Didn't know WM would do that. Thanks for the info.
MMC
"Keith" wrote in message
oups.com...
Do what I do... get a price quote on the web then either buy it there,
or take it into West Marine where they will price match. I went into
sticker shock awhile back when I went in to buy a bottle of 3M's
Finesse-it clear coat polish. $50!!!!!!!! plus tax! I bought it on the
web from an automotive supply for $25, including freight.

On Mon, 16 Jan 2006 17:44:05 -0500, nobody wrote:

I just think that West Marine is really a lousy
outfit.

Not fair in my opinion. It's true that their prices are rarely
competetive, but for small stuff the convenience of having one 5
minutes away is nice. I also find that their service and return
policies are excellent. Several times they have helped me get
warranty service on items I no longer had the receipts for.

Several of the local employees have told me that they also offer
excellent benefits, even to the part timers, so they are not exactly a
Wal Mart in that respect.

For big ticket items it pays to shop around and order from out of
state. I've had good luck with both Defender in CT and Pyacht in MD.

http://www.defender.com/

http://www.pyacht.com

"Wayne.B" wrote in message
...
On Mon, 16 Jan 2006 17:44:05 -0500, nobody wrote:

I just think that West Marine is really a lousy
outfit.

Not fair in my opinion. It's true that their prices are rarely
competetive, but for small stuff the convenience of having one 5
minutes away is nice. I also find that their service and return
policies are excellent. Several times they have helped me get
warranty service on items I no longer had the receipts for.

Several of the local employees have told me that they also offer
excellent benefits, even to the part timers, so they are not exactly a
Wal Mart in that respect.

For big ticket items it pays to shop around and order from out of
state. I've had good luck with both Defender in CT and Pyacht in MD.

http://www.defender.com/

http://www.pyacht.com


Some of their prices are pretty crazy. I needed two simple hook latches to
hold swinging doors shut. Local independent chandler had only 1 at $5.
Went to another chandler and he wanted $8 so I thought I'd go up to West
Marine to check on their price.
$13 !!
I said to the store manager "Making a hook latch is not rocket science. How
can you charge twice as much as anyone else?" He just shrugged.

Another time a friend wanted to buy a large fender at an advertised sale
price but they would not sell at that price because the sale was 3 days
away. He went to the local independent and got the exact same fender for
less than the advertised sale price. At first he was mad at them but then
decided they did him a favour.

They are pretty good on warranties though and if you get the West Marine
Advantage card you'll get some money back in the mail.

They will also match other people's prices by word-of-mouth on smaller items
and by show of written price on more expensive things but they're not the
first place I go to.

"Lauri Tarkkonen" wrote in message
...

People in many cases gat what they want to pay for, but unfortunately
they do not understand it themselves. Good service is something most
people notice only when it is absent.

- Lauri Tarkkonen


The root of the problem, whether you are talking West Marine, Wal-Mart or
health insurance for that matter, is the consumer. We all want it cheap.
We expect competent help and service, but in their absence, we'll take the
cheap.

Often we hear people bragging about the low price they paid for something.
Rarely do you hear of anyone claiming to have paid a bit more, but it was
worth it for the expertise of the salesperson.

Health insurance? The system of major medical coverage was fine until the
advent of the "HMO" whereby you only had to pay 5 bucks to visit the doc.
It's been downhill ever since.

Eisboch

I wanted an outboard they were to have on sale in a couple of days and they
wouldn't give me the sale price either. I bought it anyway and, since I
would be out on the boat, had my daughter go in when the sale started and
get the difference refunded through their price guarantee.



"Gordon Wedman" wrote in message
news:r%ezf.87798$AP5.44478@edtnps84...

"Wayne.B" wrote in message
...
On Mon, 16 Jan 2006 17:44:05 -0500, nobody wrote:

I just think that West Marine is really a lousy
outfit.

Not fair in my opinion. It's true that their prices are rarely
competetive, but for small stuff the convenience of having one 5
minutes away is nice. I also find that their service and return
policies are excellent. Several times they have helped me get
warranty service on items I no longer had the receipts for.

