A New Chandlery?

Noticed for the first time today Amazon carries electronics to anchors, outboard motors, dinghies, bow thrusters, stern drive units, windlasses and more. Furuno SiTex Raymarine Mantus Rocna Mercury Suzuki Volvo UFlex are but a few of the brands represented.

Amazon is so convenient...I hate to admit that it is usually the first place I look. If it is an Amazon Prime sale it is hard to beat, regardless of the price!
Bruce

Ditto that. Just ordered 500 tongue depessors for mixing epoxy, paint etc. $9.00 Delivered to the door. Hard to beat. (Not sure what I'll do with the other 450)

Lordy.....not gonna show that to the Admiral. She'll have them hanging all over the place.

This is part of the new world order - right?

West Marine kills mom and pop chandleries...

Amazon Prime kills West Marine?

Or is there room in the marketplace for all to coexist?

CPseudonym said:

Noticed for the first time today Amazon carries electronics to anchors, outboard motors, dinghies, bow thrusters, stern drive units, windlasses and more. Furuno SiTex Raymarine Mantus Rocna Mercury Suzuki Volvo UFlex are but a few of the brands represented.

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Amazon, Ebay and others will show you how badly you've been over charged for marine anything. But some cheap stuff is really cheap stuff.

Lepke said:

Amazon, Ebay and others will show you how badly you've been over charged for marine anything. But some cheap stuff is really cheap stuff.

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When you're right you're right. I just got a replacement holding tank macerator pump off eBay, and it's so pathetic it does not come close to self-priming, even at 18" above the tank, when it's specs claim 4' dry and 5' wet self-priming.
What chance of money back I wonder..? I thought the rusted TMC one it replaced was bad enough. It never self-primed either, but I had a way of priming it so it worked - until it seized. That trick does not work with this one. Ok, its Chinese made - should known I guess...

CarlinLA said:

This is part of the new world order - right?

West Marine kills mom and pop chandleries...

Amazon Prime kills West Marine?

Or is there room in the marketplace for all to coexist?

Click to expand...

Yup. Those places can't hold a flame to the customer service level routinely shown by Hopcar and other smaller stores with people who really care

MurrayM said:

Yup. Those places can't hold a flame to the customer service level routinely shown by Hopcar and other smaller stores with people who really care

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Ditto... Agreed...

I don't mind paying some premium for good products; especially when there are persons who "got my back"... Like Hopcar

Though their prices are high, I hope West Marine sticks around. It's really the only local store that carries boating supplies and I really don't mind having to pay a premium for the convenience if I need something right away. The high prices seem justified to me because the small market they sell to and how many of there customers just window shop and then buy online. This past week I needed to replace an oarlock on my dinghy and after looking online I wasn't sure which one would work. I went to West Marine and bought one, tried it and it worked so I returned it and went back online to get the same item for 1/2 the price.

Art said:

Ditto... Agreed...

I don't mind paying some premium for good products; especially when there are persons who "got my back"... Like Hopcar

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+1

On a related note, I think using a brick and mortar store to evaluate products and then purchasing online is not ethical. I buy lots of stuff online, but if I go to a store to investigate a product, I buy it there.

I can assure you, I spread the the money around. I have spent many thousands of dollars at WM over many years. In some cases, spending much more than if I did buy online. Once and a while though, on a few items, I just feel I'm not interested in paying double or more. So perhaps, well yes, to some people it may not seem the most ethical way, but so be it.

Back when WM would price match online advertised prices I would shop online first and then go to WM and buy it. I did that for two reasons. 1. I like their customer service and return policy. 2. I want to see brick and mortar stores hang around. Since they quit price matching I now buy most everything online.

When you buy on line pay attention to customer reviews.

Peter B said:

When you're right you're right. I just got a replacement holding tank macerator pump off eBay, and it's so pathetic it does not come close to self-priming, even at 18" above the tank, when it's specs claim 4' dry and 5' wet self-priming.
What chance of money back I wonder..? I thought the rusted TMC one it replaced was bad enough. It never self-primed either, but I had a way of priming it so it worked - until it seized. That trick does not work with this one. Ok, its Chinese made - should known I guess...

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Look at customer reviews. I got this macerator off Ebay. I was replacing Jabsco pumps every year. I bought two of these three years ago and am still running the first unit.

READY2GO said:

Back when WM would price match online advertised prices I would shop online first and then go to WM and buy it. I did that for two reasons. 1. I like their customer service and return policy. 2. I want to see brick and mortar stores hang around. Since they quit price matching I now buy most everything online.

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So what you are saying is that a few dollars saved is more important than your 1 and 2 above?

