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West Marine comes through with discount

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HappyNow
1st Mate

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USA
99 Posts

Initially Posted - 04/06/2018 : 14:15:31

Just had a great experience with ordering from West Marine that might help everybody. I am getting ready to put the new aft jib winches on and needed two stanchion mounted turning blocks on each side ( see Catalina 250 discussion on extra set of jib winches). Decided on Barton Marine size 3 stanchion block based on price and maximum load capacity. $37.99 each at WM but cheaper elsewhere. So I called 1-800-BOATING which is West Marine and said I found it for $32.00 at Wholesale Marine. Nice lady on the phone says she sees it at a different site online for $27.45 and gives me that price, so it saved me $42.00 plus another $3.60 in tax. So you don't even have to find a cheaper price yourself, they do the work. Free shipping to my house. So if you plan on purchasing anything at WM, their price guarantee works well.

Michael Levin
Sailin' on Sunshine
C250 #402 WK
Lake Tahoe

sethp001
Mainsheet C-25 Tech Editor

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814 Posts

Response Posted - 04/06/2018 : 14:55:34

Thanks for this info. I've only purchased from West Marine twice because they're usually the most expensive.

Seth
"Outlier" 1987 Catalina 25 SR/SK/Traditional Interior #5541
"Zoo" 1977 Morgan Out Island 30
"Nomad" 1980 Prindle 16
"Lost" 1988 Catalina Capri 14.2 (sold - yay!)
"Marine Tex 1" Unknown Origin POS 8' Fiberglass Dinghy
https://whichsailboat.com/2014/07/27/catalina-25-review/

Voyager
Master Marine Consultant

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USA
5231 Posts

Response Posted - 04/07/2018 : 07:02:09

In the past West Marine had a guaranteed price match. So I went to the local shop and showed them a price from Defender (which is 45 miles from my home) and the guy said, �oh no, that�s only good for shops within 30 miles of the store�, so I went online and even with shipping the part was less expensive.
Since then, I stopped in to pick up a last minute item and the store clerk explained, �now we�ll even match prices on stores across the US and even Amazon! �
I said Wow! Finally even West Marine is getting it!

Bruce Ross
Passage ~ SR-FK ~ C25 #5032

Port Captain � Milford, CT

Dave5041
Former Mainsheet Editor

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USA
3754 Posts

Response Posted - 04/07/2018 : 11:15:43

I guess it depended on the store manager you talked to in the past. Now it is official corporate policy. I saved about a $1000 when I bought my Mercury 9.9 Bigfoot years ago by showing the On Line Outboard price for my second choice Tohatsu and the manager split the difference. I preferentially shop at stores that actually list a lower price instead of the less honorable, in my opinion, matching. However, I like West Marine because the almost always have what I want and therefore suffer the expense of stocking items that move very slowly. I also preferentially shop at brick&mortar to support their presence. Seeing an item's materials and construction is often more important than potentially saving $1.98 and returning it. I won't go into the fiasco of my wife and son of convincing me to order a suit on line!

Dave B. aboard Pearl
1982 TR/SK/Trad. #3399
Lake Erie/Florida Panhandle

OLarryR
Master Marine Consultant

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USA
3367 Posts

Response Posted - 04/09/2018 : 03:47:37

I only had small purchases to make. West Marine has an ongoing 30%-40% sale thru , I believe, 15APR, at least in my region. So, I stopped by and picked up some liquids - Black Streak Cleaner, Non-Skid Cleaner/Wax, Pure Wax - Trying a 3M product this time. I still have bottles of stuff at home but figured I would run out of them some time this season. The best deals I have ever received were unfortunately, not on big purchases as you have scored.

The first was many years ago, when the Boat US store was converted to a West Marine Store. They had a lot of liquids that had the Boat US label on them on a clearance sale for $1 each ! The Non-Skid Cleaner/Wax was really the Starbrite stuff but with a Boat US label - Over the course of a few visits within a 2 week period, I picked up 5-6 bottles of the stuff besides others things. It was just too tempting everytime I came in to search what else they were unloading from inventory.

