SS marine hardware

I

Interested

New member
Hey Folks, FYI
Good source for marine hdw. ie bimini fittings,pulls, hinges,anchor,and handles. Good quality, free shpg. fair prices. After 1st purchase they will send regular emails with various product sale specials. So don't load up on 1st. order.

marinepartdepot.com
 
Their address is Rancho STAN MARG, CA 92688, which translates to Rancho Santa Margarita. So, you're dealing directly with a Chinese importer, which isn't necessarily bad. I've done that with electronics, and sometimes you're surprised, but it all works out.

Since the regular marine supply houses offer Chinese stuff, this is probably a cheaper way to get that kind of stuff. If you want the regular hardware, this isn't it.

A lot of times, the electronics has been shipped directly from China, which works well.

Boris
 
journey on":2jeuvq65 said:
which translates to Rancho Santa Margarita. So, you're dealing directly with a Chinese importer, Boris
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Boris, had to chuckle with this one.....the translation sounds more Spanish to me than Chinese....but what do I know.....I don't speak either language.... :lol:
 
This company claims to be a manufacture of SS parts: " Marine Part Depot is the stainless steel marine manufacturer and produce a wide range of top quality stainless steel marine hardware for marine parts brand name and marine parts manufacturers in US." The company is owned by Turquois, Inc. @ 37 Radiance Ln.RANCHO SANTA MARGARITA, CA,92688 Looking at Google Earth this is a residence. The phone number references back to a cell phone out of Laguna Beach, with 1 address in Santa Margarita, CA.

I also suspect that this is a drop shipment type of internet business. What if a Chinese manufactured fitting fails--will this company stand behind it?
 
I have bought a fair amount of fittings for bimini's from them. They seem to be good stuff. Also some hinges and other hardware. The only gripe have with them is that their website always says "Sale ends Today". Tomorrow it says the same thing! :roll:

They ship quickly though and seem either to have a good inventory or at least a good supplier. They use USPS for fittings (at least the ones I've ordered) and they always come from their advertised address.

Charlie
 
The point I was trying to make is not that they're hit-and-run merchants, but since we enjoy buying Chinese merchandise, the Chinese in the US have started to sell it semi-directly to us, a lot cheaper. They have the contacts in China to get a supply, they can see what West Marine is importing (and selling,) and being good businessmen, now sell directly to us. Rancho Santa Margarita (misspelled Rancho STAN MARG,) is the town in which they live and get their e-mail, their warehouse is probably nearby (if they even have one.) The web site reflects that they are doing this themselves, English is not their first language and they're not hiring some professional. This keeps their overhead and prices low, and they can undercut West Marine substantially, even other web-only suppliers. Remember the Chinese love to do business, not work for West Marine.

You can find the same type of web sites for electronic components and specialty auto parts. Some of those sites sell directly from China, the days order is air freighted to the USA and then broken up and the individual orders sent via USPS. I've ordered that way and it was even cheaper, minimal overhead in the US. And they make sure that you get the correct part, even if it takes a couple of shipments. The danger with overseas sales is credit card fraud, where someone rips off the card info and uses it, as happened to me. (The credit card company caught it and gave me a new card, but I'm not going that route again.)

This brings up the question of what will happen to our established dealers. Look at what happened to book stores, a lot of new book stores are closing down, and books now largely sell through Amazon, etc. Will the existing cheap web sites with web sales only be able to compete with direct importers operating out of their homes? Most of our electronics and marine hardware comes from China, so why not use the web to sell directly? I don't claim to know what will happen and it'll be fascinating to watch. I order a heck of a lot via the web because it's easier, cheaper and if you order a brand name, you know what you're getting, such as Honda parts. With marinepartdepot.com, there have been a couple of recommendations (see above,) and certainly more of us will follow.

As far as their guarantee, since the stuff is so cheap to them, they're not going to quibble with you. They'll just send you a new part. They want to do business, not get a bad rap. At least not now, when they're getting started.

Boris
 
Point well made Roger. I really enjoyed the "Made in America" series recently on ABC. And, I support that movement. Wish they had not gotten such a wishy/washy response from Lowe's and Home Depot!

