Got to love West Marine

[Jim Seamans]

Was there on Wednesday to pick up a couple of items. Trying to price match...
Sorry sir we only price match other brick/mortar stores within 15 miles of our store. Geez guys there is no other store within 15 miles. Sorry that's policy.

You have a sale due on boat hooks for Friday for half price, since I'm here and ready to buy, can you give me that price now.

NO, you will have to be here on Friday to get that price.

This West Marine store is 35 miles up the road and is not convent unless I really really need to go there... Imagine others here in the group live even further away. I wonder why West Marine wonders why so many are going to other venders on the net.

My wife says If you have someone with money standing in front of you and wants to buy something that is going on sale, SELL IT TO THEM, DONT LET THEM LEAVE THEY WILL BE BACK.....

 

[Johnnie Walker Black]

Most stores won't honor sale prices outside of the sale dates anymore. Ever try to use an expired coupon.
Most retail chains are no longer blindly matching Internet prices either.
You do understand the value of a physical store right? There is a premium that goes along with that.
Ever hear of: rent, payroll, utilities, personal property tax, payroll tax, unemployment tax, liability and property insurance, shrink, credit card fees, landscaping, lawn mowing, snow plowing, charitable contributions, advertising fees, financial cost to actually own inventory and run warehouses and not just drop ship from vendors.
Some of you guys that ***** about price all the time really kill me. Maybe they can bury you with the money you saved screwing some poor retail employees out of a job by buying on line.
If that was such a great option, why were you in west marine in the first place?

 

[25yearslater]

I like West Marine as they are a convenient source of items I need now, and not a week from now. I use online sources but often nothing beats going to a physical store and looking at an item in person or talking to a salesperson when a question about the benefits of one product over another. A good example was last Thursday my engine continued to give me anxiety attacks when it would mysteriously stop while coming in to the harbor. It would restart but I decided a new ignition system was needed. Over to the local West marine where they had, 'in stock' coil with internal resistance, points, condenser, cap, rotor, plug wires and an ignition switch for my Atomic 4. Friday night I was able to install the stuff and had an amazing weekend of sailing. The other internet option was over 100.00 bucks in next day shipping. It pays dividends to have parts available now. I will pay a few bucks more for that.

 

[Don S/V ILLusion]

Jim
Lets play a game. How many retail stores' name can you replace "West Marine" with and still be true?

My guess is more than 25.

 

[Stu Jackson]

Jim, many, many folks don't sit on their computers all day (the way I sometimes do ), but this "announcement" by WM was all over internet boating forums a month or more ago.

I'd rather be sailing, so that's where I'm going, but I understand your frustration.

 

[zeehag]

i found the sales personnel in ace hardware more personable than those at wm....prices are better and they had most of the items i needed for my boat--in stock.....

 

[alexco38]

Dont like WM just dont go there. You dont have to p.ss on them.

People want cheap price, go on-line. More NA people loose their job, so be it. Nobody buy anything, the price will rise more. Ever heard of supply and demand!

I fully support my local WM. You want to go on-line or Waltmart, go head. I support local economy.

Dont like the guy's attitute, speak to the manager.

 

[Stu Jackson]

ACE Hardware has become my favorite boating store. Really, think about it. Once you have a boat for a few years, please advise what you actually need from a "marine" store that you can't get at ACE? Roller furling and Racors don't count.

 

[Ross in Tampa]

I can't really believe we are having this conversation again. What part of one day sale is that hard to understand?

 

[patrickfarley]

I love West Marine.
I buy things from them.
I love the things I buy.
I browse through the store and enjoy the experience. I ask questions. I get my money's worth.
I buy other things from other people. No price match and my new halyard arrived in 3 days. At my door.
Hardware store SS appears to work the same as West Marine SS.
I still love the nice clean West Marine and the nice employees.

 

[kloudie1]

I like WM .. They usually have what I am looking for. Yesterday, my fuel return line started leaking . Of course it was in an almost inaccessible place .. I wanted Trident hose and WM had some in the size I needed. They are only a couple of miles away.. Was a great fit.

 

[Jim Seamans]

Good Grief

I didn't want to start a war....

Didn't see the announcement about WM on the internet.

JW, Yes I understand all the problems the real stores have, but can be applied to the internet stores as well. They just don't jack up the price as much since they don't have fancy stores...

The price difference on the item I wanted was about $5 but was moot since they didn't have it in stock. "Oh we can order that have it here next week".

I don't expect anyone to respect a coupon that is out of date, but if an item is going on sale two days from now - if the customer asks - sell it to them. They might buy more items. That how you keep customers coming back..

enough guys I was just venting a little. We can kill this now.

 

[jeb21851]

West Marine

I support West Marine even though I also compare prices elsewhere and will buy elsewhere if necessary. My wife and I have a vacation condo in Marathon, FL and the last time we were there we decided we wanted to purchase a kayak to use for recreation. We found one in the local West Marine store for a great value but had no way to take it home since my wife always insists that we rent a subcompact car (I call them coffin cars), so the sales person volunteered to deliver it to us in his own pickup truck. That is good service!!! They will continue to have my support!!!

 

[thinwater]

Last year I cook my batteries during a 2-week cruise (regulator stuck on). I called ahead from 50 miles out, they had what I needed and brough them to the dock (I had no car).

I replaced my shift cables last summer. What I needed was OOS, there price was as good as any on-line source I could find, AND they paid the frt to my house.

A saw shoes I want, not on sale until the next week. I tried them on and came back during the sale days. I'm 50 minutes away from that store, but there is another store 10 minutes from my house.

