West Marine

Big dave

Big dave

Member
A few weeks ago I did a post about how much cheaper I found the Liquid Rollers Spray at another store besides West Marine. Well I said what I said ignoring dear old Dads advise about "if you can't say something nice about someone don't say any thing at all". Well I justified it in my mind by thinking I was just stating a fact, and It was with no harm intended.
Well today after coming back from a little cruise down the Columbia River, I tied Raven Dancer in her spot on the river and I hear a humming sound coming from the bilge pump, I checked the switch and sure enough it was running but the switch was in the auto mode, I then looked in the bilge and it was dry a bone. I could not get the pump to turn off so I disconnected it from the battery, and pulled out the old pump and headed to West Marine where I bought the pump a little over a year ago after my original one froze to death.(my fault)
I told the sales person my story and told him I didn't have a clue where the receipt was. He said with a smile on his face no problem let me get you another one at No Charge !
I took the pump back to the boat and installed it and the problem is no more.
After that while having lunch on the boat I was thinking about dear old and some of his sayings, and wishing I would think a little more before I ran my mouth, or as Dad would say..."Put your brain in gear before your mouth son". It is funny and I know it has been said before, but the older I get the smarter that old carpenter seems to get. I love you Dad.
I then had another piece of Humble Pie.
Big Dave.
Raven Dancer.
 
Dave, good point--and that is the reason I do patronize my local West Marine store. Today I asked the manager several questions (the store still does not have the 2008 catalogue, even though the Port Supply customers got their catalogues over 3 weeks ago.

I asked about the internet price matching policy. The manager said that was going away. That they would only match Defender, Boater's World, Bass Pro Shops and Carbella's prices. I did not out the date of the policy change.
 
If West Marine's internet price matching policy goes away, I will just buy on the internet...no big deal. I can drive 30 miles or wait a few days for the brown truck - no difference to me. They can have my business or not, their prices are generally just outrageous, and I would rather buy anywhere else if I can anyway.
 
nteresting topic , I used to work there [Watsonville,Ca] till the late 90s. [W.M. Employee # 7175] Initially as a catalog phone tech/sales rep [ pre-lets do everything online] then in tech advisor Dept. Ultimately as a Port Supply wholesale Rep which was a commissioned sales position and as we all know , more volume/profit is better in that type of sales . I had the power of West Marine behind me .Friends in the I.T. dept, friends in purchasing ,friends in catalog . A couple hundred stores as mini warehouses , relationships within the company and industry to get things done , the best catalog in the business bar none,etc....But eventually the volume had to have peaked with the market and the business costs just keep rising .Not to mention a few misplaced stores . West's business model has changed a number of times since I left . I can tell you that it presently has had to charge considering that you need to create and maintain a profit in order to provide and maintain the level of customer service that made you what you are. Is it pumping sheer numbers or selecting the right customers that understand the profit/service concept. Or as one my Southern born friends says "stay with what brought ya to the dance .
Its a lot like my current endeavor , as a boat , motor, service facility that provides the best possible service we can , we cant compete with the $500 over invoice,"see ya later cause we dont do service" guys that are out there on price. but we will beat the daylights out of them when it comes to service and product knowlege.

I have a customer that is in the Hospital Administration business and he brought his boat in for service .I had picked his boat up for him { I was close by] from nearly 100 mles away at no charge , to make it an easier one trip service for him . He came in to pick up the boat and started immediately complaining about the price per hour , and how he could have done it faster better, etc........
I then ask him how much an aspirin costs at his hospital.............you get the idea . He should be able to make an inexplicably outrageous profit in his business without question but we must do our skilled jobs for our costs or less .

So , Im glad some of you have convinced the distributors you are qualified to sell marine parts and should have wholesale accounts for your boating supplies . If I were a consumer I would probably try to stay with the established folks that worked to make their primary business successful by having good customer service instead of just low prices.

Marc
 
Pat Anderson":1587zvi0 said:
If West Marine's internet price matching policy goes away, I will just buy on the internet...no big deal.
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Make sure though that you first go into their store and look at the product to be sure its what you want, Internet photos can be deceptive.
Then go buy it on the Internet.
Also talk to the folks there, pick their brains, get advice from them. Ask about how to install the product, etc.
Then go buy it on the Internet.
Ask them if it really works, if there have been problems with the product, if it fits your application.
Then go buy it on the Internet.

Remember, its all about price. Attention Walmart shoppers, will that last American Craftsman please report to China.
 
starcrafttom":deb02yvv said:
Pat , you wander why you have wiring problems.
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Sigh

Pobrecito Pat. The family knows about his wiring problems, Tom. Been there since birth. We think his DNA might not match the Anderson strain, seeing as his choice of professions are so diverse. Nevertheless, we do care about him and his wonderful spouse.

As for West Marine, I too remember when the Santa Cruz WM used to have those wonderful back room sales of returned items. Pre Ebay, of course. They do, in fact, not only match internet prices, they also issue West Advantage coupons that truly add up if ya buy a major item like a complete Raymarine package, making the West Marine price lower than anything legal you can buy through the internet.

