I don’t think you have violated any hidden codes of conduct!! Business is tight right now. So is our diving dollars! With that being said, of course there are gonna be comments and hints of "you belong to loyalty, or at least hoped for." For starters, scuba diving is not just for the well off and very wealthy. Sure if the reason you dive is status appearance, then spending major bank to show that might be called for. But again if you are " Recently I decided to get back into the sport of diving
after a long absence" then any way you can "start up again." Donated, used on it’s last leg gear that’s cared for will still do the job. Of course before exposure to the limits of training or close to them(whatever that is,) certain things, regs, bc’s and maybe an complete (cheap) redundant air source would be good to consider. I bought a IST R-10 first and second stage reg (sug retail-300 bucks) on sale at Seavenger for $127.00, only because I was tired of using my 12 year old reg.
That reg comes with a Lifetime warranty, IF you service it every year for over or close to 125 bucks. I am not telling anyone when to service thier gear. What I’m saying is: I could buy a new reg every year instead. So far that reg has supported 200+ dives just fine in the last 16 months without anyone questioning my loyalty to their services!! Of course I didn’t ask. If you’re like me or the regular diving group I go with, diving with "every" club, group and team for every reason-means more dives and more networking. HardcoreDiveTeam.com is a team that sells nothing, but has inside the open door, a vast platform of recreational dive opportunities that are unparalleled by "any" others. If you like and want to dive, (for like free) I can only suggest you take a peek at that website, like us on Facebook, to see what I’m talking about!
Bear in mind when dealing with any shops or services, be polite and understand the concept of what keeps them alive. If you feed them at all, you’re helping them grow. And that’s a good thing.