As for dealers, yes, they do employ folks (some of which may or may not be citizens) and we need them, be interesting to find out about the other small guys. I buy a lot from West Marine and get into one of their stores as often as I can (it's a trek from where we live, more often buy on the 'net than in person), I wonder where some/all of their SS fittings are made?

We need to tolerate grammar/misspellings and not assume they are something they may not be. After all, I'm positive starcrafttom is 100% Made in America!
 
Interested":33bplly8 said:
Hey Folks, FYI
Good source for marine hdw. ie bimini fittings,pulls, hinges,anchor,and handles. Good quality, free shpg. fair prices. After 1st purchase they will send regular emails with various product sale specials. So don't load up on 1st. order.

marinepartdepot.com
Click to expand...

Back to my main point. All theories aside. (Quality hardware. Fair pricing. Quick shpt.)
I don't know about the rest of you but I worked hard for my money and want to keep as much as possible. Ultimately so the govt. can take it. Buy American is great, especially if you can find it. By the way how many of us have American made/owned motors on our boats?
 
Fair pricing: it's certainly less than West Marine or Defender charge FOR THE SAME STUFF.

Quick shpt: Yes, the same as most places.

Quality hardware: Ah, here is where I think there is some divergence. When we start to call that stuff "quality" we ignore what is real quality and settle for the cheapest. I think Wichard is quality for shackles, but it certainly is more expensive. Example: 5/16 long shackle: Wichard $20 plus shipping, marineparts depot, $3.40, including shipping. If the cheaper one meets your needs, go buy it. For holding the mainsail up, I want the Wichard.

As always, you get what you pay for. One needs to match quality to needs.

Boris
 
Captains Cat":zcucnq9y said:
We need to tolerate grammar/misspellings and not assume they are something they may not be. After all, I'm positive starcrafttom is 100% Made in America!
Click to expand...

:lol:


Well said Charlie...now let me quit laughing!

:mrgreen:
 
My post was supporting Boris's position. We need to keep our stores in business. I buy something from "Paradise hardware" almost every week, even if I can get it cheaper on the net or at HD...I want those folks to succeed and be there when I need them. They also stand behind a product I purchase there.

OK--the Bimini top fitting works--yes the screw, and even the fitting rusts a bit--some some "get rust" takes care of that... But what happens when that SS shackle you bought on the net fails and the anchor is lost? (just a scenario). I don't have a lot of faith in chinese Metallurgy and castings.
 
It would be very interesting to buy a Wichard and marineparts depot shackle and have them tested in a test lab. Too bad I no longer work where I could have done that. Anyone else have access to a tension test frame?

Steve
 
Suggesting a comparison test between the Wichard and marineparts shackles is an interesting thought. It presupposes the thought that China could make the same strength and quality shackle and sell it for 1/7 of the price as Wichard. If one has that thought, then the cheaper shackle is going to sell well and Wichard is going to become an importer from China, not France.

Another thought is that one doesn't need the strength, corrosion resistance, etc that the more expensive shackle has. That makes the cheaper one a logical choice. Just don't expect it to be the same as one from France.

Again, one gets what one pays for, within reason.

Boris
 
When it comes to stainless steel I'm more concerned with fatigue resistance than ultimate strength. I won't use questionable stainless steel in any critical application.
 
Chester":rvxxpgy5 said:
When it comes to stainless steel I'm more concerned with fatigue resistance than ultimate strength. I won't use questionable stainless steel in any critical application.
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Chester, just out of curiosity then, how do you decide what to buy? Do you test it? Get a statement from the mfr? How do you decide what is a critical/non critical application?

Charlie
 
A manufactures reputation counts for something. Anonymous hardware from a region known for cheap knock offs is a red flag. Yes, I know all all Chinese products aren't junk but how do you sort them out? I guess this takes you back to reputation. Tylaska, Wichard, ect. have earned theirs.
I'd say ground tackle is critical. Bimini components or a shackle for a crab pot, not so much. FWIW some serious cruisers won't use any SS at all for their ground tackle as it is more prone to catastrophic failure than carbon steel. Asking marinepartdepot.com for a mfr. statement would be one way to kill some time but prolly not very productive.
 
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