Hi guys, I plan to open a scuba diving shop in the Andamans. [ All of you are most welcome once its up and running ]

I would like to know which brand of equipments do you think are the best ?
Amongst Mares, ScubaPro and Aqua Lung which one would you prefer to use while scuba diving ? Is there any other brand which you prefer to use ?
Also, which would be the best place (country/dealer) to buy these equipments (in bulk) from ?

Any other suggestions are welcome.

I had to look up where the Andamans were! How is the diving over there?

Great you've come and asking us directly for some consumer research

Personally, my thoughts on scuba equipment buying:

Although I'll research a lot online before I buy (user reviews mainly), I'll always want to try something on in a shop before I buy. I'm more willing to pay a little extra to shop offline, so I won't be trying things on in a shop then go and buy it for £5 cheaper online.

So, location wise it's just got to be somewhere local to me. Just about the only thing I'll buy online will be things such as spare parts kits, dive watches etc.

Brand wise, I'm sure lots of people will specifically have their own brands, but it's a bit like shoes for me. I'll go with what fits and what I'm comfortable with over brand.

Here in the states most dive shops carry numerous brands. Very few will only carry one brand. This makes it nice to try different set ups for fit and comfort. Not to many shops will let you test dive the equipment though. We have a few shops that have indoor pools attached to the shop used for training, in those shops you are allowed to try the equipment in the pools. I think that most divers are looking for a good deal, not so much the cheapest equipment or or the most expensive but gear that feels, performs and fits properly. Case in point my b/c is DiveRite, my fins are ScubaPro, wetsuit is Henderson, mask is Cressi, one reg is Oceanic and the other is Aqau lung legend and a Uwatec Smart Z computer. No brand loyalty just things that feel right to me and do the job I expect from them.