Diver vision

I used them for a pair of ysd1 strobes about 6 months ago. Had a great experience with them, and their prices are amazing

I just bought several items from Divervision.com. Great prices! Excellent communication with Sandy at Divervision. Fast Shipping, within 3 days with DHL from Taiwan to Puerto Rico. I had to exchange on item (my mistake, not theirs) and it was easy.

I've give my response too... Very very very good service, it's all... ;-) I like them !!!

My experience of Divervision has been nothing but awful. I ordered (7th Jan 2023):

I've just received my package (23rd April 2023 - nearly 4 months later). To be fair, I was told that various items were out of stock. I said I had a dive trip to the Red Sea planned for March and was told this would be fine. The trip (for various reasons) slipped to mid April but even with lots of chasing (and limited communications back) I went on the trip without my camera, as without strobes it would be pointless. 

However, I've have now not received the parts ordered. Instead of the Sentinel V5, I've been sent the Sea & Sea Leak Alarm Unit with Manual Pump 46135. The result is a product I didn't order that is $105 cheaper than the one I did order and an electronic pump that does not fit the pressure connection of the replacement leak detection system. If I'd have been told this before shipping we could have discussed the order. As it is I have a product I didn't order and a pump that is of no use at all. (Yes I know I didn't need both pumps but I thought for uk use I'd use the electronic pump and take the unpowered one away on trips abroad - for weight and yet another item with a battery in it ).

Has it been worth the hoped for savings? I have to say no - I've had a holiday without my new camera, don't have the bits I ordered and feel really quite frustrated with the whole thing. During the whole time (with no stock) Divervision's website continued to show all items in stock, even though I suggested this was unreasonable to do so.

As ever, this is just my experience. Others have said only good things above - which is why I went with the risk in the first place. I'm sure others will have better experiences.  

@MTH

Sorry to hear about this... I've bought from them in the past and it's been okay...(shipping time can be variable, but staying in touch with them after placing an order can help)

One question: looking at what you ordered (and what you wrote) the only component listed related to your strobe system would have been the optical YS converter.

That's a $500+ item that's available from several other places. Going to the Red Sea and being able to shoot with your camera/housing seems like it would be worth the additional $500+ YS converter sourced from elsewhere, vs. not taking your camera at all.

The leak detector and the pumps are optional - more to give you piece of mind than anything else. As an example, on my Nauticam D850 I have a pump system, on my Nauticam D500 I never added one. 

Both Reef Photo and Bluewater Photo sell this converter - if you were shipping to the UK wouldn't Florida potentially be faster for shipping (to the UK) vs. from Taiwan? (and I'm assuming there is a UK distributor for Sea & Sea as well...)


 

@oneyellowtang

Thanks for your input.

Yep totally right, the YS convertor was the only part that affected use of strobes. Buying it again at $500 would have been an options but I was told that the shipment was on it way and would be with me. Paying twice for a single item is extreme as far as I'm concerned but NO we don't have a major uk supplier of Sea&Sea and I couldn't find anyone that had the item in stock with 2 weeks to go. Buying Sea&Sea parts in the uk seems to be difficult at the moment - I'm not sure why, but at least one of the big uk underwater camera shops went bust a couple/few years back. We can discuss the merits of buying in country from a local supplier etc but at the moment uk divers don't have a lot of choice (or it seems to me!).

Yes, the leak detector is an optional item, this did not stop me taking the camera. I've had a number of point and shoot system, before changing to a D80 housed camera, then a D7000, and now I've upgraded to a D500 system. I know, all behind the curve but hey that is how my budget works. All my previous systems have been used without a leak detection system and I was dubious about one but in the end decided at my age I'd like a bit of peace of mind. My approach without out a detector has been fine over the last 20 years as I've never had a flood BUT never say never.

Totally agree about keeping in touch. I found Divervision very difficult to communicate with and with the current issue I've tried to contact them but I'm getting no reply! I tried contacting them before I bought from then and got very little out of them which is why I found this thread and why I eventually went with them. I placed the order at the beginning of January and still heard nothing - though my money was taken. I was getting nervous towards the end of January when I'd still heard nothing. Then I got an email from Sandy saying that some of the items were out of stock. I wasn't told which items and had to ask - I got a quick response saying both the strobe converter and the leak detector were on order but the pumps were in stock. I wrote back saying fine but I'd got this holiday coming up etc. Sandy said that WOULD be fine as it was 6-8 weeks away. Then I heard nothing again in February. I tried to contact Sandy but heard nothing. I continued to try and contact with no response - though many people said on here and on other review sites that communication could be slow. As I drifted into March I continued to try and contact them and eventually got a response from Sandy at Divervision. I said my holiday has slipped into mid April. I was told that the items were ready to ship and would be with me. I thought great as there was still 5 weeks to the trip. With a week of March still to go I chased again, now only 3 weeks to go. No response again. I chased again and eventually got a response saying the item would ship this week and I'd get it in plenty of time. Yesterday the items appeared, two weeks too late.