We're fortunate in San Diego to have the largest WM store in the world plus two satellite WM stores, one of which specializes in trailer boats. Yup, their prices are definitely outragious for most purchases but ya can't beat the ability to fondle most anything (hardware) needed before choosing the vendor.

Don
 
Well, Marc, maybe your WM store was different. There are a lot of places that I gladly pay for good service from a knowledgeable staff - in our experience, WM is not one of them...just high prices and indifferent service. Patty won't even go into the Bellevue WM, her perception is that they are intentionally ignoring her because she is female - my belief is that they ignore everybody, equal opportunity ignorers. YMMV...
 
Pat- Maybe it's just your WM store, maybe not, but your painting ALL WM stores with the same brush.

My local store has provided me with excellent service. Prices might be lower elsewhere but everytime I try a D-I-Y project, I almost always have to return something because of wrong size or not suitable for job. WM has always accepted the returns, no questions asked, no restocking fee.

I look at this store like I look at all my local stores. Its 2 miles away. If I like the store but don't support them, then maybe the business goes under or is consolidated and moved further away. Then what?

I agree with Marc. Support your local business that earn it.

Allan
 
When I had problems with my Raymarine radar they stood by me...first giving me a new GPS antenna...then when that didn't correct the problem...they gave me a totally new radar system...dome, software and everything... no problems... Wow ! I can not imagine any internet dealer doing that....
Plus, they have what I want, when I want it...and with a smile... that's worth a bunch... If I was concerned about the dollar...I would have bought a Bayliner.

In my diving business...the internet sales have almost ruined the small shops...driving them out... so when I need service or parts...I have a hard time getting quick repairs... super stores and the internet had almost ruined that small industry...buy local and try to keep the locals in business...

Joel
SEA3PO
 
What I usually do is 1/2 and 1/2.

I buy locally from the WM, which is the only full chandlery in town, for most of the items I need, but go to the Internet on really big items like a windlass, even buying a slightly used item to save more.

I have used WM's price matching as well.

It's hell being Challenged Heavily @ Expense Aggressive Purchasing!

Joe. :lol:
 
Buying local is a concept that I have tried to keep to in a small town but I have really learned that it is not always a good thing on several fronts. First and foremost is employment. The big shops (Costco, home depot) far and away out employ the mom and pop shops. Yes mom and pop made more money but I'm more worried about the folks working there. As a long life employee I don’t really care how much money mom and pop make over my salary. I worry about my salary and how much it cost me to live. Well I buy my cloths at roths and Wal-Mart because its half or less then the local clothing store. I don’t find that I get any better service from the local shops for the most part and I have to pay more. The big guys have better health care then the mom and pop shop. I have never heard of the local small store having health care or paid vacations. In the end I don’t care where the profits go as long as the local employees are taken care of and more of them are hired. We have a new out let mall here in Marysville and many locals complained that it would take away there business. Well so many people come here just for the out let store that it creates many more jobs then the few mom and pop stores that went away. Not to mentions all the new restaurants that came with it. All those employees are locals that don’t have to drive to Everett or farther for jobs now. No way could the local shops attracted or supported that much traffic. Nor could the main street in town handle it. Now the traffic is on the other side of the highway and Marysville benefits from the low prices, higher employment, more tax base, and more services that would not have came here without it.

I needed a new door for James room and went to the local family store to get it. Well they had to order it and it would be a few days. Well I had already driven there and did not want to drive to another story so ok order it and I will be back in a few days, they would call me when it was in. Two weeks later ,no door. I went up there to find out why and guess what they did not order it. Well order it and four more days, two longer then they told me, and it’s the wrong door and I have to get it drilled ???? Well no one told me that and they should have. Well I drove to door shop in town, a local shop, and to have the door drilled because I need a door wrong color or not. Well they had the right door in stock and drilled it for less than the other shop wanted for the undrilled door. So, not all local shops are equal.

The other thing that most people don’t think about when they bash "the internet stores" is who owns them and who works at them. a lot of internet online stores are owned by mom and pop. My bother and three of his friends own and operate a online store for milling machines and cnc machines. They import from china and sell solely on line as a side business. That’s another thing about the net it allows you to look as good as the big guys.

Same goes for boater’s world or west marine. It cost less to buy online and I’m not gaining anything in service by shopping at BW or WM. Anytime I need anything fixed they have to send it back to the dealer anyhow. Any time I want to know if they have something they get on the phone or internet to look it up which I can do anyway. No one working there knows that much about their own products. I can look it up myself. That’s the great thing about the internet; it allows us to be as informed as the experts, if anyone hired one that is. Now there are exceptions to the rule and the Wm in Everett is not to bad. Tom , the manager, knows what he is talking about and one of the girls knows sail boats but nothing about power boats and no one there know much about electronics. so I say go with what’s best for you and don’t have expectations about Local shops or even big names until they can prove to you they are good. I have been dealing with The Searay of Seattle folks on my boat but did not expect good service in fact I was putting off the work knowing it was going to be a pain dealing with a big dealer. I have never had a good time dealing with big car dealers. I have been nothing but Happy with this big shop. They have been great and very helpful. Return my calls and emails right away. Very honest and treat me and my little boat like I spent $200,000 on one of their big boats and that’s on a boat I did not buy from them. I bad mouth the factory’s decision to make them a dealer but now take it all back. I really love their service department. If the rest of the company works the same way I would not hesitate buying from them. I was wrong and openly admit it.
 
