West Marine ,, is that the worst store or what
 

1st- having shopped at West Marine and other chandleries in
different parts of the country, in my experience the level
of help & knowledge at the stores ranges from none (or even
negative) to very very good.

2nd- Dave is right (although not very tactful), West Marine
is only in one business and therefor not a conglomerate even
if they have bought out other retailers.


Bill Kearney wrote:
You want local chandleries but expect them to compete against online
pricing?


Well sure. If complaining about it could make that happen,
why not? ;)



My gripe against West Marine is their generally higher prices, say
compared to
what I can find online.

Take the time to print it out and they'll often price match.


Correct... often they will add the cost of shipping to their
price match, which is only reasonable IMHO.



The big conglomerates like West Marine seems to
have forced out all the competition.

Is it the conglomerates or unrealistic shopper expectations?



I think expecting a brick-and-mortar store to match on line
prices every day is pretty much a textbook definition of
"unrealistic expectation." It's also a good recipe for
making sure that you won't have a local retailer, if enough
people share your expectation.

Consumer taste for the cheapest possible goods is also the
reason why the U.S. manufacturing sector (having finally got
the message about quality control) is in the dumper.


sherwindu wrote:
No, it's the lack of competition allowing them to charge whatever they want.
Why should I have to bargain with them by showing ads for items at lower
prices.

Why indeed. Just don't buy it. That's far easier and cheaper
and you don't have to drive anywhere.


I prefer buying in a store where I can see the merchandise.

I do too.

.... My expectations
are that there should be a reasonable mark up on merchandise.

Well, that's their expectation too ;)
You just disagree on the definition of "reasonable."

Another problem is the bargaining thing. Why do you exepct
to not have to bargain? In many places in the world, *all*
markets are barter-only. Haggling over prices is probably
the most universal human pastime; here in the U.S. we have
gotten away from it because of the tremendous amount of
money spent on advertising to convince us that we shouldn't.

And guess what, the price of the products we buy covers the
expensive advertising and we think we're getting a good
deal... anybody else see the humor in this?

DSK

West Marine ,, is that the worst store or what
 

Exactly, I won't deny it. Your idea of a conglomerate and mine are
different.

I'll say no more on the subject.





Dave wrote:
On 19 Jun 2006 23:01:48 -0700, said:

I'd say that West Marine is a "conglomerate" if not part of one....

But of course your saying it would not make it true.

West Marine ,, is that the worst store or what
 

Dave wrote:
I was tactful the first time around, simply asking what other business West
was in. Some people have trouble taking a hint.


heh heh well I'm not the one to be taking lessons on tact
from, but at least I can take a hint!

[snip]

I think expecting a brick-and-mortar store to match on line
prices every day is pretty much a textbook definition of
"unrealistic expectation." It's also a good recipe for
making sure that you won't have a local retailer, if enough
people share your expectation.


This is an issue that goes back long before the internet.

Sure.

... My grandparents
ran a retail store in a small Midwestern town, and I remember their
complaining about people who would drive 30 miles to get a lower price from
a chain located in a larger town, making it more difficult for the small
town merchant to make a profit.


At least, they were probably smart enough to avoid a price
war. One of the rules of the "new economy" seems to be that
every market is always in a constant state of price war.
It's a race to the bottom.


And guess what, the price of the products we buy covers the
expensive advertising and we think we're getting a good
deal... anybody else see the humor in this?


I think there's more to it than that. It derives not from advertising but
from a Protestant ethic that has a fallout in many areas. We tend to
emphasize Christ's preaching about where a man's treasure is there will his
heart be also, and driving the money changers from the temple, leading to a
general feeling that haggling is unseemly, because it shows an obsession
with treasure on earth. To take my grandmother's pithy description of those
she complained about, "they know the price of everything and the value of
nothing."

