(Sarcasm warning) I LOVE MARINE PRICES!

[jbondy]

FWIW - I can also pay more for an item when I shop at the small local hardware store than when I go to Home Depot. Sometimes I do that to support the local merchant. Sometimes I pay more for an item at the local brick and mortar marine store because I like having a nearby place that sells the truly marinized items that I sometimes need. Brick and mortar merchants carry more overhead than their online counterparts and offer convenience that is sometimes necessary. I've had good experience with the marine store's customer support and price matching. I also buy online. In this hobby, there's plenty of purchasing to be done, so it can be spread around, which is a good thing.

[jkimberly]

Rather than paying the un-godly amounts of money wanted to replace the plexi in my two opening hatches, I got a sheet of smoked plexi from the local glass store ($60) and cut them with a scroll saw to fit. When I went to WM for adhesive I balked at the $21.95 for a tube of white BoatLife Life Caulk and went to Lowes - $5.49 for the (basically) same thing in black (the color I wanted. I still have enough plexi left over to do the other non-opening ports too.

[Skipaway]

Time to replace the fuel filter on the car. Racor 45s: $48 at NAPA. West Marine had it for $25 (that was 6 months ago - just checked, it is now $36 at West).