West Marine - Strictly Sail

[Kirk]

Sail Stock

I went to WM recently to replace a batten that had broken…they didn’t have any in stock. Not one. It seems more often then not that is the case when I need to pick something up for the Sailboat.

 

[Liam]

best to shop around

I went to West to buy a pair of Wichard u-bolts. They had a peg on the wall but no stock. They said that they would order them and have them in 10 days. I said okay. The price was 19.95 each plus 8% tax. A month later they were not in yet and I needed them. I went on line and bought them from an East Coast sailing specialty company. The cost was 12.75 each plus 3.95 shipping for both. West called after 6 weeks and said that my item had arrived. I told them I had already gotten them. They said no worries, happens all the time. They were glad to have them for the store. They said that even though they had a peg on the wall for them the stock level for their store had been set to zero and that they would not get them through their automatic stock system...I said, why don't you take the peg off the wall? No answer.

 

[Paul Akers]

Can't Count on WM anymore!

Each time I go there for something (in my own neighborhood - and a small store) they are out of stock and I'm told that a truck will be in Tuesday - check then. They have never had a delivery that doesn't have regular-stocked items - only special orders, if they did order something for someone. This was even before they became WM and was another named store and they still have the same service. They have been very unreliable except for standard items that I need. I'd just as soon go around the corner to Boater's World for cleaning items because of the cost.

 

[Paul Akers]

Good Presence at Newport Show

They have always made a good presence at the Newport Show. But if they didn't, there would be a noticable absence there since they have one of the largest exhibits there and not look good for them. They do have a "showcase" store in Newport, though.Last spring I went to the new store in Warren, RI to pick up a couple of SS screws. I thought it was just PR to give them to me, so I said "thanks". Then the clerk went on to say that it wasn't good for them to ring a low-priced item up because it brought down the transactional average and that it didn't look good for the store. THAT MADE ME FEEL LIKE I WANTED TO GO BACK! ???

 

[Leviosa]

OK I have to take something back!

Yesterday I was praising online retailers like Defender......yesterday afternoon the UPS truck pulled up in my driveway with an order from guess who...yep Defender....I had ordered 4 gallons epoxy, 1 gallon hardner and for these containers. the pump kits....along with a few other misc items...... I guess my gripe is with the fullfilment of the orders....I got EXACTLY what I ordered.....however without realizing it I had ordered the pump kits for 5 gallon containers vs the 1 gallon containers I recived......Am I out of line in saying it would have been nice to get a phone call from someone asking are you sure you want the pumps for 5 gallon containers when you ordered 4-1 gallon containers of resin????... that would have been true old fashion customer service....now I have to return these pumps,,,Im sure it wont be a problem,,,just a hassle....

 

[Robert Gainer]

Orders from all types of customers

We order a mix of sizes when it comes to pumps and containers because we use WEST both in the shop and at the boatyard. Just because matching sizes sounds reasonable to you doesn’t mean it going to show a red flag for someone else that gets orders from all types of customers.All the best,Robert Gainer

 

[Leviosa]

Robert your right

How do they know I dont have 10- 5 gallon pales just full of the stuff and need a new pump.....I guess Im just pissed at myself.

 

[T37 Phil]

No more West Marine for me

WM has problems. My local store is often out of stock or doesn't carry simple items like a 5/16 turnbuckle. They are always happy to order it for you. So lately I figure, I can just order items myself online. I have gone back and forth for four months and they will not or cannot enter my account correctly in their system. But they are always happy to take your order by phone. I don't trust them. Even with their 10% off Fridays and 5% back WestAdvantage program and free shipping for large orders, their prices are still not better than the competition. The last time I circumvented their system by going through boatus.com to order, they didn't give me the 10% discount that was advertised (and probably not the advantage points either). I noticed it immediately and called support. They replied they would not be able to even see the order for over an hour, so they couldn't help me out at all. But I was welcome to call back!Enough already. If it wasn't for the false perception of savings through the 5% back advantage program I would have dropped WM long ago.

 

[newsailor06]

Interesting Experience....