One good purchase that I recommend for all with Nicro Solar Vents - The Solar Vents generally breakdown within 1 1/2 - 2 1/2 years. Buy one when West Marine has them on sale - about 20%-25% off list. Then purchase the replacement warranty which will cost about $12 - $14. for an extra year or so above the mfrs warranty. The benefit of buying this locally is that when your solar vent breaks down and most of them do in 1-1/2 - 2 1/2 years, all you do is bring it back and they give you a new one and you spend another $12-$14 for a new extended warranty. At $12-$14 every say 2 years, that is pretty decent versus replacing with a new fan or trying to fix the old one which usually is not worth the trouble compared to shelling out the $12 - $14.

Larry
'89 Robin's Nest#5820, Potomac River/Quantico, Va
http://catalina25.homestead.com/olarryr.html

bigelowp
Master Marine Consultant

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USA
1736 Posts

Response Posted - 04/09/2018 : 14:10:06

I have found that if you shop on Amazon and then take the "shopping card" print-out to your local WM they will adjust price and usually match. Exceptions may be electronics, where the mfg. controls some pricing, but for other stuff I have had good success. Then again, I am also the guy who will stop in 15 times on a spring weekend buying 15 little things I forgot but "need" paying full price each time, so I think it all averages out in the end.

Peter Bigelow
C-25 TR/FK #2092 Limerick
Rowayton, Ct
Port Captain: Rowayton/Norwalk/Darien CT

sethp001
Mainsheet C-25 Tech Editor

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814 Posts

Response Posted - 04/09/2018 : 15:00:09

quote:
Originally posted by Dave5041

I preferentially shop at stores that actually list a lower price instead of the less honorable, in my opinion, matching.

Same for me...

Stinkpotter
Master Marine Consultant

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Djibouti
9013 Posts

Response Posted - 04/09/2018 : 16:01:48

I don't consider this an "honor" issue. WM's stores around here are big, clean, well stocked, well staffed, with electronics you can try and other products you can "touch and feel"... Defender is 15 minutes down the road from me, and is basically an internet warehouse with some product shelves for foot traffic. WM advertises their prices, knowing they'll be undercut particularly by internet-only businesses with one warehouse in the country (from which you'll pay for shipping). WM also has some good private-branded products and excellent sales, and I get "reward certificates" back periodically. It's all above board. Given the chance, WM will accept the lower margin rather than send a customer back to his internet warehouse, but they can't run their stores solely on that kind of margin.

I get them to match Defender on occasional bigger-ticket items--not on everything. I'd like to see them stay around. Watsonville is watching!

Dave Bristle
Association "Port Captain" for Mystic/Stonington CT
PO of 1985 C-25 SR/FK #5032 Passage, USCG "sixpack" (expired),
Now on Eastern 27 $+!nkp*+ Sarge

Dave5041
Former Mainsheet Editor

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USA
3754 Posts

Response Posted - 04/10/2018 : 09:54:12

I, too, seem to frequently go back to WM for list price items, so they do OK by me. I bought a carry bag for my Magma grill from Defender that was described by Magma as the right one for my grill. My grill did fit, along with half a dozen gas bottles, a full set of grilling tools, almost enough spare parts to build a new grill, and probably a modest cooler of meat. I tried to return it, but Defender would only give me half the purchase price since it was an open box and I would have to pay return shipping. How do you know if something fits when it is tightly folded into a small box without opening said box? I have bought a few other things from Defender over the years, but that wasn't a happy experience. There is more to life than saving a few bucks and WM will continue to be my goto store. I ended up buying a simple grill cover that I physically examined at WM that didn't take up half of the quarterberth and use the bag for off season storage. As for the price matching issue, I don't object to WM making a reasonable profit but my new scuppers were more than twice the price, even including shipping, of the manufacturer's list price. That seems like gouging. I guess that is american marketing, slap on a giant mark up and put it on sale for half price.

