Per the listing I just happened onto this big bag of scuba stuff. Am I being too ambitious in the asking and “buy it now” prices?
Never mind, the market has answered the question. It got purchased a few minutes after I posted the question.
:o
:eek: no wonder it sold so quick! Great buy…those Octopi are worth the $129 alone!
question for anyone who might come across this thread - I was interested in taking SCUBA lessons, but was told that as well as paying for the lessons cost, I’d need to buy $350 worth of equipment before I even started.
Is that normal? Because it seems rather steep for something I’m just trying out (I’m sure it’s a great investment if I end up loving diving, but if I don’t or just dive from time to time, it looks like I’m out a considerable amount of money)
Not to mention the two BCDs! Unless the equipment was completely ragged the buyer got a fantastic deal. New that gear would probably be worth six to ten times the buy price.
amarinth what gear would you be required to buy? Does that $350 include a regulator and BC? Or does it just cover suit, fins, mask, etc. Depending on the quality of the gear you buy it can range from a reasonable estimate to pricy, but still falls within the range of what it cost me and my wife to start up.
Enjoy,
Steven
$350 sounds just about right, if you had to buy the same things I did:
Mask - $70
Fins - $70
Snorkel - $40
Weight belt/weights - $35
Boots - $50
Gloves - $30
Hood/vest - $80
That’s $375 total. The gloves and hood didn’t need to be purchased untilt he open water dive. Also, I’m in New England, and the neoprene has to be thick and warm, so it might be cheaper wherever you are.
Mask, Fins, Snorkel, Boots, & Gloves. (I’m in the Pacific NW, so it’s also cold.)
Is there any way to acquire this stuff more cheaply? (Like I said, I’m interested, but if I don’t like it, that’s $300 down the drain…)
Oh, man! I’ve been looking for a yellow USD horse collar!
Those are the things you need. I’m up near Bellingham, BTW, and dry suits are provided for the class (Adventures Down Under). Weghts, tank, regulators and BCs were also provided, of course. Some of the students didn’t have the all of the required gear, so they rented it. This is a good idea, especially for the fins. Check with your dive centre to see what you can rent. This way you can be sure that when you so buy gear, you know what you’re getting. I have Aqualung long-ish blades that are fine; but Force Fins are much nicer (IMO). I rented some just to try them out. The rental Force Fins had nylon web straps instead of rubber or bungee ones, which made them difficult to get on and off; but I liked the way they felt in the water. New Force Fins have bungees. I may pick some up.
Anyway, the shop wants you to dive. They want you to rent their gear or buy new gear. It’s in their interest to rent you gear for classes. If they don’t want to rent some of the basics, find a shop that does. Buy your own mask and snorkel at least.
I’ve been to Bellingham. I have friends who have a place out in Oak Harbor, some of the best diving I have done was out there. 
I have an abolone the size of a basketball I got out there.
Really? Where’d you find it? E-mail me, or else everyone will be getting them! 
(Actually, according to the fishing regulations they’re protected up here and can’t be collected. It would be nice to know wher they are though, just in case a season is eventually opened.)
I love abalone! My mom tells me of when she was a kid in Orange County, CA. “If we wanted abalone, we’d just wade out and get some.” Same with spiny lobsters (which are much tastier than Maine lobsters). She and her SO used to fly down to Baja when I was a kid in the '70s. The local fishermen didn’t want to sell them abalone, since all of their catch was earmarked for the Japanese market. Still, they managed to convince someone to sell them some. Oh, man! Was it good! The last time I ate abalone was at The Desert Inn in Lancaster when I was a teen in the late-1970s. It was about 5" or 6" across. Someone posted in another thread that they recently had abalone in a restaurant. $20 for a two-inch medallion.
This reminds me of an abalone question. Off to GQ!
I just started a scuba class, but we didn’t have to buy anything - the dive instructors will rent everything to us for the length of the course, including the open water dive, for $50.00. It’s worth $50.00 to try all the different kinds of masks and fins to see what you like, rather than buy something and find out you don’t like it & are stuck with it. (They’ll also give us $50.00 off the top if/when we buy the equipment from them later…so it’s definitely worth it.)
Be careful of what they tell you it will cost - if they lo-ball you, ask what all the fees are & what’s included - a couple hundred bucks can quickly turned into $1000.00 or more. I’m taking my class through the local community college, and while the fee to the college was cheap, the dive place made it very clear up front in writing was else had to be paid to them, and broke it all down so we knew exactly what it all costs. Total for the course, all materials, the NAUI cert, etc is about $400.00; if we do the open water dive with them locally, another $200.00 - not bad, and a lot less than other places I checked out.
Asking for all the figures in writing is a good idea - a top notch place shouldn’t have any problem providing them to you.
Well I got this message from the (supposedly) successful bidder
I don’t see how that can happen “accidently”, but I called him up and he sounded quite sincere. Apparently someone is hijacking his Ebay account and goofing around with it (I guess) so back onto Ebay it goes. I’ll relist the stuff tomorrow. Based on your feedback should I adjust the price upward?
How much do you want for the USD horse collar?
I’m really looking just to sell the entire package as a whole.
C’est la vie.
BTW: The “Yellow nylon strap belt (purpose unknown)” is a weight belt.
Seems there are a couple of Dopers who can use a complete package of dive gear. Maybe one of them will buy it?
Good luck with the auction.
Crap! I can’t do eBay from work. 
Oh well, good luck to any dopers who go out for this bag of gear.
Enjoy,
Steven