The items I received where incorrect - ok only the leak detection system and pumps. They were a cheaper solution than I'd paid for and invalidated one of the purchases. There was no communication from Sandy at Divervision telling me they had to (?) supply a different part. I've had no communication saying they have reimbursed me as the item supplied is $100 cheaper than what I'd ordered, nor did they tell me that one of the items would be useless and that they would cancel the order for a $90 item I now didn't need. So at the moment, I'm either $190 out of pocket OR I have a system I didn't order. Does this seem right to you? I'm not sure what point you are making?

As to buying from the UK, Taiwan or the US or even other parts of Europe. I'll reiterate, we don't seem to have a good supplier of Sea&Sea at the moment - but I'm fastened in to Sea&Sea with a number of ports, lens gears etc so why would I want to change? I ordered at the beginning of the year 14 weeks before I would use the system - diving in the UK is rubbish in the winter and my first UK dive is next weekend, then I have 3 weeks diving in beautiful locations around the uk and Ireland in June and July. I'd have said that was plenty of time to receive parts from anywhere in the world.

In summary:

Divervision are awful at communication I tried to contact them over 20 times during 14 weeks and received a handful of responses to emails and calls ( no call was ever picked up - and I am aware of the time difference).

Items on their website showing "In Stock" weren't in stock and continued to say so even though they clearly were not in stock.

They took my money straightaway even though items weren't in stock. 

Their promises for delivery were not kept.

They shipped me a replacement item, which invalidated one of the items I was buying and was substantially cheaper than what I'd paid for AND did not contact me to check it would be ok.

Now I have received the items and have a problem I'm again struggling to get a response.

So, while others like yourself have had a good experience buying from them, I'd actually suggest, based on my experience, that people avoid them at all costs. This is my personal view, but having such a dreadful experience, I feel people should be aware of what they can be like. Then people know the risks. Yes this in only one experience and I'd normally say that can happen with any company. The major killers for me are that:

1) when things go wrong I accept that but I want good communications.

2)I feel swindled and that isn't good; they took my money for items out of stock and have supplied me with incorrect and incompatible items.

Neither of these things are behaviours I want to deal with when things go wrong. When things go right we don't really find out much about a company. When things go right we learn a shop can supply things they say they can sell. It is good to have this. However, when things go wrong, we learn a lot. Poor communication, lies about deliveries and shipping things not ordered with no communications; these things tell us what might happen to us and the stress it might bring to our lives. Personally, reading the difficulties I've experienced WOULD put me off buying from such a supplier. It is everyone's choice, I'm just telling people what I've experienced and they can make their own choices. I feel this is a totally fair review. Others will have had a totally different experience, as you have. I will not be buying from them again, but I'm not trying to hurt their business, I just don't want this stress, and it is stress to me. Being out of pocket ~$200 does upset me, not getting things I ordered upsets me, going on a diving holiday without my camera upset me. I don't think I behaved badly, I tried to communicate and I hope I did everything I could. I like to think I'm a model customer, I pay, I communicate and I'm understanding of real world problems.

Sorry for the long submission but having been questioned on why I wrote the first post, I felt I should be detailed to avoid back and forth comments. If you have any other question feel free to ask. I'm not going to bombard this thread with further discussion though as I've made my points.

Kind regards

Mark

Sorry to hear about your bad experience.  My own purchases from Divervision have all gone well, with prompt delivery and no problems (I live in California), and when the need arises I intend to buy from them again.  

@MTH

My main point was that for sure the service was poor and what they eventually shipped was incorrect...

However did you really miss shooting for an entire dive trip because of this or did you bring an older system?

If I'm missing something critical for my rig (with a trip upcoming)  I'll occasionally order 2 of them (from different dealers) just to make sure I have one for a trip (and then return the 2nd when I return).

If the choice was between not shooting at all (during a fairly expensive trip to book) vs. ordering a back up, I'm always choosing the backup.

For the future - both the US dealers I listed are known for their service and their promptness. Without a UK dealer, I would be looking there before looking to a dealer in Asia (I understand that's a personal choice).

@oneyellowtang

I went without my camera :-(. I couldn't get a part in the time I had left and I definitely can't afford to buy 2 of things that cost $500 just in case. I would say I'm relatively comfortably off; however, I can't afford to buy a new camera system every couple of years (this is only my 3 full system in 16 years). I sell as much of the old system as I can or as I'm not carrying over. I also really enjoy diving. It is frustrating when I don't have a camera but I could chill out underwater.

Divervision purchase resolved!

