[JimsCAL]

Defender's Annual Warehouse Sale starts next Wednesday March 25 online and by phone. Get your shopping list ready! Discount is usually about 10% off their already low prices.

 

[Barquito]

Jim, I assume you are not the CFO of Defender.
I get most of my online stuff from Defender

www.defender.com

 

[RobGallagher]

My credit card just melted in my wallet

 

[SHNOOL]

I have a stack of receipts from defender since purchase of my boat in October, that I dare NOT add up. Love it... order today by 5pm... I select ground shipping, and some saint gets the order out the door today... and I see it by 3pm the next day. Toxic paints, thinners, what have you. I MUST remember to thank my UPS driver.

As for Defender... well lets just say they won't go under from my lack of trying to single-handedly keep them in the black.

 

[night0wl]

THeir prices are good, but their shipping charges onerous. I've found Amazon entering the game for marine stuff is awesome, especially since Im already Amazon Prime. More competition the better!

 

[RichH]

Better'n than than, they have apparently stockpiled a lot of the ablative bottom paint that contains the anti-slime Irgarol - the compound that BASF interrupted supply to the paint mfgrs.

 

[RobGallagher]

I just texted my buddy to remind him that it starts tomorrow. His Reply:
"I just came a little"

I'm lucky enough to live close so I get to go in person. My sister just lives over the border in RI, I ship the light stuff to her and evade CT sales tax. Guess I'm going to the pokey.

 

[mstern]

I'm planning on going this weekend. It's a rite of spring around here. Something to chase away the visions of all of the snow that is still on the ground.....

 

[SVTatia]

...I've found Amazon entering the game for marine stuff is awesome, especially since Im already Amazon Prime. More competition the better!

Yes I agree... but it seems to me that Amazon is just a distribution channel, as most of the stuff is shipped by other sellers (the marine outfits). Also, due to this, shipping charges are sometimes hard to estimate.

 

[Pegu club]

Yup, we are going to give them a couple of boat bucks, its a rite of "passage" so to speak.

 

[dss30]

Already sent my order in!

 

[jemiller22]

Sweet! Thanks for that.... now my wallet is thinner...

 

[cthoops]

We have our list ready to go and will be there when it opens on Saturday. I feel like a kid waiting for Christmas!

 

[RobGallagher]

I'll be there Thursday, pissing away some retirement money.

I'll have on a C&C Yachts hat, say hi if you can find me in the crowd

 

[UnionPacific]

I hate to be a hater, but they never have the best prices, not even on sale.
A short google search will find a gaggle of places selling for less then them.

 

[Minnewaska]

I just took a look at an inflatable. Says it's on sale, but it's the same price I could have paid all winter.

 

[UnionPacific]

I just took a look at an inflatable. Says it's on sale, but it's the same price I could have paid all winter.

permasale

 

[jsaronson]

permasale

that pretty much says it all! Unless it is clearance, the savings is on small stuff is minimal. And there is always the next sale!

Last year I bought a refrigeration system, so it saved me real money. This year I probably won't order anything.

 

[RobGallagher]

I just took a look at an inflatable. Says it's on sale, but it's the same price I could have paid all winter.

At the store, or online. The online prices are lower right now. Yesterday you had to put them in your cart to get the cheapest price (I think).

I'm headed over there. At previous Defender sales, the inflatable deals always seem to be on leftovers or scratch and dents. Sometimes they have RIBS with scratched hulls, etc.

PSS Shaft seal rebuild kits seem like the lowest price available.

I'm leaving soon to check it out. Hope it's not a bust for me.

 

[mstern]

My experience has been that Defender's prices are usually lower than West Marine's, although not always. In some cases however, Defender's prices have been significantly lower. A few years ago, I bought a replacement tiller at Defender; the price was $69. The exact same tiller was $119 at West.

A couple of years ago I bought a new Lowrance chartplotter/fishfinder at the Defender spring sale. The price was $100 less than the same unit at West Marine, and about $70 less than on Amazon.

The sale prices on Cetol or bottom paint are usually no better than West Marine's prices; in fact, I've found that West Marine usually has the best bottom paint prices if you hit their spring sales just right. There's also usually a manufacturer's rep for PFDs, and they are well-priced (although not a jaw-dropping steal).

And for stuff like line or marine hardware, Defender's prices, while always competative, are not worth an interstate trip.

For me, one of the biggest attractions is that it's an EVENT; a place to go, and thing to do to help drag me out of winter and start thinking about spring commissioning.