That's correct, however there is a time limit of 30 days for the cart. Also, shortly before the big spring sale all the carts are emptied.
Still in business....?!?!?
- Thread starter rgranger
- Start date
Hmmm, the West Marine by me employs a lot of locals... Decent enough inventory, happy employees, good advice and they will order things for me or tell me where I can get it if they don’t have it.
I brought in a leaking WM pump that was three years old (yes three) but I had only just used (it had been sitting in the boat) with no receipt, hoping they might possibly exchange it. Guy gave me a full refund as he said WM’s pump supplier was not making a quality product, recommended a good brand they don’t carry and told me which local competitor carried it. Had one in hand 20 minutes later.
Ordered a radio at the store and without me asking they matched the lowest online price they could find.
Ordered a dinghy from them and found a used one after the dinghy had already showed up in their store. Happily cancelled my order.
I certainly hope they stay in business.
I brought in a leaking WM pump that was three years old (yes three) but I had only just used (it had been sitting in the boat) with no receipt, hoping they might possibly exchange it. Guy gave me a full refund as he said WM’s pump supplier was not making a quality product, recommended a good brand they don’t carry and told me which local competitor carried it. Had one in hand 20 minutes later.
Ordered a radio at the store and without me asking they matched the lowest online price they could find.
Ordered a dinghy from them and found a used one after the dinghy had already showed up in their store. Happily cancelled my order.
I certainly hope they stay in business.
Because Amazon always has low prices, retail is changing; it doesn’t make sense for stores to have huge footprints in order to keep inventory local, they can’t be competitive that way. Malls are doing terribly, sq footage in them in very low currently, that’s probably why they moved?
Don’t get me wrong, I’m also guilty of complaining about the slow demise of retail as I order another box from amazon...
I was looking to buy a hand held VHF in the spring. I looked around online, Amazon, a couple of stores I've bought at before, and my local marine store. My local store was a couple dollars CHEAPER than amazon so I drove down. Their slogan is "We will not knowingly be undersold". I walked into the store, asked at the counter for the model I had seen online and it was about $80 more than their online price. I pointed this out and they honored their online price. I have to assume they know their online price so I'm not sure the slogan is all that honest but I still got a good deal.
Here in Canada we haven't had the WM option for a few years, they packed up and went home. I bought at Defender once. The UPS brokerage fee was a killer so that won't happen again. I only buy online from the US if I can't get what I need in Canada or if they ship USPS since there aren't any brokerage fees.
Truth be told WM is not for sailors, yes they carry just enough blocks and what not to have a sailing aisle but typically no one on staff has a clue about a clew. As stated before stock will only have one or two of item x. Sailing is not profitable
For a them, much easier to sell inflatables and motorboat stuff to the casual boater who just wants to fix x and get the family back out on the water.
For a them, much easier to sell inflatables and motorboat stuff to the casual boater who just wants to fix x and get the family back out on the water.
Depends on the location. The one by our lake and club has a decent inventory for sailors and is staffed with them.
I will say I really like my local West Marine. The manager is a great guy and several of the staff know my name and my dog’s name. I rarely purchase fasteners there. I have found their expertise and customer service to be very helpful. I find their return policy to be outstanding. I purchased some paint there last week and they price matched it from Amazon prices. I saved somewhere in the neighborhood of forty dollars over their regular price for my total purchase. I have bought from Defender, Jamestown, Wholesale Marine and of course SBO and frankly have had great experiences with all of them. When I need it now or might need to return it, I don’t hesitate to go to my local West Marine.
I don't even bother check WM catalogue or online prices and as for price matching, if they cannot get the price to be competitive to start with i would not give them my business. I am lucky, i have Hamilton Marine close by or Defender on line both far superior to WM.
In Rehoboth, Delaware, the West store moved. The new store's front counter and the entire back half of the store look the same. The biggest difference is the front half of the store, which has alot of clothes and paddleboards and SUPs and such..
Staffers at the larger of the two WM stores in our city claim that the Hayden Island store is one of their larger ones. For several years the major part of the square footage has been devoted to clothing. Lots of fishing-related gear and SUP stuff also. Sailing hardware is relegated to one aisle towards the back of the store. Sail boat owners are (obviously and pointedly) a niche market these days. When they have one of their on-line-annonced semi-secret line or gear sales for just a few days... you have to be really quick or there will be nothing on the shelf or the rack.
If we have to have some gee-gaw on a Sunday, they are often an OK resource. Otherwise --order it up for less $ from Fisheries in Seattle.
My takeaway is that clothing is really really profitable !
It looks like even in Hamburg the chandlery focuses on clothing up front with the sailing hardware way in the back.
IMHO, their business model was challenged before this - but remember that Monomoy Capitol acquired the franchise a couple of years ago. As a private investment shop, they have a very different perspective than traditional retail. WM will continue to evolve as efficiencies are prioritized and if they aren't, the equity will be harvested.
As others have said, sailors are not WM's core market and anecdotally my experience is they're driving away their power boat customers too. It may take time, but the outcome could be a good harbinger for smaller chandlers to be able to compete in this space again.
Was always a happy customer of Defender, but even they are wobbling off the track a little with this Defender 1st arrangement...
Boating's expensive and that's not going to change.
As others have said, sailors are not WM's core market and anecdotally my experience is they're driving away their power boat customers too. It may take time, but the outcome could be a good harbinger for smaller chandlers to be able to compete in this space again.
Was always a happy customer of Defender, but even they are wobbling off the track a little with this Defender 1st arrangement...
Boating's expensive and that's not going to change.
Hi Berner,
Curious to hear how the Defender 1st program, which now offers additional discounts on top of the standard discounted pricing that Defender has offered historically, is an indication of troubled waters in Waterford.
Care to elaborate to your comment?
Not intended to be antagonistic, just curious why you feel that way. Your comment is not consistent with the comments that I have heard.
Totally agree that boating is expensive and that is not likely to change. We all wish that were not the case.
Respectfully,
Stephan
Hi Stephan,
Full credit for asking and it's not perceived as antagonistic in any way. It's a good sign that you're interested in feedback and customer satisfaction. So as not to derail this thread, I'll send you a PM.
But more importantly, is that a mini dachshund puppy in your avatar?
Full credit for asking and it's not perceived as antagonistic in any way. It's a good sign that you're interested in feedback and customer satisfaction. So as not to derail this thread, I'll send you a PM.
But more importantly, is that a mini dachshund puppy in your avatar?
....or you just wanted to show us that you are in Hamburg and we are not
Hi Berner,
Yes. Mabel is a miniature dachshund. She is 9 lbs at 8 months old and likely not getting much bigger. Skye and I went from Charlie, a Great Dane with little zest for life at sea, to a much smaller pup who absolutely loves, loves, loves being on the water.
Stephan
Oh boy. It must be unbelievable. It's not only WM. But, Dick's, Cabela's our local dive shop too and on. You would think people don't do anything but buy clothes. And yet walking around people are dressed in basically rags. I don't get it. I just bought 2 pairs of flip flops, the official shoe of Florida. One was $9.95 at Bells. They are Nautica but pretty flat so prolly good for around the house. The other is Reef and it was $60 - gasp. Some of the others were $120. My father would get up out of his grave to berate me if I bought those! I still think these stores lose money but as long as they can show growth, idiots on Wall Street will gin up the stock price. It's the only thing I can think of that keeps these brick and mortar dinosaurs open.