I used to sell my little product through them. I found them to be ruthless
to their suppliers. If you shipped late, they fine you. If you ship early,
they fine you. If you ship too many items in an order, you guessed it, they
fine you! And they keep the overages.
They get terrific margins on many lines and rarely pass them on to the
consumer. I suspect that Wal-Mart took notes on them. I had their Port
Supply Card which is suppose to be for wholesalers. Frequently the
shelf/discounted price was LOWER than the alleged discount offered to
wholesalers. It's a wacky company.

I buy from the little guy every chance I get. It's the only protest I have.

"nobody" wrote in message
...
They have driven out almost all their competition with drastic price
reductions. ONce that is accomplished they raise their prices to a
level much higher than anyone charged prior to their dominance.

They only stock what moves quickly. They stock nothing for the
convenience of their customers. If they can not turn it around for a
big profit in very short time they will not stock it.

They suppress innovation in the industry because they will not stock
newly invented or innovative products. They will not stock anything
new unless they are certain there are people waiting to snatch the
product off their shelves.

Their pricing is predatory. When I am in South Florida where some
competition remains I regularly note that every other dealer sells the
same product for less money than they do.

They really the "K-Mart" of the marine industry. I was pleased when
they first appeared but I now wish I had never heard the name.

I have never owned a Marine supply store. I hold no stock in any
marine supply business. I have never even known anyone who owned a
marine supply store. I just think that West Marine is really a lousy
outfit.

You shareholders, employees (no idea how they treat their employees),
and defenders just fire away because I, for one, will drive an hour
out of my way to buy from any other store. Unfortunately I only able
to do so in south Florida. Elsewhere they have destroyed the
competition.