Bigger West Marine Discount?

[zeehag]

i try to avoid wm at all costs. the 4 percent discount--yes, 4 percent, is nothing after their 400 percent markup. there are so many good places in which and from which to purchase parts for boats i do not need the ripoffs. ty. sorry wm, i calls it as i sees it.

[fstbttms]

West Marine is convenient because there are so many of them around (there are four in my business' service area alone.) They also carry products that my main wholesale supplier (Svendsen's Marine in Alameda) does not. Are they higher priced? Sometimes. Are their employees the most knowlegable? Not always. But they usually have what I need, when I need it. I don't have time to "price check". I don't buy a lot from WM, but I do appreciate my Port Supply account card when I do.

West Marine fills an important niche in the recreational boating market and I, for one, am glad they are around. If you don't like they way they do business, don't shop there. But for God's sake, STFU about it.

[sailorboy1]

I get a kick if someone saying they wouldn't shop WM because of some company motto thing about putting Mom & Pop stores out of business.....................as they drive by on the way to Wal-Mart.

[Seahunter]

Originally Posted by xymotic

Um, MSRP is "manufacturer suggested retail price" WM, is not 30% higher than msrp on anything I've ever seen.

You got the acronym correct but the math wrong. WM current web add delivered to my mailbox; is there any profit with 30% off? If so when is paying full retail the right thing. My choice happens to be never.

Attachment 35140

[xymotic]

Originally Posted by Seahunter

You got the acronym correct but the math wrong. WM current web add delivered to my mailbox; is there any profit with 30% off? If so when is paying full retail the right thing. My choice happens to be never.

Attachment 35140

MSRP does include profit margin, and usually, on most things it's 50% above cost (which is radically different than actual profit). The statement was made that somehow West's MSRP was 30% Higher than others. and that is simply not true.

30% off is just that. 30% off. If your goal is never to pay retail, well then I guess that sale should be great news for you! And to answer your question, in fact there is probably not any profit at 30% off. WM overhead costs about 20%, but sometimes items are sold at cost or even below to get people in the door. I know it's a weird concept, but I mean it's not like WM invented retailing in the US.

[xymotic]

Originally Posted by Don Lucas

I get a kick if someone saying they wouldn't shop WM because of some company motto thing about putting Mom & Pop stores out of business.....................as they drive by on the way to Wal-Mart.

LOL, and in Mexico no less, where many of their employees actually earn **NOTHING** yep, can't wait til we are more 'competitive' here in the good ole US of A.

[Seahunter]

Originally Posted by xymotic

MSRP does include profit margin, and usually, on most things it's 50% above cost (which is radically different than actual profit). The statement was made that somehow West's MSRP was 30% Higher than others. and that is simply not true.

The great thing about living in a free market capitalist democracy is, that you're allowed to have an opinion. While WM continues to gouge boating newbies, the forces that balance economic growth will catch up to companies like WM to either adjust their marketing strategy or be devoured by their competition.

30% off is just that. 30% off. If your goal is never to pay retail, well then I guess that sale should be great news for you! And to answer your question, in fact there is probably not any profit at 30% off. WM overhead costs about 20%, but sometimes items are sold at cost or even below to get people in the door. I know it's a weird concept, but I mean it's not like WM invented retailing in the US.

"A fool and his money are soon parted" and "There's a sucker born every minute" are not sound beliefs to base a companies' fiscal foundation. While I applaud your attempt to balance WM's bookkeeping based on conjecture, your understanding lacks depth and is more of an indictment on our western education system.

Originally Posted by Don Lucas I get a kick if someone saying they wouldn't shop WM because of some company motto thing about putting Mom & Pop stores out of business.....................as they drive by on the way to Wal-Mart.

I believe there's a saying somewhere regarding "assumptions". The "argument" here isn't the size of the store, but the size of the "discount". As usual the truth in the message gets lost in all the beer addled banter.

