"Chuck Gould" wrote in message
oups.com...
On May 18, 11:22 pm, sherwindu wrote:
Send some of those Mom and Pop stores to the Chicago area. West Marine
has
got things sewed up here, except for a Boating World store in the far
west
suburbs.

I keep my boat in Racine Wisconsin with a nearby West Marine. I can
expect a
50% chance of not finding items for my boat. Just last week I needed a
fuel line
connector for my Yamaha 9.9 outboard. Of course, they were out of them.
There
is nothing like a bit of healthy competition to wake these guys up.

Sherwin D.



Larry Weiss wrote:
Eisboch wrote:
Anybody go shopping lately at West Marine?

I hadn't been there for a couple of years. I stopped in today
because I was
thinking of picking up three new LED type cockpit light fixtures to
replace
the halogen bulb types.
I did this a few years ago in the upper station .... replaced the
stock
halogens with red LED types. IIRC, the fixtures were about 15 bucks
each
then.

Found them today at West Marine and grabbed three. Then I noticed the
price.
$34.95 each. Hung them back on the display rack.

Talk about big oil ripping off the customers.

35 bucks for a 75 cent plastic fixture and a 2 dollar LED?

Gimmie a break.

Eisboch

Many boaters on Long Island have had it with West to the point where
they have closed several stores. The stores that are left are poorly
stocked and overpriced.

Meanwhile the local mom and pops are thriving. Good for them.

Larry Weiss
"...Ever After!"- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

Any marine retailer has a pretty tough row to hoe, and a general
chandlery one of the toughest.

With marine supplies, you're selling into a very small market. So
small, and so seasonal in many parts of the country, that the Mom and
Pop's are disappearing or have already disappeared. To compound
matters, this very small market is then factionalized to an incredible
degree. To have every part on hand that somebody might need for any
boat would mean tying up far too much money for far too long. There
are parts that somebody might call for once a year, maybe.

IMO, most serious shopping is now done by catalog. The retail stores,
particularly in smaller communities, primarily exist to sell only the
highest-turnover and convenience items. The WM catalog has 2-3 times
as much stuff listed than you will find stocked in even the largest
stores.

Something that WM contributes to in boating and for which they get
very little credit is new product development. If a designer or
inventor can get WM to buy a new item, that provides enough volume to
get a fledgling enterprise pretty well established.

I shop WM fairly regularly. I don't expect to find any real bargains
most of the time, but
they are convenient. I also patronize some of the local and regional
"specialists" to support their independent businesses, but for general
stuff WM gets a portion of my boating dollar.


In the SF Bay area, they seem to be very competitive and if they do not have
the part in stock will get it in a day. Helps that the corporate offices
and main warehouse is about 40 miles from San Jose.