Westmarine - the good and the bad

[sailingdog]

I don't mind paying a small premium for the convenience of getting something right when I need it... but the WM register had a price of $49.99, which is above MSRP for the piece and 48% higher a price than what sailnet.com had it for. The convenience of getting it locally and right then and there isn't worth half again the price.

[T34C]

Appologies in advance since I haven't read this entire thread.

I had pruchased a Groco ball valve from WM last spring while replacing my engine thru hull. WM tracked my purchase via my BoatUS member # and contacted ME to let me know the part had been recalled due to a defective alloy used in its production. I was supposed to remove the part from the boat and ship it to Groco for replacement. I instead took it in to my local WM where they looked up my purchase on their computer to confirm, and promptly handed me the new replacement part.

While WM is certainly not perfect, and often higher priced, I certainly couldn't have gotten that kind of service with an on-line company.

[merlin2375]

I like west marine simply because I can go in an get the item in my hands and see how it feels quality wise or fit wise for clothes. Sometimes I shop there and end up buying else where.

I don't think WM is much worse than any other bricks/mortar place compared to the internet. For example, Best Buy versus ordering from anywhere online. Part of it seems that they just use some silly formula to come up with a price for something and since they have SO many items in the catalog a human being doesn't review the prices. I hope they can have a price match policy AND stay in business.

As it stands now people are voting with their wallets:
West Marine sales drop by 10 per cent for Q1

They could be going the way of Radio Shack sooner rather than later...closing their doors and slimming down.

[T34C]

They could be going the way of Radio Shack sooner rather than later...closing their doors and slimming down.

I have 3 Radio Shacks only 15 min drive away. Only 2 WM !

[chucklesR]

For convienence I'll pay more, after all that is what it is all about. I pay more at 7-11 than I do at Super Fresh for example.

For price matching, why should I bother to print out proof someone else has a better price and take it to WM so I can ask for/talk them into a better price?
I'd rather just buy it from the lower priced place and not deal with the hassle. Besides all too often the clerk at the WM store doesn't realize the re-branded "West Marine" item is exactly the same as the Brand X item so they won't give you the price cut anyway.
I'm not into boating so I can argue with a 8 dollar a hour kid over a 5% price break.

Giu, buy your stainless steel at the hardware store, not WM, you'd be amazed at the price break, same for bronze, tools, etc.

[SEMIJim]

Originally Posted by Omatako

We are still a little confused by all the bad press WM get on this forum.

As are The Admiral and I. The WM near our sail club (allegedly the busiest store in the chain and in the process of expanding) has always been good to us.

[sailortjk1]

The WM near our sail club

That West is the nicest West I have been in.
The one on South River Road in Harrison Townsship? Right?

[SEMIJim]

Originally Posted by xort

I needed a can of air for an air horn. We have Mike's Marine Supply next door to West.
The can was about $4 at Mikes and about $12 at West. I ALWAYS shop Mike's first.

Story I hear tell is WM tried to buy Mike's. (Or perhaps just that store? Don't know/recall the details.) It was after that WM opened that store just down the block from the Mike's on Jefferson. Some local sailors that know of this refuse to shop at WM because of that.

I'll head down to Mike's when I'm not in a hurry. But if I'm in the middle of a boat job or on my way to the boat, I'm not going to all that way out of my way to go down to Mike's.

Jim

[SEMIJim]

Originally Posted by sailortjk1

That West is the nicest West I have been in.
The one on South River Road in Harrison Townsship? Right?

That's that one. It's about to get nicer. The heavy machinery was working out behind the store mid-last-week.

Jim

[JiffyLube]

Originally Posted by merlin2375

As it stands now people are voting with their wallets:
West Marine sales drop by 10 per cent for Q1

They could be going the way of Radio Shack sooner rather than later...closing their doors and slimming down.

As I'm sure you know WM is not the only business that has been suffering as of late, if you follow the market place you'll notice that almost all sectors are down from their highs. These are the very times that companies have to change for, or they will not be around in the coming years. The market place had been going through a feast period for the last five or more years, and very lately it's been in a famine period. The WM management knows what it needs to do to survive, and I think you'll see deals aplenty coming out of them...deals for WM that is. Hopefully WM will learn from this downturn, and become more competitive player in the future.