I worked in a dive shop for a while... many shops say the class only costs $150 + books+ gear rental + boat fees + admin fees+.... Other shops do an all inclusive deal, where I worked it was $500 for the class, books, gear rental, pool session, boat trip to Catalina Island, day of beach diving (you pay for 2 air fills), hotel stay (you pay for food and drink) and day of diving on boat.
You will need your personal gear; mask, fins, snorkel, gloves, booties. Buying a mask is about nothing but fit! I dont care what brand, what color, clear or black skirt, price, the ONLY thing that matters is that it fits you well. With that said, good quality masks go for ~$40-$125 with the ScubaPro framless at the top end followed by Atomics masks at about $100, most other good quality masks are about 60-80.
Fins, again fit is key, but you can use different booties to get different fins to fit. You can buy absolute crap fins cheap for about $40, You can get good quality blade fins (solid OG fins like frogmen wore) for $60-$100, or you can get split fins which are easier on the legs, better top speed, but very limiting for fine control, which is needed if you want to take photos, or any kind of tech diving. (personal opinion, spend $100 and get the ScubaPro Jets, life time guarantee, and you can find them on Ebay really cheap) Not to sound like a salesman, just one diver advising another, spend the money and buy a spring strap set for your fins >$50, not rubber so they don't break, less things to carry in your save a dive kit, instant adjustment, much quicker don/doff, no straps dangling to get caught in the kelp.
Snorkle, go for the cheapest snorkel you can find. Do NOT buy the Sahara Xtra Arid or any crap like that (please stay away from the ping pong check valve, seriously!) these are over engineered pieces of crap that are NOT needed! The only bell and or whistle that I think is anywhere close to being usefull is the fold up snorkel $30 you can fold it in 1/3s and stick it in a pocket.
Gloves, depends on where you plan to dive and the water temp. I personally like the kevlar palmed with the kevlar wrapping up and over the finger tips. These cost about $50 but you can get others cheaper (these are also thick gloves I priced for the cold water here in So Cal)
Booties, $30-$100 ,I say go with the cheapies. Unless you are doing alot of rocky entry climbing over sharp rocks, then you may look at the higher priced booties with the tennis shoe like sole. You can also pay extra money for the Morino wool lined booties for extra cold water...if the water is that cold, buy a dry suit.
Buying used gear.... I guess you can, but for personal gear I would advise against it. The only personal gear I would think is ok to do so is the fins. And that is AFTER you spend time in a few dive shops trying on different fins. If you find that you really like the Atomics Splits but dont want to spend $170 for the size large that fit you like a glove, then look on ebay for Atomic size large. Dont buy fins you have not tried on, if they are too tight you will be in pain for the dive, if they are too loose, they can flop around and give you foot cramps...
Its hard to do because you have not started diving, but what kind of diving do you think you will do, how often? Here on the west coast there is a large group of people that are really embracing the "Unified Team" mentality. We are about training and skills. We go diving regularly, jump in the water, maybe do a couple of practice drills for 5 minutes then go have a fun dive. It is not a free for all, everyone just doing their own thing, We train to swim, sorta in formation, if you dont see your buddy out of the corner of your eye, you know exactly where he should be and only have to turn you head once to find him. Gear selection is very well thought out, minimalist with no hanging items dangling causing drag and dragging through the sand/corals. Some equate it to para military ( I do not) some just see it as an easier way to dive, because you know what to do, you know your buddy knows what to do, and you spend the time enjoying the dive, not trying to keep track of your buddies. If this interests you, pm me and I can give you some real recommendations. It is cheaper to pay a little more for gear once rather than keep upgrading. On the other hand if you think you only want to do the fun drift dive once every other year on vacation...get the cheapest brightest color gear you can find, the only thing you will need is mask, snorkel, and fins to take on vacation.