[osirissail]

I always get a chuckle when I see in any store or store advertisement "30% Off" or "50% Off" or whatever. My first thought is "Off What?" Some stores actually say, if you happened to bring a magnifying glass and look down at the bottom of the poster at the super-fine print.
- - So shopping someplace based on that declaration makes me disagree with Seahunter's first assertion - there really is a "sucker born every minute." And I know of quite a few businesses that have made successes of basing their marketing program on that principle.
- - But also this whole discussion seems to center around getting an advantage (discount) over other customers who end up paying "full price." And then bitching about how big that advantage should be while "screwing" other customers who don't get it. Not exactly democratic (maybe) but definitely a "capitalistic" first principle.
- - But the another "first principle" of capitalism is to take your money where you want and if other stores/shops give you a better actual price buy there. And as other posters have tried to explain - the "actual price" you end up paying has to include all costs of getting the item into your hands which means all sorts of things like freight, insurance, handling charges, taxes, and the time necessary to get the item into your hands.

[lancelot9898]

I'm not a fan of WM and avoid shopping there as much as possible even with their price match. It's interesting that I pay more out of pocket to WM even after a so called price match since they add in the shipping charges that Defender charges, but yet will not factor in the taxes. I would rather keep Defender in business since without the competition no telling how much WM would be charging. Plus the knowledge of their sales associates are for the most part....wanting.

[hellosailor]

MSRP is set by the Manufacturer and in some venues it is ILLEGAL for merchants to sell goods above that price point. Traditionally, yes, there was a 100% markup at each stage (manufacturer, distributor, retailer) so a ten cent widget was sold for 20c by the factory, 40c by the distributor, 80c by the retail store.

So much for tradition because I've also seen folks walk into a car dealership and say they KNOW there's a 50% markdown (100% markup) and they want 40% off the sticker...ROFL, there's no 50% to be had, have a nice day.

Of course when West (or anyone else) is the only surviving merchant in your area...you might want to ask how come the other guys went out of business. And by all means when you can do better, vote with your wallet.

Meth heads must be a west coast phenomena, on the right coast I've never found them in a West store. A little short on help sometimes, but the help has always tried to be helpful and often were boaters working p/t to get the store discounts.

[xymotic]

Originally Posted by lancelot9898

I'm not a fan of WM and avoid shopping there as much as possible even with their price match. It's interesting that I pay more out of pocket to WM even after a so called price match since they add in the shipping charges that Defender charges, but yet will not factor in the taxes. I would rather keep Defender in business since without the competition no telling how much WM would be charging. Plus the knowledge of their sales associates are for the most part....wanting.

This is INCORRECT. The old price match policy from a few years ago was to factor in shipping, the current policy does not. If your manager is doing this please have them ask their District manager or WSC to clarify the policy for them.

And again, "factoring" the taxes is actually illegal in many markets. And why should a local store make less than a foreign competitor?

[rockerdar]

If you are going to be buying a large amount, you can put together a list and West Marine will quote you a price (lower than their retail prices). The discount will vary per item, as they have greater markups on some items & therefore can offer a larger discount. You can only do this once per year. The larger the amount of your purchase, the more of a discount they'll give you. This can save you quite a bit if you're doing a refit on your boat.

However, Defender will do the same thing, and when I had both West Marine and Defender quote me on the list of items I gave them, Defender came out less on all of the items, albeit only slightly less. If you factor in the 'rebate' you can get as a West Marine Gold Rewards member, it probably would be about the same.

To get a quote from Defender, send them an email with a list of the items you are wanting to purchase and they will email you back a quote.

[Renasci]

Ah, but, back to the original question, yes, there is a discount center for West Marine, two in fact. There is one store in St.Pete on I believe 22nd street north and tyron sq mall area, it used to be on US19 aka 34th and 22nd St N. The other one is somewhere in California. When you send things back that don't go to the manufacture, it ends up at these two places, at a hugh discount.
Enjoy,
s/v Renasci

[cpa]

I mostly shop at Defender or Jamestown. I do spend money at WM, but only for things that I need right away. I was pissed when WM bought out E&B, but was dealing because I still had Boat US. When WM bought out Boat US I noticed a constant hefty price increase with every new catalog. I had 5 years of Boat US catalogs and found it amusing that as soon as WM eliminated the competition the prices soared and the inventory thinned out. I have no beef with the staff in my local store, the guys are OK and I have Port Supply, but I can still buy most solvents cheaper at Ace Hardware, and the stores in my area are out of products I use so often that It is a running joke in my house.
My verdict:
WM can suck it for buying and closing the two better stores in my area (E&B and Boat US) and forcing us consumers to shop on the 'net.

[avb3]

As posters will notice, this thread just got shorter.

Let's keep the incendiary comments under wraps; it does not advance the topic of discussion. Answers to those incendiary comments have also been eliminated.