I "need" something they make, buy them without a U.S. warranty and understand my risk and appreciate the huge savings. Some of those warranties have so many requirements, limitations and disclaimers they aren't that great anyway.

[fire diver]

Originally Posted by HelenOster

We buy from a distributor, as do all retailers of the above products.

Hold on a sec Helen. Over on ScubaBoard you said that you saved the customer money by cutting out the middleman. So which is it?

Originally Posted by HelenOster (on ScubaBoard)

You noted that we are not an authorized dealer for the Aqualung line of Scuba gear. In order to offer you the extremely competitive prices that we do, we have chosen to remain an independent dealer.......
Direct import ("grey market") refers to products imported directly into the US, rather than through the manufacturer's authorized agents / distributors. It is perfectly legal to directly import & sell these products in the US......
With no factory authorized middle-man involved in the import of these products, costs are lower, so the price is lower to our customers. Many items which are in short supply or not imported at all by the manufacturer's authorized distributors are available in direct import.

[Draq]

I think the last quote you supplied answers the question you posed; they bypass the factory authorized U.S. distribution chain and can therefore sell at prices similar to what the authorized dealers in Europe sell for. I suspect they buy from authorized European distributors, (who probably don't publicize it). In any case I don't think it is reasonable to expect LP (or any merchant for that matter) to discuss such things; it is really none of our business.

I would guess that if AL and SP really cared that much they could do something about it, but ultimately, they make money on this.

[HelenOster]

Originally Posted by TJDiver

Still dancing around the real question I see. Do you buy from distributors authorized by Scubapro, Aqualung, etc.? Nevermind, we already know the answer, given the fact that no factory warranty is available. Now, I understand why Larry has the "slimy" take on grey market onliners. I had thought about ordering some things from LP at one time, but am now changing my mind based on Helen's responses. Do any of you really want to do business with someone that dances around the edges of your questions in such a manner?

I don't have any problem at all answering the question. As I stated earlier in the thread, we are an independent distributor. Which means that no, we don't always buy from the manufacturers' authorized distributors (although sometimes we do). There is absolutely no difference in the quality or features on these items, and if you call us up, we don't have a problem in advising whether a product you are interested in is direct import (ie "grey market"). For the customers who buy from us, that is what is important to them, because they want to save money, not where we purchase.

We don't hide that fact; if you go to our website you will see that it does state very clearly:
Warranty Policy

Leisure Pro buyers find the best products at the lowest possible prices wherever they are. Since (sometimes) that means that we do not buy it directly from the manufacturer, nor are we authorized by them to sell their products, so we are not bound by the official/unofficial manufacturer's suggested retail prices, and we can pass on the tremendous savings to you. In some instances the product will come without an English language manual or manufacturer's warrantee cards valid in the United States. In those cases, we provide our own Leisure Pro Warranty, which offers equal or greater protection.


The reason we are able to sell items for less, is because we aren't having to pay a 'middle man'. Which means that our customers have the opportunity to buy exactly the same goods at a fraction of the cost elsewhere. At the end of the day, some customers want the choice and we provide that choice - but we do understand that it isn't the right choice for everybody.