You guys were right I was wrong

[higgs]

all the griping about West marine hit me as a bit picky. No more. I was wrong.

3/16' lifeline wire at West is $2.68 per foot

At Obersheimers in Buffalo it is $1.69 a foot.

Swage studs at West $20 + then a sweaging fee.

Stud and swaging at Obs is 20 some bucks.

 

[Roger Long]

You aren't going to use plastic coated wire, are you?

Look for threads on the subject or just save yourself time and have better looking and stronger lifelines by using regular rigging wire.

We're right about this as well.

 

[kpgraci]

all the griping about West marine hit me as a bit picky.

I like WM because I can walk in and get what I need now, but there is a considerable markup for the convenience. If buying online, price (from a reputable seller) always wins out. I've have bought a few things from the WM store that did not leave me feeling violated - got a nice extendable boat hook at a fair price.

 

[Steve Dion]

Higgs:

You were not wrong, just not informed!

There are many items at WM that you really have to "have right now" that are sometimes hundreds of dollars difference.

 

[Ken13559]

If you live in my neck of the wood, you'll appreciate WM. Yes they're pricy sometime, maybe they don't carry many variety of stocks sometime, but they still have they usefulness. Sometime I finds it cheaper to order from WM with shipping charges and local taxes and still cheaper than if I bought it locally.

 

[Warren Milberg]

I like West because (1) there is a store onsite at my marina, and (2) they will gladly price match any legitimate competitor. How do you beat that?

 

[wonkodsane]

Agreed, the shipping thing with web vendors is sometimes the make-it-or-break it to go with WM.

 

[hman]

If ya gotta have it now, for us up here in the wilds of the No CA mountains, it's the only game in town. Our local West Marine caters more to the power boaters and only has one section of a wall devoted to sailors, but they do carry the essentials. I do a lot of purchases "on line" if I can wait, but sometimes (like busted sail slugs) you just gotta bite the bullet and go to WM.....

 

[Steve Dion]

Warren:

I get you point, but it is a pain in the ass the have to look-up prices for a "barrel-bolt" that they want $29 for and I can get the "same" item for $17 elsewhere.

This goes for the line that Higgs referred to. I need 40 ft of line for each side of my traveler and I am going to spend an extra $80 to buy it from WM?

Many of the WM stores will NOT price match with mail order stores either. Maybe you guys have a little more luck where you are located, but in the west they are not easy to deal with. Their other trick is that they want to adjust the price by adding in the shipping charge to equalize the price difference.

 

[zeehag]

for sooo many reasons---ACE IS THE PLACE!!!!!! many needs are met there immediately with far less markup than 400 percent!!!

 

[Warren Milberg]

Here is a note I recently received from West Marine on this subject, fyi:

Dear Mr. Milberg,

We apologize for the delay in response. Thank you for taking the time to complete our Satisfaction Questionnaire. Customers like you provide us with vital feedback regarding what we are doing right as well as areas in which we can improve.

We understand your concerns regarding pricing. West Marine stores will price match to any website and local competitor’s retail price on any identical item we carry. We hope that these price-matching services provide you with the best price you can find on our products while receiving the excellent West Marine service you deserve.

We are also actively assessing our pricing and in over 3000 cases this year, we have lowered our prices to be more competitive. Feedback like yours also helps us identify areas where we need to be more competitively priced.

Please know that we value your suggestions and comments and actively evaluate them to ensure that our service exceeds your expectations.

Thank you again for your feedback. We look forward to continuing and growing our relationship with you!
Thank you,
Kaeley Sullins
Store Operations at West Marine

 

[zeehag]

1990--wm motto in marina del rey--"we will put all the mom and pop chandleries out of business" back then prices ere reasonable in wm--even low!! was kinda nice-the personnel were courteous and kind and knew their business. then i relocated from lost angels southward. i didnt hear that motto any longer. i found personnel with attitudes and lack of knowledge were commonplace in the region--wm earned the nickname. recently , in areas outside mine, i have found personnel were more knowledgeable and helpful than in the median portion of their existence---i still have my personal favorite places to buy my boating and sailing goods, and i heard the methamphetamine user was promoted to MANAGER---oops---i hope they did a good background check and drug test on her.
i DO find my marine goods at just about 300-400 percent less than wm, and i am enjoying that. i doubt that deal would be met anywhere .

for many of my needs on my boat, ace is the place...excellent pricing and service, and convenient.

 

[Steve Dion]

Warren:

When did you get this message from WM? This is NOT how they have received us out here on the West (Left) Coast in No. Cal. & Nevada over the last few years.

While I welcome their attitude it is really unconscionable to charge 50-100% more for exactly the same item (unless you can get away with it).

I also realize that not all items that they sell are that far out of line. I also realize that they are in business to make money (so are their competitors) so they can keep that vast array of stores open (so competitors don't move into their area) for our convenience.

PS: I shop at WM too!

 

[Winkfish]

West Marine near me has very friendly and knowledgeable staff. Fpor some things they are the only game in town. For most things, however, I also use Ace, Lowes/Home Depot, Academy Sports, and even Wal-Mart (a couple of local ones actually have very good, though slightly down-market, marine departments.)