WALMART MARINE PRODUCTS

[canuck]

FYI, our local Walmart carries the Starbrite Non Skid Deck Cleaner for $5.97, the Instant Hull Cleaner for $9.46, the Marine Polish for $8.97 and the Boat Wash for $3.97

The West Marine prices for the same products are $13.99, $19.99, $17.99 and $8.59 respectively!

In the fall, when they clear out their summer products, these items are in the $3 to $4 range.

Caveat Emptor!

[Ron Hill]

Can : You forgot to mention the caulks i.e. 3M5200.   

[Bob K]

It seems West marine prices have increased significantly since the BoatUS merger.  Not surprising, I guess.  They are my store of last resort. 

[Jon Schneider]

It seems West marine prices have increased significantly since the BoatUS merger. 

A friend of mine works for WM and says that they are pricing down a lot of merchandise and have instituted a new lower-pricing model.  Doubt it will compete with Wal-Mart, but who can? They do have a terrific returns policy, and I think they pay decently for a retailer. 

[Stephen Butler]

We have pretty much stopped using WM, not primarily due to their higher prices, but to the growing lack of customer service.  In WM stores, both in Florida and in California, there seems to be a trend towards understaffing with personnel that has little boating knowledge, with the result that customer service and store organization has suffered.  If the service/expertice in WM now approaches many ACE Hardware, WalMart, or a local family owned stores, all of which have significantly lower pricing, why continue to shop at WM.  Additionally, with the likes of Defender and other smaller but more responsive outlets, there is even more reason to look elsewhere.  I do worry about the longer term viability of WM.     

[Ron Hill]

Guys : I can assure you that WM has NOT paid a penny in dividends to their stock holders in the past 7-8 years!! 
I surely think that the BOARD has received some hansom compensation for their "great" work!!

[Jon Schneider]

Ron, that's true of 90% of companies listed on the exchanges regarding dividends and true of 100% of them vis a vis handsome rewards for senior management (actually board members don't usually get paid that much, but they often receive fairly generous stock grants in relation to the amount of time they contribute to the company).  That said, Bear Sterns paid its last dividend in January.  Not really sure you can always correlate stock market performance to customer value. 

I'm not a huge fan of WM, and, like others, have diverted a lot of my spend to other vendors (specialty as well as Defender and Best Boat Wire), but I also recognize that it costs them a fortune in operational overhead to keep relatively small stores stocked with 1,000s of SKUs (e.g, most stores have a really good selection of SS fasteners).  Despite their prices, they have made very little money over the years (I've been tracking them for about seven or eight years).  I also think they sealed their fate with the ridiculously costly acquisition of Boat U.S.  Yet, they have a better approach to returns than LL Bean, and their mail-order (perhaps that should be web-order) processing is as good, if not better than Amazon's, so there's a lot of good buried in their high prices.

[Mike and Joanne Stimmler]

I agree with Jon, WM isn't perfect or the cheapest but they do provide a service that some others do not. If I need something RIGHT NOW, I know is probably going to be available at WM. If I have time to comparison shop, I usually do. Fortunately, the WM I usually use in San Diego is the largest one in the world and has darn near everything in the catalogue on display. Sometimes the convenience is worth the extra price and then again if you watch for things on sale you can get a good deal. You just have to weigh your options.

Mike (with approval from Admiral Joanne)   

[Kyle Ewing]

I agree with Jon about West Marine.  They have nearly everything you need in the store and it's worth the extra cost if you need something that morning, especially if it means sailing instead of sitting at dock.  Their catalog is excellent and their West Advisor articles are useful.  They'll be missed as a local store if they ever go away.

For mail order Defender is my favorite.  They seem to consistently have the lowest prices and excellent service each time I've used them.

Kyle

[Jeff Kaplan]

another place to look is home depot or lowes. i bought 2 bags of 10ea., ss hose clamps, #8+#12, for $5.59 a bag. at wm they cost over $2.00 ea. i shop at wm for only what i can't get elsewhere. as i have stated before, look for places that sell truck parts for belts, hoses, filters and batteries, ect. you will save money...jeff

[Randy and Mary Davison]

I'm not generally a flamer or complainer but I've got a 7 year old pair of West Marine $300 binocs that have had all the rubber parts break or fall off.  They refuse to repair or replace them so I'm going to take digital pics and start grinding on them through various forums and directly.

I've taken plenty of things back with good success so I don't know if this is something new.  The headquarters fellow that the store manager called told him to give me a "hug" and the store manager accidently repeated it out loud.  I'm going to see if I can give them a very public hug in return.  I'm pissed.

Randy

[Jon Schneider]

Hmmm... okay, maybe their returns policy isn't as good as the old-time LL Bean, but do you really expect a company (other than Garhauer) to guarantee their products for seven years?  I sympathize with you that $300 equipment should last quite a long time, but if I were a binocular manufacturer (not that WM is a manufacturer), and I didn't have an epidemic of complaints about my seven-year product, I'd probably think that you had done something like leaving the binocs out in the sun a lot.

[Joe and Carol]

Now more than ever in the economy of the United States, we are captivated by our quest to get the most for our money discounting the creditability effect on the value of our money.  And on a more lighter note. . . continuing rains causing record crests of midwestern lake Stockton are delaying start of our sailing. If the Corp of Engineers balanced our economy would they be releasing currency to flood inflating dollars?

[Stu Jackson]

But Jon, everyone knows there IS no SUN where Randy lives!

We have a pair of WMP binoculars purchased in 2004, the Huhine model, $100 bought at a boat show for half that.  They're still good for daylight, but fog up pretty badly when it's wet, and are not very good at night.  They were, of course, the least expensive, and I don't think they were nitrogen filled.

We also have another pair, purchased in 2005, the Raiatea model, for $100, normally $125 or $150.  These are the next step up.  I rarely use them, and have kept them in pristine condition down below for just when the old ones give out.

I feel that binoculars are almost recyclable - I get ones that work fairly well and replace them with the next step up when I can find a good bargain.  We also have a pair of my uncle's 50 year old Tascos, which wouldn't stand up in any kind of conditions like even if was only thinking of raining or getting drenched going upwind, but they're there just in case, and could be used on good days.  Over the years I think we've had about five years or so with each of the lower end units.  If I was doing much night sailing I'd pop for a more expensive model.  When we do, I use the new ones.

That said, something that expensive shouldn't fall apart, regardless of how old, usually the lenses go first, not the body.

WMP is supposedly "changing course" becoming more user-friendly, from what I hear.

Randy, why not call Chuck Hawley and discuss it with him?  WMP has ads out now looking for a Senior Vice President of Marketing.  Little wonder why...

[Randy and Mary Davison]

Thanks for the suggestion Stu.  I will.  Also, I think I saw a blurb about WM making good on this same model for the same problems I had.  Need to dig for it - may have been in PS.

I don't consider Binocs disposable once they hit the $300 level.  I could understand parts of the strap falling off but not the eye cups.  Stu is right, these haven't seen too much sun!  One of the frustrating things is that this particular pair has great collimation so I'd really like to be able to fix them.  We'll keep on using them for the glass for a while longer.

Randy