Several of the local employees have told me that they also offer
excellent benefits, even to the part timers, so they are not exactly a
Wal Mart in that respect.

For big ticket items it pays to shop around and order from out of
state. I've had good luck with both Defender in CT and Pyacht in MD.

http://www.defender.com/

http://www.pyacht.com


Some of their prices are pretty crazy. I needed two simple hook latches
to hold swinging doors shut. Local independent chandler had only 1 at $5.
Went to another chandler and he wanted $8 so I thought I'd go up to West
Marine to check on their price.
$13 !!
I said to the store manager "Making a hook latch is not rocket science.
How can you charge twice as much as anyone else?" He just shrugged.

Another time a friend wanted to buy a large fender at an advertised sale
price but they would not sell at that price because the sale was 3 days
away. He went to the local independent and got the exact same fender for
less than the advertised sale price. At first he was mad at them but then
decided they did him a favour.

They are pretty good on warranties though and if you get the West Marine
Advantage card you'll get some money back in the mail.

They will also match other people's prices by word-of-mouth on smaller
items and by show of written price on more expensive things but they're
not the first place I go to.

Eisboch wrote:
The root of the problem, whether you are talking West Marine, Wal-Mart or
health insurance for that matter, is the consumer. We all want it cheap.
We expect competent help and service, but in their absence, we'll take the
cheap.

The problem with WM is, they are no longer cheap...in fact, they have
become the most expensive. They bought out all their "bricks and
mortar" competition, but as online chandleries continue to poliferate, I
believe their perceived monopolistic attitude has already begun to bite
them in the @$$...I expect them to be in chapter 11 within another 5
years. I THINK they'll survive it, but only by coming marine
"convenience stores"...on every corner, but only stocking those few
items people typically need right now, and therefore have no choice but
to pay list+50% for.

A shame...because it was only 10 years ago that they were the
superstar...their people were the most knowledgable...best prices...but
then they decided to buy out everyone else and it's been all downhill
since. The history of their stock price since they first went public in
the mid '90s tells the story...and IMO also forecasts their future.


--
Peggie
----------
Peggie Hall
Specializing in marine sanitation since 1987
Author "Get Rid of Boat Odors - A Guide To Marine Sanitation Systems and
Other Sources of Aggravation and Odor"
http://shop.sailboatowners.com/books...ku=90&cat=1304

I do use WM when I have to. Would rather just use Defender but for some
items I just can't wait.
I bought a Whale flipper pump for our little boat and amazed the little hunk
of plastic costs $80. When I opened it I found not only was it grubby, but
also already broken!
I figured a customer must have broke the pump and then returned it to the
store. It was in a plastic bag with a cardboard folded and stapled at the
top. What really surprised me was when I returned it and explained to the
salesperson what the sit was, he just shrugged.
Of course it wasn't his fault, but I did have to make 2 PITA trips for an
overpriced toy pump that didn't work.
And I swear, if the bag had a picture of a car instead of a boat on it the
thing would cost $9.95.
MMC

"Gordon Wedman" wrote in message
news:r%ezf.87798$AP5.44478@edtnps84...

"Wayne.B" wrote in message
...
On Mon, 16 Jan 2006 17:44:05 -0500, nobody wrote:

I just think that West Marine is really a lousy
outfit.

Not fair in my opinion. It's true that their prices are rarely
competetive, but for small stuff the convenience of having one 5
minutes away is nice. I also find that their service and return
policies are excellent. Several times they have helped me get
warranty service on items I no longer had the receipts for.

Several of the local employees have told me that they also offer
excellent benefits, even to the part timers, so they are not exactly a
Wal Mart in that respect.

