Buying Online

[BMHoch]

Has anyone ever ordered equipment from Online Marine at www.onlinemarine.com?  Their prices look much lower than West Marine or Defender for certain items such as windlasses.

[calewis]

Check out: http://www.pyacht.net/cgi-local/SoftCart.exe/online-store/scstore/engine.html?E+scstore
Pyacht has a great site here to compare and see the different props. feathering and folding. Take a look at the 3 blade beathering by Martec. I have found the prices very reasonable.a

[malgase]

I found these guys when I was looking for a battery charger.  Bought a StatPower Surecharge 20+ for some $30+ less than I found at either BoatUS or West Marine.  Must admit I didn't look at SailNet or Pyacht at the time, but I did verify that they beat Defender as well.

By savings sales tax as well as product cost it paid for the remote panel, even when you add in the shipping charges.

My take on where I order stuff is that as long as you get the Brand name you look for, and we all tend to look for the best bang for the buck, where you buy it nowadays is almost immaterial.  The only things I would hesitate to buy online from the least expensive supplier are the things with a reputation for relatively frequent failure where the customer service piece comes into play.  For those items, it is worth the extra cost to have a reputable store to walk into for problem resolution, and not deal with all the shipping charges and time lags associates with mail- or cyber- order houses.

Michael