Further to my situation with DiverVision, I'm pleased to say that the situation with the delivery of different parts, also resulting in a redundant order of a device, have all been resolved by the company. They refunded the redundant pump and refunded the difference between the cost of the part I ordered and the parts I received. 

I can see that for the main part the Divervision are going to meet many peoples criteria; and, now that they have resolved my issue, I might consider using them again. However, I'd not place a complex order with them again. Ordering a single lense or strobe I believe would be fine. Ordering a more complex order I think is still fraught as there it is more likely that things could go wrong and the poor communication from the company is fine when things go well but a nightmare when they don't.

In the UK we seem to struggle with poor support in general from companies like Sea&Sea in my experience, necessitating purchases from abroad. I can understand that Taiwan may struggle with language problems. However, I've successfully bought parts from all around the world and assumed that a shop offering delivery worldwide would not have such problems.

Most people on here who posted had no problems. Maybe I was the one in a thousand that had an issue - and it did get resolved.    

I have purchased several items from DiverVision and my experience has been positive. One of them has been an Inon LF800-n torch which leaked on first dive. I sent it back to DiverVision and they shipped me a replacement, which promptly leaked again. They had one more in stock, so they tested it themselves, and that one also flooded - presumably Inon shipped them a bad batch. After this it took some time go get a fresh shipment from Inon, but on the third try I finally got a torch that was trouble-free.

As the flooding was not, in any way, DiverVision fault, and they worked with me and the manufacturer to resolve the issue, I remain a satisfied customer.

25 minutes ago, Barmaglot said:

I have purchased several items from DiverVision and my experience has been positive. One of them has been an Inon LF800-n torch which leaked on first dive. I sent it back to DiverVision and they shipped me a replacement, which promptly leaked again. They had one more in stock, so they tested it themselves, and that one also flooded - presumably Inon shipped them a bad batch. After this it took some time go get a fresh shipment from Inon, but on the third try I finally got a torch that was trouble-free.

As the flooding was not, in any way, DiverVision fault, and they worked with me and the manufacturer to resolve the issue, I remain a satisfied customer.

That is great to hear, and amazing service. I guess I was most upset at missing a holiday with my camera and then, to top it off, the order not being right. I'm happy with what DiverVision could do in the end, I'm no longer out of pocket.

How long did it take to resolve? My experience was exacerbated by the slow, and occasional lack any, communication. It sounds like things were much better for you Barmaglot. I have no particular axe to grind, I just wanted people to be aware that things can go wrong. I've bought from lots of other suppliers and not had the same frustration; although, as I've no said twice, it is resolved to my satisfaction!!

51 minutes ago, MTH said:

How long did it take to resolve?

Several months, although it was exacerbated by the fact that I couldn't take a torch on a dive immediately after getting it. Let me look through my emails...

15/6/2021 - order placed.
20/6/2021 - order received in Israel.
4/11/2021 - I report that the torch had flooded on first dive (Kata Beach, Phuket).
5/11/2021 - DiverVision respond, asking me to ship the torch back to them in Taiwan. I ship it out the same day.
26/11/2021 - DiverVision inform me that they have received the torch.
29/11/2021 - DiverVision inform me that Inon has authorized replacing the torch and ask me where to ship it.
1/12/2021 - I respond with my current address in Phuket (took me several days as I was on a liveaboard out of reception range).
3/12/2021 - package is shipped out (I had also ordered some extra parts while at it).
6/12/2021 - package received in Thailand.
20/12/2021 - I take the torch on a liveaboard trip and it floods on first dive; I send a message about it to DiverVision.
29/12/2021 - no response, I send them another message.
2/1/2022 - still no response, I send another message.
4/1/2022 - DiverVision respond, apologizing that Inon was on holidays. They offer another replacement, I ask them to pressure test it before shipping.
8/1/2022 - DiverVision message me that they had two LF800-n torches in stock, pressure tested both, and both flooded. Waiting to hear back from Inon.
7/3/2022 - DiverVision send me a message that replacements from Inon have arrived. However, I am scheduled to go back to Israel on 16/3, so I ask them to hold the shipping.
30/3/2022 - I'm back in Israel, but in the mess of sorting out my things after five months abroad, it's taken me two weeks to notify DiverVision that I'm ready to receive the replacement.
11/4/2022 - I send a status inquiry, since my last message went unanswered.
31/5/2022 - still no response, I send another inquiry. This time they respond within hours - they thought it had already been shipped, but it hadn't.
2/6/2022 - replacement ships.
9/6/2022 - replacement arrives, missing its battery cartridge (this torch has a special holder for 3xAA cells that goes into the battery compartment)
13/6/2022 - haven't heard back from them, status inquiry
16/6/2022 - DiverVision inform me that the battery cartridge has been shipped on 15/6/22

This was the end of the saga. The cartridge arrived a few days later, and when I finally took the torch on a dive trip a few months after that, it worked without issues.