For big ticket items it pays to shop around and order from out of
state. I've had good luck with both Defender in CT and Pyacht in MD.

http://www.defender.com/

http://www.pyacht.com


Some of their prices are pretty crazy. I needed two simple hook latches
to
hold swinging doors shut. Local independent chandler had only 1 at $5.
Went to another chandler and he wanted $8 so I thought I'd go up to West
Marine to check on their price.
$13 !!
I said to the store manager "Making a hook latch is not rocket science.
How
can you charge twice as much as anyone else?" He just shrugged.

Another time a friend wanted to buy a large fender at an advertised sale
price but they would not sell at that price because the sale was 3 days
away. He went to the local independent and got the exact same fender for
less than the advertised sale price. At first he was mad at them but then
decided they did him a favour.

They are pretty good on warranties though and if you get the West Marine
Advantage card you'll get some money back in the mail.

They will also match other people's prices by word-of-mouth on smaller
items
and by show of written price on more expensive things but they're not the
first place I go to.

"Peggie Hall" wrote in message
...
They bought out all their "bricks and
mortar" competition, but as online chandleries continue to poliferate, I
believe their perceived monopolistic attitude has already begun to bite
them in the @$$...I expect them to be in chapter 11 within another 5
years. I THINK they'll survive it, but only by coming marine
"convenience stores"...on every corner, but only stocking those few
items people typically need right now, and therefore have no choice but
to pay list+50% for.

Here in Beaufort, we have a WM Express which just about that. I was
disappointed with the selection of stock. It seems that they weren't even on
a par with the fishing and boating gear in the sporting goods section at out
local Wal-Mart.

Leanne

In article , Leanne wrote:

"Peggie Hall" wrote in message
t...
They bought out all their "bricks and
mortar" competition, but as online chandleries continue to poliferate, I
believe their perceived monopolistic attitude has already begun to bite
them in the @$$...I expect them to be in chapter 11 within another 5
years. I THINK they'll survive it, but only by coming marine
"convenience stores"...on every corner, but only stocking those few
items people typically need right now, and therefore have no choice but
to pay list+50% for.

Here in Beaufort, we have a WM Express which just about that. I was
disappointed with the selection of stock. It seems that they weren't even on
a par with the fishing and boating gear in the sporting goods section at out
local Wal-Mart.

Interesting... when I owned my own boat a while ago, I signed up for
some part time work at the local WM, so that I could get the employee
discount for my project.

It was an interesting experience. There were some people who worked
there who had a vast amount of experience, others were strictly retail
clerks with no experience other than ringing up stuff. I don't claim
to have vast experience, but I think 30+ years of sailing counts for
something. :-)

I found it to be a depressing place to work. The "managers" were very,
very concerned that I was interested in stealing their jobs (masters
degree, etc.). I wasn't at all. I was only there for the discount and
would have worked for zero $ if they had given me the option. I tried
hard to explain that to them, since their unease was obvious. It
didn't help mostly. The store manager was not much better. He was only
interested in getting the registers working continuously, and while
there's nothing wrong with that, he really didn't care about the
customer beyond them buying something. Actually, he was quite savvy
about that, constantly reminding us to not discount customers who
looked poor. (My experience was that these guys, mostly asian, would
walk in and buy several outboards in one pop in cash, and they weren't
even concerned about a discount through their advantage or port supply
cards.)

So, I, thinking that I could possibly help customers make some good
choices about what they were looking for, would sometimes spend a few
minutes talking to them about such things as anchoring techique,
equipment to buy, merits of this item over that. Man, did I get in
trouble. Apparently, I didn't always recommend the most expensive
item, and had the temerity to actually talk to them, when I was
supposed to immediately hand them off to a more "senior"
person... e.g., someone with more retail experience. :-)

Well, I got the parts I needed, then I quit. But, I do know a couple
of people who've stuck it out. They had bigger projects. :-)

--
"j" ganz @@
www.sailnow.com

I hope somebody at WM reads this string. It perfectly represents the public
sentiment I've heard around the marina for some time now.

Until they change, we can vote with our purchasing power and letters. I save
all the business I can for Fisheries Supply in Seattle. Great physical store
AND online store. Price is never an issue and the staff knows "stuff."

"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.