"Dave", the knee jerk conservative, babbled:

Businesses aren't in business to share. They're in business to make money.
Leave the sharing to your therapy group.

Are you claiming the consumers are obligated to buy from West if found something
in their catalog?

I don't mind giving some business to West/BoatUS - they do provide a service
with stores, 6 in my area, and a nice catalog. However, for a major purchase,
I'll always check out the alternatives. Until recently, I gave a lot of
business to a family run chandlery, Marine Exchange (known locally as
"Arlene's"), but, sadly, they're out of business now.

I was disappointed when I checked out the latest West and Boat/US catalogs.
They are now almost identical and the selection seems limited. A few days ago I
was in the local Boat/US and asked for pricing of some items in the Clearance
section. It turned out that many of the items were there because they are
discontinued by the merger, but the price is actually the original price, which
seems like deceptive marketing. I handed the items to the clerk and walked out.

-jeff