WM is having a rope/line sale this week. I needed two dock lines so I called to find out if the local store had some. They did and set them aside for me so I could stop in after work. When I got there the kid wasn't going to honor the internet price until the store manager made a comment about honoring the price from the back. I was totally prepared to avoid buying at the store and ordering online if they didn't match the price. That sort of thing isn't good for business IMHO.

 

[Mac Bentley]

Easy for y'all to say

If West Marine goes under, we in Oklahoma have nothing to fall back on. There's the Internet, but I like the hands on approach, I like to be able to see what I'm buying, feel the cordage, see how hardware fits together. Last year I bought some lifeline gate/backrest hardware from Rig-Rite and what I got didn't fit, even though I sent them digital pictures of exactly what I wanted. I jury-rigged it.As a fourth-year sailor I've learned a lot from the guys at West Marine, though certainly not as much as I've learned on this board. Modest WM stores in Oklahoma City and Tulsa are it for us. Lake Hefner (in Oklahoma City), which probably has the largest sailboat population in the state, doesn't even have a marina store.Although we're in a drought cycle -- sailboats were sitting in the mud at Hefner in recent weeks, and the 16 feet of water under my boat at Lake Thunderbird last year is now reduced to 8 feet -- Oklahoma is a pretty good sailing state. According to the state water agency, "Oklahoma has approximately 11,611 miles of shoreline, slightly less than the estimated combined general (nontidal) coastline of the Atlantic, Gulf, Pacific, and Arctic Coasts (12,383 miles)."I too am a little surprised that West Marine hasn't had a presence at the Tulsa boat/travel show. I'm no businessman, but it can't take much to be there. Some of that stuff in the booths was more suited to a state or county fair and had nothing to do with boating or travel. Boaters World was there, but besides some electronics, it was all skis and wakeboards and clothes. Boaters World used to have a big presence for sailors in Tulsa, but about a year ago they put a wall down the middle of their store and scaled down considerably. One last thing about the Tulsa show -- thanks again to Redbud Marina at Lake Oologah for bringing new sailboats to the show. They had Hunters 216, 27 and 31 and Catalinas 22, 250 and 27, I believe. They were very busy. Perhaps it was just curiosity seekers, or maybe just my imagination, but I saw more people crawling around the sailboats than any other boats at the show, with the obvious exception of a "Fantasy" houseboat that was 100-some feet long and about 25 feet wide. It had long lines.If you're still with me, thanks for letting me rant. And if there are some Okies who know better about this stuff, I'd appreciate hearing about it.Mac

 

[NautiDuck]

The future is online

For whoever urged WM management to step in - WM management is on board his super-yacht in the South Seas.I do all my boat items buying online. The difference in prices is astounding. I just bought an Edson pedestal guard and found an online store (on the other side of the country)that was about $90 less than anyone else. Same thing for GPS Chartplotters. Hundreds of dollars in differences. It is amazing. The days of brick-and-mortor stores is on the wane. Good online stores with aggressive pricing and fast UPS/FedEx delivery is the future.

 

[Jeff]

Love Hate

I love the convenience of being able to get marine-specific gear only minutes from the dock.I hate the quality of most of the inventory and that most of it comes from China for pennies, then they sell it to us for outrageous prices. Crap quality, hideous cost.Online is better if you have the time.Nothing against WM staff, they are always helpful as possible.

 

[newsailor06]

Hey Mac,

We were some of those lookers in the sailboat area at the Tulsa show. I made the mistake...no let me rephrase that. I made the intelligent choice of having the Admiral look at the cabin in the Catalina 270 that was there. We also looked at the Hunter 33 that was just next to it. I really made a good choice.. she fell in love with the 270. We have already agreed to keep our C25 for a year or so more then move up to the 270. Best thing I ever did was take her on board the new boat. I agree with you on many of the booths...they were a waste. We did go on the big houseboat, but had to laugh. Why would you put $834,000.00 into a boat of that size. You can bet it won't be moving around Grand Lake much. Also know what you are saying about Boaters World and them cutting their store in half. I live about 4 miles from the store.

