West Marine, 3/1/13...see ya!!

[seabob4]

Stopped in Worst this morn in Holiday, as usual, the only one in the store.  So ask the manager at check out, "What's the deal come March 1st?"


"No internet price matching.  Price match with brick and mortars within 50 miles..."

Pretty sure that's the last time I step foot in a Worst...

[Double Trouble]

Looks like they are commiting suicide!

[seabob4]

I continued the conversation a bit (who, bashful me?!) in regards to one product...the Busman surface mount 40A breaker I install on nearly every boat I re-wire.  Just for chitz and giggles, I looked at them yesterday in Worst.  They want $63 whether it's the 40, 50, or 80.  Right now I'm getting them for around $35.  The manager just looked at me kinda stunned, then muttered, "Damn, almost double..."

I just said yup, and walked out...

[fitz73222]

It's so reassuring to know how bad you get (insert description here) when you walk into that place. Just about everything is double in price. I only go there when absolutely necessary. Even better, our Worst sits next to the Daytona Municipal Yacht basin for a double (insert word here "ing") I'm glad I have Surplus Unlimited nearby. Ever since Boaters World folded; they have no competition. Fat chance in this economy and gas prices will they ever have any competition again.

[seabob4]

Yeah, Farley, tell me about competition!  I mean, who do we have...Mahoney's?  In my opinion, that place is a joke (sorry all my Tampa brethren, but my opinion...).  Cost Plus in Mad Beach?  Being on the far side of the "fat" part of Pinellas County, that would be like an hour and a half for me!

Another item...Carling (Blue Seas) push button breakers, the same ones that will be going in Miss D's switch panel.  I'm buying them for basically $5 a piece at sailboatowners...http://shop.sailboatowners.com/prod.php ... 20Breakers

Worst's price?  $13!!!!  WTF are they kidding!!!

[pigbike]

I go in the Tampa store once in a while just to look around. I can't remember ever buying anything there, I am just amazed at the prices they charge. I needed two of the latches for the doors on the DC which were plastic. They wanted 29.00 each. I bought the same latches on ebay for 20 bucks in polished stainless.

[Circle Hooked]

You know what I will still go in the store to look and play with things, then I will let them know I'm going home to buy it on line.

[seabob4]

You know what I will still go in the store to look and play with things, then I will let them know I'm going home to buy it on line.

Well done Scott!  Either they get with the program, or they tank...my bet is on the latter...


I mean, c'mon, a $5 breaker that they charge $13?  Even if I only order 1 (stupid me), and the internet store charges $5 shipping, I still come out ahead.  And a failed breaker is not an "emergency, must have" part.  I can always pull power from an adjacent breaker until the new one comes in...

[love2fish]

I think TA Mahoney's gets a bad wrap.. I am in some kind of marine related store pretty much everyday of the week for work and their prices are actually pretty good. and atleast there you can get someone to talk to you.
Pretty discouraging news on WM though,,, taking their only good aspect (price matching) and throwing that away, especially heading into boat season,,, I give it 6months and they quietly start matching again.

BTW, I have no interest or anything to gain by my TA comment...

[seabob4]

Chris,
I guess it's just that I can never really find some of what I might call "normal" stuff at Mahoneys...especially when they say on their site..."If you don't find it here, stop looking!"  Or something like that.  Yeah, right!

I would LOVE to see Worst go back to price matching...because if they don't, they are toast!

[love2fish]

I agree and wasn't calling you out Bob. All to often it seems like they (T.A.M.) have a lot of the "order new quantities" tags showing instead of full pegs of merchandise... WM is definitely shooting themselves in the foot by eliminating their price matching... lets see, would you (WM) rather have a sale at the price of a competitor- or no sale at all?

[wingtime]

Ben at Cost Plus in Mad beach is a great guy with great prices.  Even gives discounts for cash due to the credit card processing fees.  But like Bob said a tad out of the way for most.  Also since he is a one man show he has limited hours so he is hard to get to after work and he is closed on Sundays.  The guys right behind my house at American Discount marine are pretty good but they don't have everything.  I was planning on buying a Standard Horizon VHF at West using the price match.... but if they dont then screw them.  Heck they don't even have hardly any SH radios in stock in the St Pete store to play with anyways.

[pigbike]

I just received a card in the mail from West Marine. It is $20.00 off for a $100.00 purchase. This would be good but it says off regular prices. So if you buy a $50.00 item that West sells for $100.00, you get $20 bucks off. So you get to pay $80.00 for a 50 dollar item you could purchase elsewhere.

I guess if there price were the same as someone else it would be a bargain, but how often does that happen. If it's a good price it's on sale, and doesn't qualify.

[wingtime]

I received one of those discount cards too.

[pzart]

I receive them all the time too, cause I'm a Boat US member, seems like its a constant 15-20% discount as long as you spend 100 bucks at a time I went to Boat and Motor Superstores in Palm Harbor to check on a new steering cable and helm set for my 170 AS, he said he would sell it to me for $149 since WEST just dropped their price to $169 last month, believe they had the Big T setup for $200 prior to then. That was about the best price I could find locally. But....in a bind....they are open :) if you have the cash