Dave B. aboard Pearl
1982 TR/SK/Trad. #3399
Lake Erie/Florida Panhandle

sethp001
Mainsheet C-25 Tech Editor

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814 Posts

Response Posted - 04/10/2018 : 20:53:29

quote:
Originally posted by Stinkpotter

I don't consider this an "honor" issue. WM's stores around here are big, clean, well stocked, well staffed, with electronics you can try and other products you can "touch and feel"... Defender is 15 minutes down the road from me, and is basically an internet warehouse with some product shelves for foot traffic. WM advertises their prices, knowing they'll be undercut particularly by internet-only businesses with one warehouse in the country (from which you'll pay for shipping). WM also has some good private-branded products and excellent sales, and I get "reward certificates" back periodically. It's all above board. Given the chance, WM will accept the lower margin rather than send a customer back to his internet warehouse, but they can't run their stores solely on that kind of margin.

I get them to match Defender on occasional bigger-ticket items--not on everything. I'd like to see them stay around. Watsonville is watching!

There�s no West Marine near me, so they might as well just be another Internet warehouse as far as I�m concerned. I don�t buy much from Defender either because their prices aren�t much better than West Marine. Both companies have horrible websites, but West Marine�s is the worst because the search function yields one product page instead of a list of products.

One time on vacation I bought some oars from the local West Marine. They were too long. I took them back the same day. The store was out of stock on shorter oars. Store manager was grumpy about the return. I wished I had dealt with a computer instead.

I hope Watsonville is watching.

Edited by - sethp001 on 04/10/2018 20:55:50

OLarryR
Master Marine Consultant

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USA
3367 Posts

Response Posted - 04/11/2018 : 05:18:00

Interesting how experiences differ so widely. In all of the years I have gone to the West Marine store in our area, the word "grumpy" is not in the vocabulary to describe them. All employees I have dealt with were always extremely courteous, good natured and happy to assist customers. A number of the employees also experienced boaters and had good advice based on their own experiences or what they had picked up from others. Also, in regards to returns which I rarely have done, they have been very accommodating....even encouraged returns if something did not work out as expected. Best experiences was many years ago regarding Taylor fenders. An employee asked if he could assist me and I explained I was considering buying a couple of fenders for ones that I had that had lost their pressure. He indicated, if they were made by Taylor that I should just bring them in and they would most likely allow me to replace them for free under Taylor's lifetime warranty. (That was many years ago, Taylor may have changed their warranty condition's more recently). So, I brought in my two deflated fenders, these were old fenders from the PO - and they told me to just go pick out two similar ones - No problem !!

Granted, if you do not have a local West marine, then it is an even playing field with other mail-order resources.

Here is the thing - As expensive as West Marine is for non-sale items, it is still extremely convenient if a store is local. If they do not have what you want in the store but it is in their extensive catalog, then they order and you pick it up with no shipping charge from the store. The local family run marina stores also serve a purpose but are generally a lot more expensive than West Marine. These Marina stores seem to jack up the price on everything. But one benefit is that they may have an extensive parts support for outboards, etc that West Marine may not carry or can order exact replacements. This is sometimes the case for my Honda Outboard - The Marina store carries the parts - Impellers, oil filter, etc. But if you have time, you generally can order same from Amazon. I sometimes go that route but if you do not support the local stores, then they sometimes go away.

Larry
'89 Robin's Nest#5820, Potomac River/Quantico, Va
http://catalina25.homestead.com/olarryr.html

Edited by - OLarryR on 04/11/2018 05:19:50

GaryB
Master Marine Consultant

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USA
4275 Posts

Response Posted - 04/11/2018 : 18:28:05

I agree with most of what was said above. Some of the people at my West Marine are great and others are very arrogant. Luck of the draw when you walk in the door. The store is always very clean and they always have what I need.

While their prices are usually higher than internet prices I very rarely buy anything from anyone so when I do have to buy something it's not usually that big of deal to pay the higher price at West Marine. My West Marine is 1/4 of a mile from the entrance to my marina and I can be there from the boat in 3 - 4 minutes if I don't catch the light. I've actually done round trips (including shopping and checking out) in 15 - 20 minutes! Well worth a few dollars more.

Association Member

GaryB
Andiamo
'89 SR/WK #5862
Kemah,TX

Edited by - GaryB on 04/11/2018 18:29:43

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