Sure, there is certainly that element... another element
IMHO is the aspect of conspicuous consumption. If you just
buy a thing without worrying about the price, then obviously
you make the impression on others of being rich enough to
not worry about money... "Price is no object."

Shucks, nowadays there are grocery stores that don't even
have the prices of goods marked on the shelf, much less on
the item. People just put it on their credit card and find
out whether they can afford it or not at the end of the
month... if then!

DSK

West Marine ,, is that the worst store or what
 

You are a most pedantic fellow. You also have an annoying habit of straying
from
the true subject line. Not impressed by you Lincoln quotations.

Sherwin D.

Dave wrote:

On 20 Jun 2006 10:47:38 -0700, said:

Your idea of a conglomerate and mine are
different.

How many legs does a sheep have if you call its tail a leg?
[Attributed to A. Lincoln]

West Marine ,, is that the worst store or what
 

sherwindu wrote:

You are a most pedantic fellow. You also have an annoying habit of straying
from
the true subject line. Not impressed by you Lincoln quotations.

Sherwin D.

Dave wrote:

On 20 Jun 2006 10:47:38 -0700, said:

Your idea of a conglomerate and mine are
different.

How many legs does a sheep have if you call its tail a leg?
[Attributed to A. Lincoln]

You all seem to be an annoying fellows who can't integrate data no
matter how many times and in how many different ways it is presented,
hoping that you will 'get it'..

Since it seems beyond you - what he was doing was pointing out that
the definition of conglomerate is "A corporation made up of a number
of different companies that operate in diversified fields."

Just having a very large company does not make it a conglomerate.
Your idea of a conglomerate is wrong - it is the same as calling the
sheep's tail a leg.

West Marine ,, is that the worst store or what
 

I'm really sorry that so many of you have had bad experiences with west
marine. I'm probably going to get my lashes by mentioning this, but I'm
going to. I work for west marine. It upsets me when I walk into a west
marine store that I don't work at and don't get any help or lack of
information. It upsets me when their are those working there just for a
job and don't own or know anything about boating. A lot of people know
more about their own type of boating. Diversity is the answer in that.
The company does try to teach us different aspects of boating, but if
you aren't self motivated to do it, then it doesn't help.

A little clairification on west marine. West Marine is the main retail
company with more than 400 stores. Port Supply is the wholesale
division of west marine. I am unaware of the specific qualifications of
becoming a wholesale account. I do not work in that division of the
company. The discount varies from item to item. The Boat U.S. stores
are now all called West Marine. The stores switched names this year.
They were still called Boat U.S. even though they have been part of the
company for a few years. E&B was before my time with the company so I
am unsure about the acquiring of them.

A few policies that may help the boaters out.

There is a price match policy. Bring in a written quote (ie. print out
from internet) that includes any possible shipping. It must be the same
exact item and be for a new item. If it is more than what it cost for
West Marine to purchase, it will be priced matched. I have seen some
items be priced matched even though it fell below West Marines cost.

There is a satisfaction guarantee policy. All returns are usually at
the managers discretion, but for the most part just about anything will
be taken back; especially if you have the receipt. There is a product
performance guarantee that can be purchased with the majority of the
items sold in the store. This is a very good program and basically
guarantees that if anything goes wrong, then it will be repaired or
replaced with no charge. Usually, it is just replaced. For all the
cruisers in here. The program also offers free shipping to and from
anywhere in the world. Not sure of the turn around time, but it is nice
knowing you can get the item you need when you need it free of charge.

Hopefully, this will help some of you. Again, I'm sorry that so many of
you have had bad experiences with the stores. When you do please let us
know so that we may fix our mistakes. If we don't know, we won't
change. To end: I would please ask you not chastise me too much for
working for the "man".

