Are you planning on shopping on-line or by mail order?

Before you do, please read the question and answer section to understand why you should deal with your local dive shop. You will find that shopping with us can offer you the greatest savings! Please, bring us your on-line/mail order information and give us a chance to meet your needs. Chances are we can meet or beat the final price you'll pay for on-line/catalog purchases that require shipping and handling fees! Also, most on-line and mail-order houses are unable to provide manufacturers warrantees even on brand name items!

Also, please review our "Price Guarantee Policy", our "Personal Satisfaction Guarantee", our "Preferred Customer Repair/Annual Service Pricing", and our "Growing Kids SCUBA & Snorkeling Exchange Equipment Policy". You won't find these offers on-line or in a catalog!

PRICE GUARANTEE POLICY:

The Dive Shop will meet or beat any price on equipment in stock and advertised within the central Virginia area. Just bring in written proof of price and stock availability and let us go to work for you. We may not be able to meet discontinued/close-out prices, but give us a shot.

PERSONAL SATISFACTION/FIT GUARANTEE:

The Dive Shop takes pride in our customer service and the time we take to fit our equipment to the customer. We guarantee the fit of any item we sell. If you are not completely satisfied, just return the item and we will find the proper fit or give you a store credit. The best name brand or the best price in the world is worthless if the equipment does not fit you properly.

PREFERRED CUSTOMER REPAIR/ANNUAL SERVICE PRICING:

The Dive Shop offers preferred pricing to customers when you bring in your equipment (purchased from us) for repair/annual service. This preferred pricing can result in a 30% savings!

GROWING KIDS SCUBA & SNORKELING EXCHANGE EQUIPMENT POLICY:

The Dive Shop understands the hesitation in purchasing new equipment for a growing child. However, we believe that the proper equipment and fit is important for your child's safety and enjoyment. This policy allows any equipment purchased new from The Dive Shop to be returned when the child outgrows it for a credit of up to 50% of its purchase price when replacing it for another size. The percentage will be based on the age and condition of the returned equipment.

The Dive Shop asks for your support. Personalized customer service is our priority! We want to be your one stop dive shop!

Questions and Answers

WHY SHOULD YOU BY GEAR FROM US?

We sell dive gear with significant value added. We assemble it, configure it to your needs, and we absolutely guarantee the fit. We make sure you are fully aware of all the features of the gear you choose, and are fully trained in the purpose and use of these features.
We are here to instantly resolve any warranty issues. We guarantee your satisfaction with your equipment choice or we'll exchange it for any other piece of equipment that will satisfy you. Do you really want to have to pick up the phone and then have to mail it back and then wait?

We give special service rates for equipment purchased at our store, pay the shipping for equipment returned to the manufacturer under warranty, and we are here to honor the annual service warranties. We are always here for free, cheerful consultation on all the places and ways you can use your new equipment.

We do everything we can to connect you to the community of diving and make diving opportunities available to you whether it's a trip or training or education or simply a social encounter. We want you to be happy, for your gear to work flawlessly and for you to Go Diving!

CAN YOU GET BETTER PRICES BY ORDERING FROM MAIL ORDER OR ON THE INTERNET?

Maybe. The Internet is great for providing instant information but not necessarily for providing service. Internet direct sellers are selling dive gear at its basic worth, unassembled, in the box and are not in a position to provide the services in the sale and after the sale that we do. So do you want a cheap price or a great value?

An intelligent Internet strategy:
You want to understand the purchase you are anticipating making. You know you want to touch the merchandise and try it on first! All the pictures, sizing charts and virtual showrooms really are no substitute.
Come visit us; check the size, the quality of the material, get the catalogs and anything else to help you choose the perfect system and above all, ask questions of our staff. Now fully armed, hit the net to find out the market value of your gear without the value added that we provide.
Then before you send that credit card number off to someone out-of-state or even out-of-the-country, give us one last chance to make you one of our many happy, loyal customers. Just show us what system you've chosen and what pricing you've found.

In exchange, we'll make certain that you are getting what you think you're getting; the right size, the current model, the right features, etc. We'll tell you what the cost difference would be if you bought that identical system from us with all the value that we add.

One number. No pressure. You decide.
We promise that we will treat you with all the cordial respect due an intelligent and thorough shopper, and we will sincerely attempt to negotiate something that will make us both happy. Good luck in your hunt. You’re going to love having your own gear and going diving.

WHAT ARE THE PITFALLS OF INTERNET & MAIL ORDER PURCHASING?

Internet and Mail Order sellers are generally not manufacturer authorized dealers and they're most always way out-of-town.
Most manufacturers recognize the value that local dive shops provide in presenting their products to prospective purchasers and in creating and facilitating the development of a local diving community necessary to have a viable market in the first place.
So in order to be sure that their gear is properly set up and serviced before their customer jumps into the water with it, they require their distributors to be full service dive shops, who provides the final quality control.
Although an Internet seller may come into possession of equipment from "going-out-of-business" sales, overseas outlets, stores who need to make a quick buck, or some other means, manufacturers do not sell directly to them.
Manufacturers try to limit these sellers from getting gear, and do not honor warranties on equipment purchased through these sellers, as they are not authorized dealers.

SO, WHAT DOES A LONG DISTANCE SELLER AND ABSENCE OF WARRANTY REALLY MEAN TO YOU?

It means that if it is not exactly what you want, if it doesn't quite fit, if the color isn't exactly right, or if it is defective in any way, you'll have to send it back, generally at your own expense. It means that free warranty work is not available nationwide on a local basis.

It means that the seller may warranty it, but that service is only available from a single location and again you’ll have to send it off (another shipping expense) and wait... and wait...

It means that the gear may not be configured or tested for final sale and that gauges may be metric, if purchased from another country.

It means that for a reasonable charge, we will be happy to setup, service or adjust any of your new gear. A service that would have been included free of charge if you had purchased the equipment from us.

It means that you may have shipping charges that were not quoted in the original purchase invoice. In the event that you are purchasing from another country, it means that there will be a customs declaration prepared by the shipper naming you as the importer of record and that you are responsible for to meet all US import laws and it means that you may have delays and charges in US Customs.

It may also mean that you will have exchange rate differences and exchange charges on you credit card that you were not expecting. It definitely means you will have a hard time returning it if you need to do so, that you have no US consumer protection laws working for you and the local Better Business Bureau will be of no help.

Overseas purchases may have a manufacturer's warranty but it may only be honored in the country of origin and not in the US due to differences in warranty laws and contracts.

SO, WHAT WILL HAPPEN IF I DON’T SUPPORT MY LOCAL DIVE SHOP?

Ask yourself these questions:
Can I get air fills on the Internet or by mail order?
Can I get scuba training and specialty training on the Internet or by mail order, and would I really trust it?
Will I want to travel out-of- town or out-of-state to get my training?
Will I want to ship off my equipment for all of my service needs?
Who would I ask about the latest new equipment?
Who would I know that personally tests all of the new equipment before they sell it to me?
Who would I ask about my personal SCUBA needs?
Who would even care about my personal needs?
Who would set up and lead a group trip for me?
Who would attempt to fix my equipment that breaks on a trip?
Who would want to hear about my trip, look at my photos, and videos?
Who would care about me and my family, my safety, my needs and my dreams?
Who would I trust to look out for me?
Who would I turn to if not my local dive shop?

SO, WHO IS HERE FOR ME AND LOOKING OUT FOR ME?

We are! We will be most happy to help you in any way we can. We are here in your community on a full time basis trying to help you go diving. Your diving safety and enjoyment are our number one concern! We are here for you everyday. We sincerely appreciate your business!

-The Dive Shop