I buy lots of stuff online, Amazon, ebay, Defender etc... However, like you I think that having a local brick and mortar chandlery is important. In the small village where my boat is docked, I am fortunate to have both a small WM store (very small unfortunately) as well as an independent chandlery. I make sure that I do business with both. I want them to continue to be in operation. If I am down washing the boat and run out of boat soap, I don't want to have to stop and wait two days to get an Amazon prime delivery, I want to drive the 1/2 mile and pick up some boat soap. It is the same with all kinds of stuff. Both WM and the local guys will order in things they don't have and they are pretty fast.

Sure there are some items that I will order from Defender, I am not a purist. Heck, I even bought a battery for my dinghy from Walmart over the weekend because it was the only place I could find one (I would have much preferred to spend 3x as much and bought it from WM if they had one, I hate Walmart with a passion).

One thing that I will never do and I have complete and utter contempt for those that do this, is to go into a brick and mortar store and shop, taking up the salesperson's time, using their expertise, playing with and viewing their display models etc... and then purchasing the item online. That is a disgusting practice that is close to thievery. Simply put, if you want to see and touch before you buy, then buy it from the folks whose resources you are using.

dhays said:

One thing that I will never do and I have complete and utter contempt for those that do this, is to go into a brick and mortar store and shop, taking up the salesperson's time, using their expertise, playing with and viewing their display models etc... and then purchasing the item online. That is a disgusting practice that is close to thievery. Simply put, if you want to see and touch before you buy, then buy it from the folks whose resources you are using.

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I use to have a brick and mortar scuba diving store. People would come in and try on dive gear to get the size correct and then buy it mail order. Had a sign in the store for regulator (breathing apparatus) repair.

SHOP LABOR RATES:
$60 per hour
$100 per hour if you purchased it somewhere else
$150 per hour if you would like to watch
$200 per hour if you worked on it first

People would ask if I was kidding. Nope, to my good customer I would offer a competitive labor rate and take care or the manufacturers extended parts warranties. To everybody else, I'll get to you after I take care of the people who keep me in business.

Ted

Couple of real questions; How did you know they bought online after fitting in your store? Why would someone buy elsewhere instead of your firm?

Second, I've run into the other scenario a bunch while traveling. Our ski boat needed a repair on the second day of vacation, and the local dealer very first thing, asked if we bought it there. No we had not, because we were 1400 miles from home. We needed help. Unfortunately, they "couldn't get us in" until sometime after our vacation ended. So, we had three weeks on a lake with no boat.


Because of that mentality, in my business, we treat all customers equally; First in, first out. Same price for all. Got a problem that puts you dead in the water, we'll figure out how to get you up and running asap. No matter where you bought your unit. That probably is one reason we're the fastest growing and number one company in our industry.

O C Diver said:

I use to have a brick and mortar scuba diving store. People would come in and try on dive gear to get the size correct and then buy it mail order. Had a sign in the store for regulator (breathing apparatus) repair.

SHOP LABOR RATES:
$60 per hour
$100 per hour if you purchased it somewhere else
$150 per hour if you would like to watch
$200 per hour if you worked on it first

People would ask if I was kidding. Nope, to my good customer I would offer a competitive labor rate and take care or the manufacturers extended parts warranties. To everybody else, I'll get to you after I take care of the people who keep me in business.

Ted

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"Our ski boat needed a repair on the second day of vacation, and the local dealer very first thing, asked if we bought it there. No we had not, because we were 1400 miles from home."

If he was so stupid that he had to ask if you bought it there you should have said "Yes!".

CarlinLA said:

This is part of the new world order - right?

West Marine kills mom and pop chandleries...

Amazon Prime kills West Marine?

Or is there room in the marketplace for all to coexist?

Click to expand...

Recently, I was getting pricing for anchor chain. I called 3 stores in my area, 2 local and 1 chain (guess who). Store 1 was $3.26 a foot. Store 2 was $2.89 a foot. Store 3 was $5.11 per foot. When I asked why the difference, store 3 told me that was their retail price, but they would beat any other brick and mortar store within 50 miles. So much for who is killing store 3.

I love and hate Amazon and Amazon prime. We use it as it's very convenient for some things. We use their store card to get the 5% discount. However, I felt like Walmart was a bit predatory, and I feel the same way toward Amazon. I wish their plan was for co-existence but it's not. Walmart has one segment at a time run businesses to their deaths. They decided they wanted to sell more of certain items than anyone else and just took the business. Now Amazon is doing the same thing.

What I find though is that I buy the nickel and dime stuff on Amazon. We might get bandaids or gloves or masks or toothbrushes and toothpaste. However, I don't buy larger items there. I go to a store I like, find it, buy it. One above spoke of using the store to look at items and then buying from Amazon. I probably do more of the opposite, use Amazon to read the reviews and then go to the store. I've never purchased a single item on Amazon that cost as much as $100, probably not even $50. My typical order is 6 items totaling $75. I buy items there that I'm too lazy to walk around stores for or that I can buy in volume at so much less with them. More and more stores are matching too. If I'm going to buy a $300 product I want to buy at a place that if there's a problem I can walk back in there with it.