 

[Mac Bentley]

I really liked the 270

Newsailor, Inside, the 270 looked like it had more room than the Hunter 31 (I'm pretty sure it was a 31; they had a 33 there last year and it looked the part). Maybe the Hunter had more cockpit, I didn't notice. I liked the side decks on the Catalinas as well.Ain't it nice when the Admiral gets "on board" for a new boat? We bought our h23 at Beaver Lake; when we saw a picture of it on this site, she said "Let's go get it."Mac

 

[newsailor06]

It could have been a 31...

Mac, It could have easily been an H31.. I was only going by what one of the guys said that was watching over the displays. It didn't really matter to me anyway. We like the compactness of the C270, and my wife likes what she considers to be a cozy cabin. To me, once you start getting too big of a sailboat on a lake, the lake starts to seem smaller. We bought our 25 from a guy that now has a 32' ketch. It seems that the lake just appears smaller from the bigger boat. Mostly psychological I know.

 

[Liam]

West Advantage Points...

Okay, so yesterday I felt a little bad about my West Marine rant. It was kind of like talking bad about an ex-wife.Then I got home and there was a letter from them saying that my West Advantage account had expired and that for only $19 I could sign up for another year.I thought, "Oh yeah, what about that?" So I checked my records and reciepts and discovered that last year I had spent about $3000 at West and received two West Advantage credits for $10 each!Then I felt just a little ripped-off.They didn't deliver on the first one and here they were with their hand out for more.I called the #800 on the letter. I was transfered three times. Each person saying something like, "Oh, that's not something I do, you need to talk to..."Finally I hung up.I guess the West Advantage is truely not the customer's advantage, it is West's Advantage.

 

[camaraderie]

West not Best?

I recently put together a list of 25 items a new (old) boat owner might purchase from West...then compared prices at Defender and West.The results were:Total $4,030.32 at Defender$4,780.10 at West -16% average discount. Some prices were the same but only one price at West was lower. Of course Defender has shipping charges...but West has sales tax. Difference of $749.78 and I'm sure some of the items could be found for even less around the web. List can be viewed at http://www.sailnet.com/forums/general-discussion/27935-west-marine-prices-5.html?highlight=west+marineIt pays to shop around and with the absorbtion of BUS by West and the near monopoly they have at retail, I think it is in all our interests to keep the remaining competition healthy when we can.

 

[Rick D]

Check Right Here First Before Ordering...

...if you have not looked at the Chandlery here on this site, you should do some fresh window shopping. It has been vastly expanded. I was going to order a replacement dinghy motor rail mount and found they had it right here at a price better than WM and similar to DF. So, I brought it here. So should you. I also got a sail cover and winch covers. As long as we tromp through these threads, we should take the time to check here first and buy as much as possible in support of the site. And, take the time to remind other posters to look here too. Rick D.

 

[Don S/V ILLusion]

Liam

What you wrote doesn't make sense.The West Advantage membership guarantees a $15 coupon for each $300 of purchases if you are a paying member. Only with the FREe membership could you have received a $10 coupon. There is NO WAY you could have received a $10 coupon unless you had a free membership which does not expire. The only scenario which makes sense is that you had the free membership and were asked if you wanted to pay an extra $19 for the upgrade.I am no great fan of WM but it's not fair to criticize for something they didn't do or you misunderstood

 

[Rob Hessenius]

Liam

Liam- You have a legitimate complaint, if what you say is accurate. If you recieve $10 coupons, you have the "free" program that you did not pay $19. You should have got coupons not only two. The system for tracking customers points is very simple and is easily accessed at all stores. If you walk into a store the will pull up your transaction history. As long as your card scan, phone # was tagged to the sale, it posts. If you have your reciepts as you stated, WM will honor them and place them into the WA system. I have done this for many people that took out memberships after previous sales. West wants you to have them, there is no conspiracy to deny these coupons to the rightful people.There are certain sales, i.e Friends and Family which has included almost everyone,where points were not given out because of the discount. Stated in black and white on the card/coupon?I know they will do you right, Liam. Rob Hessenius