Boaters World going out of business sale

[winthrop fisher]

hey troy,

we did a head count on people shopping on line at the company and thats what they found 3% to 5% shopping on line thats most retail stores...

i buy allot of stuff on line for birthdays, holidays and for the boats.

even the job i do is only 10% on line and the rest is in person....
winthrop

[Joe CD MS 300]

Troy,

I tend to buy electronics such as GPS related items from non-marine online stores just because of the greater difference in price. For sundry marine items I go to the local WM store. They are good guys there and I'd like to see them stay in business. I really don't have any problems with WM. I think their customer servive is great. I asked my wife to package up an 1 and 1/2 year old ICOM VHF that had a problem and ship it off to ICOM. MY wife inadvertantly shipped it off to West Narine. They gave me a full refund!! I just ordered a new one.

I'll order from WM online when it is the type of item that they don't normally stock or give the order to the store and have it delivered there. Kind of depends on how quick I need it, how bulky, etc.

When I'm up in Maine I'll go to Hamilton. Their Portland store has to be one of the best marine stores in the US. I could spend days in there.

Joe

[Troy Scott]

Joe,

I've ordered online from Hamilton, but I've never been to the store. Next time I'm up that way (hopefully soon) I'll have to browse the Hamilton Store.

[Joe Myerson]

I just returned from errands this afternoon, and I was listening to "This American Life" on NPR. They did a piece on the demise of Circuit City.

"The first thing the liquidator did when he walked into the store," one former employee told the reporter, "was RAISE the prices."

That might explain the less-than-stellar discounts folks are seeing from Boater's World.

BTW, this is the weekend for Defender's fantastic Warehouse Sale, and Hamilton is having their sale all next week.

(Disclaimer: I have no interest in either firm, and don't have the money to take advantage of either sale this year.)

--Joe

[bottomscraper]

Joe,

I've ordered online from Hamilton, but I've never been to the store. Next time I'm up that way (hopefully soon) I'll have to browse the Hamilton Store.

It's like a candy store for boat junkies. I made my weekly pilgrimage today. Image an aisle of real bronze plumbing supplies, seacocks as big as your head, lobster buoy paint in every color of the rainbow, helpful knowledgeable staff... Oh and the bronze plumbing parts I needed were actually in stock and less than half the price of WM.

[Maine Sail]

Joe,

I've ordered online from Hamilton, but I've never been to the store. Next time I'm up that way (hopefully soon) I'll have to browse the Hamilton Store.

It's like a candy store for boat junkies. I made my weekly pilgrimage today. Image an aisle of real bronze plumbing supplies, seacocks as big as your head, lobster buoy paint in every color of the rainbow, helpful knowledgeable staff... Oh and the bronze plumbing parts I needed were actually in stock and less than half the price of WM.

Jeez rich I thought you'd have been bi-weekly by now..

Re: Hamilton

Let's not forget over 60 feet of aisle space dedicated to fasteners floor to ceiling!


Or an entire section devoted to just motor mounts and exhaust pieces from exhaust thru-hull fittings to injection elbows.

[S/V Necessity]

I'm stuck here in the midwest....

[Troy Scott]

Can you imagine being responsible for keeping all that equipment organized?

I remember during Katrina the WM store at Dog River Alabama was just washed out. Only the steel posts at the corners remained. I've often wondered where all that stuff went.

[Dixon Hemphill]

I have found Defenders to be excellent both with products and service. West Marine is OK with most prices and they do have some clerks who know their priducts. I believe WM and BoatUS have joined forces but I may be wrong.

Boaters World never impressed me. I was once told by an employee, " Don't ask me I know nothing about sailboats".

After a few years of looking for products to keep my CD28 sailing, I have found some stores like Home Depot and Lowes have products I need an MUCH lower prices.

[Duncan]

Boaters World never impressed me. I was once told by an employee, " Don't ask me I know nothing about sailboats".

How about, "Where are the West System products?"
Response - "I dunno, what's that?"

After a few years of looking for products to keep my CD28 sailing, I have found some stores like Home Depot and Lowes have products I need an MUCH lower prices.

Very true - once I was looking for one of those single-burner butane stoves, which were available for $15 in hardware stores. The same item was $75 at West Marine (but $20 with an employee discount card). The employee in question told me this wasn't usual, but wasn't unheard-of either - on some items their markups are 300-400%.

Caveat emptor.