on line sources

[Mtrewyn]

Is leisure pro really that bad?

they have a really good price on a bag that i have been eyeing for a while, granted i have not called ST yet but i don't think they carry the akon brand. with the shipping it is still less than I've been able to find.

Any thoughts?

[TX1Chica]

I have ordered some stuff from them and got it in a short amount of time. I think it depends on what you order. If the product has a review, be sure to read it first.

[thor]

Don't believe the hype. I have ordered things from LP many times and have been happy with the quality of the merchandise and the amount of money I have saved. I have also been in their store, and they are very helpful and knowledgeable.

[Foo2]

ST carries several Akona bags....I would recomend checking them out.
http://www.scubatoys.com/store/Scuba_Bags.asp

[Vercingetorix]

Originally Posted by Mtrewyn

they have a really good price on a bag that i have been eyeing for a while, granted i have not called ST yet but i don't think they carry the akon brand. with the shipping it is still less than I've been able to find.

Originally Posted by Foo2

ST carries several Akona bags....I would recomend checking them out.
http://www.scubatoys.com/store/Scuba_Bags.asp

Not only that, if you do not see a product or product line in the ScubaToys web-site, call Joe. He may have it in the store, but not on the web-site; I'v seen that several times. Secondly, even if he doesn't carry it, he probably has access to it. He'll price match and honor the gift certificate.

[ScubaToys Larry]

Yea, see the way it sets up.. .they are not an authorized dealer for a lot of their products. They gray market, or back door them in from foreign countries, dishonest distributors etc. Now as an authorized dealer, we have rules we have to live by according to pricing on our website. We cannot mark product X any lower than Y dollars - or else we'd lose our dealership. What that means to the customer, is any product purchased from us, has a full warranty from the manufacturer - they can send it to us, take it to any authorized dealer, or send it to the manufacturer and the problem will be fixed. With gray market sources they have to go back to that source, and then it depends on what their policy is on how they handle it.

A lot of the manufacturers are constantly working on cutting off the supply of goods, they will buy this computer, or that regulator, check the serial numbers, find out who was the source, and cut off their supply. Now in time, they try to find another supplier that will sell to them.

If you have an item that malfunctions, and they are cut off and can't get a replacement - you are a bit out in the cold until they can come up with a new source for the gray market goods.

And although we cannot advertise a price below manufacturer set levels on many products, there is no law stopping us from selling an item at any price we want. That means, if you would rather buy from us, and have a full manufacturers warranty for your product, you can simply call us, tell us what item and what price, and 99 times out of 100 we will be able to match that price.

There is the whole story for those inquiring minds that want to know!

[wxboy911]

Before I knew about ScubaToys I bought a weightbelt from LP and it worked out fine for the most part. Now I check ST first.

[yankeefan21]

Seriously - why buy from anywhere else?

[awap]

Originally Posted by ScubaToys Larry

A lot of the manufacturers are constantly working on cutting off the supply of goods, they will buy this computer, or that regulator, check the serial numbers, find out who was the source, and cut off their supply. Now in time, they try to find another supplier that will sell to them.

If you have an item that malfunctions, and they are cut off and can't get a replacement - you are a bit out in the cold until they can come up with a new source for the gray market goods.

To be fair, there are numerous discussion about Leisurepro on the net and I don't recall ever seeing a complaint about them being unable to make good on their warranty commitments. They tend to take more time because they have to process the claims back thru their sources which seem to focus around European markets where the crap that some scuba mfgrs get away with in the USA is illegal. Apparently, a number of foreign countries have better consumer protection laws than the USA.

That said, if you have the option of buying from an easy to deal with authorized dealer at the same (and sometimes better prices) with as good or better reputation for customer service and support, why buy grey market? I was disappointed in Leisurepro support when they refused to sell me service kits for my Scubapro regs I bought from them. Same BS you geet from many US dealer (but not all). They played the liability card which is just a load of crap.

In fact, I was researching the warranty on a Scubapro Frameless mask the other day. The USA warranty is 1 year, nontransferable. The Eurapean warranty is 2 years and is transferable. That is one thing that enables LP to honor warranties on the goods they sell.

[Zenagirl]

I guess I figure that since ST matches anyone else's price, why buy anywhere else (if ST has it)? Returns and exchanges are easier with ST as well as they don't require pre-authorization to send something back.