wrote in message
...
On Wed, 11 Jun 2008 05:00:44 -0500, Geoff Schultz

wrote:

West Marine regularly gets beat up in here for their pricing. I was
pricing VHF radio parts and noted their "Low Price Guarantee" on their web
site. I had never seen this before. Is this new?

-- Geoff (who's only interest in WM is that I buy stuff there)

***********************

We Won't Be Beat - Low Price Guarantee

Our Low Price Guarantee assures that you are always getting a competitive
price. If you find a competitor with a lower price on an identical, in-
stock item within 30 days of purchase, just let us know. Shop with
confidence at West Marine.

Step 1: Call us! 1-800-BOATING (262-8464)

Step 2: Provide a print out or web address of the advertisement to share
with us

It's that easy! See details below:

When on the phone with us, simply ask the manager to match the advertised
product price of nationally recognized U.S. retailers. You may be asked
for
a copy of the advertisement or catalog which shows the local or final
delivered price. After confirming the price and availability of the item,
the price will be matched.

Please note that price matching cannot be combined with coupon or other
promotional offers. Prices, offers and our price matching policy are
subject to change without notice. Price matching does not apply to
auctions, shipping charges, taxes or promotions such as mail-in offers,
gift-with-purchase, financing offers, installation services, or
typographical errors.


Nothing new. However, it requires the customer to do all the work. I
prefer
buying from the business that has the lower price to begin with. One thing
that
has changed over time is that my usual main store is not cheaper than West
on
every item any longer. I used to buy from them without even checking.
Lately, it
seems West is quietly lowering prices on some items. I would rather
support my
local store, but it's no longer a slam dunk like it used to be.

With the internet, it's a lot easier to find 5 competing prices on an item
than
it used to be. Faster than making a bunch of phone calls, and often the
best
source is one that you never would have known existed. West seems to
slowly be
learning that lesson.



Went to WM the other day, there were these folks who were doing this and
that. I asked, "is WM going out
of business, that is what I hear" ..

This one guy hands me a card to send to corp to tell them how bad the store
is..
I said "you lost 17m $ the quarter ending April, and you want me to tell
them they suck".

The store sucks,, plain and simple. It has nothing on the shelves, the
associates are stupid,
the prices are higher that the hardware store three mils away, there is
nothing about this
store chain that is good. The sooner WM becomes Out of Business, the
better.