West Marine ,, is that the worst store or what
 

boomerswims wrote:
I'm really sorry that so many of you have had bad experiences with west
marine. I'm probably going to get my lashes by mentioning this, but I'm
going to. I work for west marine. It upsets me when I walk into a west
marine store that I don't work at and don't get any help or lack of
information. It upsets me when their are those working there just for a
job and don't own or know anything about boating. A lot of people know
more about their own type of boating. Diversity is the answer in that.
The company does try to teach us different aspects of boating, but if
you aren't self motivated to do it, then it doesn't help.
.....
Again, I'm sorry that so many of
you have had bad experiences with the stores. When you do please let us
know so that we may fix our mistakes. If we don't know, we won't
change. To end: I would please ask you not chastise me too much for
working for the "man".

Bill, thanks for the clarification. You are an asset to "the man"

It's a shame all employees for West Marine (or Guitar Center ;) )
don't have your atitude.

West Marine ,, is that the worst store or what
 

"Rosalie B." wrote:

sherwindu wrote:

You are a most pedantic fellow. You also have an annoying habit of straying
from
the true subject line. Not impressed by you Lincoln quotations.

Sherwin D.

Dave wrote:

On 20 Jun 2006 10:47:38 -0700, said:

Your idea of a conglomerate and mine are
different.

How many legs does a sheep have if you call its tail a leg?
[Attributed to A. Lincoln]

You all seem to be an annoying fellows who can't integrate data no
matter how many times and in how many different ways it is presented,
hoping that you will 'get it'..

Since it seems beyond you - what he was doing was pointing out that
the definition of conglomerate is "A corporation made up of a number
of different companies that operate in diversified fields."

Just having a very large company does not make it a conglomerate.
Your idea of a conglomerate is wrong - it is the same as calling the
sheep's tail a leg.

Yes, but who really cares when that was not the original essence of the
original message. It's called going off the subject. If I wanted my english
corrected, I would go to rec.betterenglish. It bugs me that when a question
or issue is raised, people go off on a tangent and the real issue never gets
addressed.

West Marine ,, is that the worst store or what
 

I have no complaints about the service at West Marine or their pricing policies,
except that they tend to be
higher than what I have paid for these items in the past,
even taking into account the cost of living, the fuel crisis, etc., etc.

Mergers are usually not good for the consumer. When two of the biggest marine
store companies, Boat US and West Marine merged, that was one of the worst. I
don't like to feel I am living on the plantation, and have to buy all my things
at the company store. Yes, we do have the internet as a backup, but as stated
before, I like to see what I am buying, whenever possible. Because West Marine
can only deal with a limited number of vendors, the chances of not finding what
you are looking for has increased with their domination of the market. It's
part of this modern age we live in that we all have to accept, but I still
regret the 'good old days' where I could choose from several stores in my
vicinity to shop at.

Sherwin D.

West Marine ,, is that the worst store or what
 

In article . com,
"boomerswims" wrote:

I'm really sorry that so many of you have had bad experiences with west
marine. I'm probably going to get my lashes by mentioning this, but I'm
going to. I work for west marine.

What I complain about is of no fault of yours.

My complaints mostly center around dramatically increased prices for
things that they stock, and far fewer stocked items than in past years.

I used to be able to get my Maxprop zincs at the Delaware BOAT/U.S. No
longer.

Last year, the West Marine stores had Spade anchors. This year (when I
went to get one) NOT. I probably would have ordered from Glenn anyway,
but I checked in case there was a price differential.

So many times, things that had been in the stores are missing now.

Independent marine stores will match West's prices and usually beat
them. Repeat customers get an even better deal. When they don't have an
item, they'll dig around in the manufacturers' catalogs and order
directly. West can't or won't do that.

West seems to think they've created a monopoly and increased prices
accordingly, but that ain't true in my area. My marina's store gives me
better prices and service.

--
Jere Lull
Xan-a-Deux ('73 Tanzer 28 #4 out of Tolchester, MD)
Xan's Pages: http://members.dca.net/jerelull/X-Main.html
Our BVI FAQs (290+ pics) http://homepage.mac.com/jerelull/BVI/