Alternative to West Marine in Everett,

I have been shopping at a local marine business, Harbor Marine, for two seasons now.

They are located a couple of blocks north of West Marine in Everett. They are a real marine store, they stock lots of product and have knowledgeable salesmen. Prices are lower that WM most of the time. They also service and repair marine diesel engines and transmissions, and do bottom work.

They offer a 10% discount card which you can buy for $10. The card gets you a 10% discount on most things. The discount is actually subtracted from the price!! No advantage card and no mailed advertising.

Address and phone number:

Harbor Marine
1402 W Marine View Dr
Everett, WA 98201
425-259-3285 800-392-5774
 
After fooling around with my starter battery for the last few days I finally pulled it out and took it to the local battery shop and as I suspected it was bad. Being only 5 months old I figured I'd take it back to West Marine. When I got to WM I realized they didn't carry Exide. A similiar replacement was about $80 at West. The boat came equipted with this battery and the dealer would have gladly replaced it but he ws 250 miles away so I went to Boaters World who carried the Exide line. When I went in the store there were two young kids working and when I told them what I was there for they said we've never done that and don't know how. Should have gone back to West Marine but I'm hard headed. Because I of course didn't have the receipt they looked at the manufacture date on the battery which was December 2007. Even though the battery has only been in use for 5 months they prorated the price. I wound up paying $81 for the replacement. The battery I replaced still had the price tag on it of $79. I've been buying a few things at Boaters World but after this experience I think I'll stick to WM.
 
We have a local hardware store about 2 miles from our home--usually have what I need. It is very convient and the clerks are very helpful. We have another local hardware and art supply store which carries every size and type of SS fasterner you might imagine--again very knowlegable and the price is 1/3 or less of West Marine. The Lowes and Home Depot are only a couple of blocks away from this hardware store and about 5 miles from home. I patronize these little stores, because if I don't they will go away.

We had two West Marines less than a mile from each other (Hold over from Boat US). The second store has closed and the remaining has doubled in size (this is the one which only had the one can of liquid rollers). The manager of the store is most accomidating, and helpful. He did not come from a boating background. There are several good clerks--and one who still does not remember my name, or Port Supply number which was one of the first 10 accounts, even though he sees me at least once a week for 2 years. West Marine has been good about replacing items which were bad--in my experience --not sending them back to the factory and having to wait. It is a good convience and I am want to keep them in business also. If we buy nothing but from the internet--It has definately hurt them--they may scale back stores???--and I don't know how much the "not matching the internet prices" will affect their high end sales. We have a good sized marine electronics store in town--and they are often lower than West Marine--and their installation charges are what keep them in business. If there was not an installer locally--what would happen to the average boater who is not capable of installing his electronics?
 
Bob I know I know.. He will learn to do it him self?? :wink:

I willing to beat that the instal guy makes nothing or little on the systems and all on the install. Family freind owned a marine electronics shop on lake texahoma (?) and he never made a thing on the sales just the install. Hes passed on now but I learned a lesson from that. If he tried to make money on the parts then no one would have shopped there and he would not had the chance to do the install. I have been told that les makes no money on the equipment but only on the rigging.

one of the advantages of modern equipment is that its get to be plug and play. After fixing my raymarine units I beleive that I could install it or any system equal to it. Now that is not a boost, its just gotten that easy.
 
There's a young local guy here that worked for one of the larger Mercury dealers. He was factory certified on several different outboard brands and had a really good reputation. He got tired of working for the other guy and started a small outboard business from his home. His speciality is he comes to you. He's done really well and now has two other guys working for him. Much of what he does is on referral from West and Boaters World installing electronics. There's apparently a pretty big market for installing electronics that locally no body had really tapped into.

I agree with Bob on buying from the little local hardware stores and other business's for that matter. I'm fearful when these mom and pop business's disappear we will be at the mercy of the Home Depots and Walmarts.
 
thataway said:
... We have another local hardware and art supply store which carries every size and type of SS fasterner you might imagine--again very knowlegable and the price is 1/3 or less of West Marine...... if I don't they will go away.

quote]

I know what you mean. If Hutson hardware ever closes I would be at a loss as to where to buy fasteners and the like. It was a sad day when Mr. Waters died. They bought my 37Ft Hunter sailboat from me. Some local mom and pop stores can't be beat.

As for WM, In Dec I bought a Quest dual 10 amp charger at the WM they were closing down. I paid $39 for it. Last week something inside of it went "BANG" , smoked and stopped working. Tue I took it into the other WM and told the story. Since I paid $39. for a $179 charger I figured they refer me to Quest. No. they called today and said my replacement was here.

Roger
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