I have a large fiberglass project starting. They don't have some of what I need and some is cheaper on-line. But I will use them for the last-minute stuff and to prevent the need to over-order.

No, not always the cheapest.

 

[Old Skool Neil]

Over the last month a trend has developed where complaining about one company or another has become popular and acceptable to the forum administration.

As for West Marine, I'm a cheapskate but willingly accept there's a premium to be paid for convenience. They are certainly not my only choice when it comes to boating items but if I can't plan my purchases enough in advance I know where they are.

I recently replaced my shaft packing in the water. I bought the replacement packing from Defender, had all the necessary tools on hand and got to it. Stuffing box was apart, old packing removed and oh-oh, the new packing was the wrong size. This was a disturbing development, even a borderline crisis. Thank goodness West was less than 2 miles away and had exactly what I needed on the shelf.

Price? Who cares?

 

[Bob S]

Niel, let me guess, you had 1/4" packing and you bought 3/16". I did the same thing but fortunately was out of the water at the time. WM's GFO 1/4" actually fits too. I agree the convenience not to mention their Adviser has been a great resource. When i can plan ahead I do shop around but I'm glad they are there when I need them.

 

[Stu Jackson]

Niel, let me guess, you had 1/4" packing and you bought 3/16".

Or vice versa! Don't you use 3/16?

 

[Maine Sail]

Over the last month a trend has developed where complaining about one company or another has become popular and acceptable to the forum administration.

Not a trend at all, been going on since day 1 here and happens on just about every single forum I am active in. Apparently Jim missed the umpteen threads earlier in the year warning of and discussing WM's price match policy changes. Perhaps if he had seen those "complaints" we'd not be having this discussion now but no matter how many times a subject comes up, some still miss it.

There is a difference between expressing frustration, as Jim did, and egregious and chronic brand or vendor bashing.

We have had members blatantly lie to try and force a vendor or manufacturer into submission through blatantly untruthful lies. We have had members try and use this forum to leverage a manufacturer into submission. We have had members who's only purpose on this forum was to bash a specific brand, vendor or manufacturer. In fact some of them only ever posted with the sole purpose of bashing the same vendor. Most of these members are now long gone...

On another subject Neil I saw & read your "complaining" & apparent digs at SBO and its policies and administration on the Catalina 30 user group... I guess it happens over there too.....

The SBO forum guidelines for "bashing"...

Vendor, Manufacturer or Brand Bashing:

Blatant & egregious vendor, manufacturer or brand bashing is specifically prohibited here on SBO. If you have a legitimate beef or complaint it is perfectly fine to mention it here and see if others have had a similar issue and get some feedback or to discuss it.


Please do not cross the line of trying to use this forum as a tool to leverage a vendor or manufacturer into submission. This is not the place nor the venue for intentionally taking out a personal grudge against any company, manufacturer or competitive vendor to get a manufacturer to bend or sway.


Warning or asking others of faulty product, product failure, poor customer support, dangerous or life threatening issues, warranties not upheld etc. is perfectly fine provided you are not intentionally misleading or lying about the manufacture or product and not intentionally trying to use the forum as a tool for leverage. This is until you cross the line of continual or egregious forms of brand bashing or boldly untrue statements.


Intentionally lying about a manufacturer or vendor or making false claims, while doing this, will result in a ban. We are in contact with some of these vendors and nothing written here goes unnoticed for long. In short we often get both sides of the story even if the vendor or manufacturer does not post on the site.


We want our forum members to know about issues but there is a fine line between brand/vendor bashing and asking a legitimate questions, or venting a little. Please don't cross over into the chronic bashing realm.

*I saw nothing egregious or chronic about Jim's post

*I read nothing that leads me to belive he is trying to use this thread for personal gain or as leverage in a beef with WM

*I also did not see or sense any intentional lying about what transpired at the WM store.

 

[kenn]

Hi Jim S - we all vent, but we have to respect that venting in a public and popular forum is alot more potent than just blowing off steam over a beer. You're basically slagging them for not deviating from their stated policies. Hence the feedback you've heard.

Retail is very competitive. Sales have very specific goals, and the sale items are often loss-leaders that they know will be cherry-picked by clever sailors like you and I

A few of the smaller marine retail outlets I deal with, where the owner actually works there, are more flexible with regards to price and dates, and have granted me sale prices outside of the event dates. And their advice and personal service are exemplary. But that relationship has been built up by my coming to them regularly, even if their price is a few points higher than online.

You can bet that WM does keep tabs on the competition whether online or bricks and mortar, and you can also be assured that your complaint will find its way to them. Maybe they will loosen up on the sale date policy.

 

[Bad Obsession]

Most of us know, but not all of us, that Jim was in the Bahamas last winter and he may have missed most of the discussions about West Marine on this board. None the less, he was just talking about an experience that he had recently.

I loved West Marine's old price matching policy. They probably lost too much money with this program because I know that they must have lost money on me a few times.

I have a love/dislike relationship with West Marine. I like browsing in West Marine, I will buy certain items there, but there is part of me that feels that they mark some things up because they know that you have to buy it from them at that time. Most of their staff are nice and they are fellow boaters.

I live less than a mile from West Marine. It is probably a good thing that I have a tight boat budget because I could spend some serious money if I didn't watch it. The West Marine by my house has a manager who tries hard to make a happy customer but he has to follow company policies. I also like the West in Alexandria on Route 1 and the West in Deltaville. That being said, the Deltaville West can be a frustrating because their service isn't quite as good as the other two places.

West is a necessary evil born out of convenience for me. Love them, hate them, at some point you will have to use them so be glad that they are there!