We shop a lot at Bed, Bath and Beyond and we use coupons. I remember buying a new showerhead there. I got it home and the plastic tubing had an awful smell. Then I read reviews. I boxed it back up, went to BB&B, exchanged for metal. I probably could have saved a little at Amazon, but taken days going back and forth.

We own small stores so we have a very vested interest in seeing them survive and we use local businesses for everything we reasonably can. Women aren't going to buy clothing online or buy it for their husbands online. Furniture is another thing. And there are still good local appliance stores and home theater stores. I like face to face dealing and not through skype. We use that to see our niece when we're not there.

GT6 said:

Couple of real questions; How did you know they bought online after fitting in your store? Why would someone buy elsewhere instead of your firm?

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1st, I ran a small business, 2 full time people (myself and one other). Pretty hard to miss that kind of shopper.
2nd, Serial numbers and no warranty card. Online merchants purchase the product outside the USA, so no USA warranty card or warranty.
3rd, They told me. Not ashamed of it. Said it was all about price.

GT6 said:

Second, I've run into the other scenario a bunch while traveling. Our ski boat needed a repair on the second day of vacation, and the local dealer very first thing, asked if we bought it there. No we had not, because we were 1400 miles from home. We needed help. Unfortunately, they "couldn't get us in" until sometime after our vacation ended. So, we had three weeks on a lake with no boat.


Because of that mentality, in my business, we treat all customers equally; First in, first out. Same price for all. Got a problem that puts you dead in the water, we'll figure out how to get you up and running asap. No matter where you bought your unit. That probably is one reason we're the fastest growing and number one company in our industry.

Click to expand...

Apples and oranges. My store was not a destination business. It was located in a small city. The people who came through the front door were locals. There were some exceptions, people coming to take specialized training from me or ride my charter boat.

I made a practice of putting my good customers first. You spend thousands of dollars with me on diving equipment, you get better service. You spend thousands on line and only give me your tank refills and service work, well you can wait till after I take care of the people who kept me in business for 20 years.

Ted

I use Amazon as a very last resort for anything, and can't imagine ever using them for a boating item. 1st preference is for a good local independent retailer, next choice are vendors like (and especially) Defender, Hamilton, Depco, GenuineDealz, MarineBeam and Deep Blue Yacht Supply who have reasonable prices, knowledgeable, boat savvy people, and good overall service. Amazon and its marketplace dealers can't price low enough for me to foresake those folks.

Peter B said:

When you're right you're right. I just got a replacement holding tank macerator pump off eBay, and it's so pathetic it does not come close to self-priming, even at 18" above the tank, when it's specs claim 4' dry and 5' wet self-priming.
What chance of money back I wonder..? I thought the rusted TMC one it replaced was bad enough. It never self-primed either, but I had a way of priming it so it worked - until it seized. That trick does not work with this one. Ok, its Chinese made - should known I guess...

Click to expand...

You should have no trouble getting a refund from an ebay seller. If your claim is reasonable. Ebay sellers value their rating bigtime which is out there for all to see unlike some other sellers. I would be surprized if they didn't make good. I like to but online b/c I don't loke to pay sales tax. All things equal I would rather give it to UPS than the state. At least they earn it.

Interesting Amazon experience:

When I was doing my refit, I needed a specialty adapter that the manufacturer offered (I called them). They wouldn't sell it to me direct and couldn't point me to a dealer who offered it. They suggested I google the part number. The only place it showed up was the amazon market place. Coincidentally, the vendor was in the same city and state as the manufacturer. The vendor's other offerings were all other uncommon items from the same manufacturer. Guess that was there way of not selling direct but getting all of the uncommon stuff available.

Ted

I buy several thousand dollars (US) a year in boat parts on line. That is also where I do my research as to what I need. I find West Marine's selection to be very limited. Can't blame them as even their Chicago store only sells the most common parts. I note much of the space in both the Chicago store and the Michigan City store is taken up by clothes.

West Marine's business plan is heavily weighted toward items which are needed immediately or touch and feel items (electronics and clothing). That is fine. They will adapt with their market.

I think you are correct. Wish I bought Amazon stock a couple years ago. Straight line, upward.

CarlinLA said:

This is part of the new world order - right?

West Marine kills mom and pop chandleries...

Amazon Prime kills West Marine?

Or is there room in the marketplace for all to coexist?

Click to expand...

Fletcher500 said:

I think you are correct. Wish I bought Amazon stock a couple years ago. Straight line, upward.

Click to expand...

They're part of the "there is never enough for us" philosophy.

After reading "The Everything Store" it made me realize how terribly predatory Amazon really is and what a colossal jerk Bezos is. But he's a smart dude for sure.

The company has never made much (any?) profit at all for over 20 years, but the stock has been a darling. I predict much stockholder pain eventually, but I have no idea how long the music will play.

I do download some books from Amazon for my Kindle however, so I guess I'm a hypocrite.