Defender Marine is exceptional

[Shanachie]

I've been browsing for a Maxwell VW10-8 windlass for a while. (Hoping for an end of summer season sale ...)


Defender currently is at $1,950. All of the other online shops range from $2,400 to $2,800.


To put this in perspective: There is a Maxwell VW500 windlass that appears to have been discontinued that has half the power of a VW10. "Sale" prices on that are what Defender sells the VW10-8 for.


That said, 2K is a lot of money for that windlass.

[Reeve21]

I just placed an order yesterday for a small item with Defender. Shipping was free for anything over $99. I’m not sure if that would apply to a larger items as well.

[Chotu]

I feel like it’s all hit or miss now.

West Marine used to have everything. In the store. Or they could get it there in the next day. Not anymore.

Defender used to carry everything. They would ship it right out to you. Not anymore.

There are only partial product lines and partial categories of products at each place.

Time for somewhere new to open that carries everything so you can just shop in one place

[Jammer]

For major items I still shop around. When I did my ground tackle update last spring, I got the Rocna Vulcan from West Marine, the chain from Defender. The total prices with shipping were lowest this way, by a considerable amount.

Otherwise I've been using Fisheries Supply. They have almost everything and ship promptly. Prices are higher but there's free shipping. I've had good results from their rigging service. They have been pretty good about special orders for oddball items. I got a chain stripper from them for my windlass and an unusual nonstock pintle and gudgeon set for my dinghy, both special order, and they were good about it. Their web site is better than it was though still not perfect. They are good on the phone too.

It is hard for me to take Defender seriously as a chandlery now that they've discontinued their rigging/splicing service.

[CaptTom]

Originally Posted by Chotu

...Time for somewhere new to open that carries everything so you can just shop in one place

I'm not sure this will ever happen. The reality is, no one vendor will be able to match all the on-line "niche" web sites and sellers on Amazon, eBay and such.

Maybe we don't need one vendor who sells everything. I comparison shop, and buy from whoever offers the best value. Fair and honest shipping policies are part of the value calculation. If I need to create an account before learning if a product is in stock, or what the shipping costs will be, or when it can be delivered, I just move on to the next site.

Defender is one I usually check. I haven't made a purchase since around the time they were bought out. I'm not boycotting them, they just haven't made the cut yet.

[Orion Jim]

Defender is no longer my first choice. Their “store” has reopened but it’s a showroom. Does anyone remember “Service Merchandise”? The concept stinks and makes it a chore to choose a component which has several models or sizes for your particular application.
I recently replaced my Jabsco Water Puppy sump pump. The Defender price minus shipping was $231.99. The Jabsco Store on Amazon sells it for $193.32…since I’m a Prime member that price was including delivery to my doorstep two days later.
If the Jabsco factory store can sell it at retail to me for $38.67 less than Defenders price it is proof that Defenders is hosing their formerly loyal customer base.

[Chotu]

Originally Posted by CaptTom

I'm not sure this will ever happen. The reality is, no one vendor will be able to match all the on-line "niche" web sites and sellers on Amazon, eBay and such.

Maybe we don't need one vendor who sells everything. I comparison shop, and buy from whoever offers the best value. Fair and honest shipping policies are part of the value calculation. If I need to create an account before learning if a product is in stock, or what the shipping costs will be, or when it can be delivered, I just move on to the next site.

Defender is one I usually check. I haven't made a purchase since around the time they were bought out. I'm not boycotting them, they just haven't made the cut yet.

They used to. You could get everything at West Marine at one time.

You could get everything at defender at one time. Just about everything.

I’d rather pay a little bit more and not have to waste all my time looking at all the different websites.

[SV Confianza]

Defender prices have gone WAY up. Like others we pretty much exclusively ordered from defender. Haven’t ordered in a long time now.

I will likely be asking for a refund of my defender first membership. Let’s see where that goes.

[Chotu]

Originally Posted by SV Confianza

Defender prices have gone WAY up. Like others we pretty much exclusively ordered from defender. Haven’t ordered in a long time now.

I will likely be asking for a refund of my defender first membership. Let’s see where that goes.

A commercial account and I hear you on this. Even on a commercial account you don’t get much of a discount at all anymore. Like a dollar or two off of each item.

[CaptTom]

Originally Posted by Orion Jim

...Their “store” has reopened but it’s a showroom...
...If the Jabsco factory store can sell it at retail to me for $38.67 less than Defenders price it is proof that Defenders is hosing their formerly loyal customer base.

In all fairness, I think that's the best they can do. It reminds me of some commercial plumbing and electrical supply stores where you sit on a stool at the parts counter, order your parts and someone goes back to grab them.

As for price, yeah, I suspect there's some corporate greed involved. But also, the world has changed. Probably Amazon can stock and ship items for less than Defender can. You can argue whether that's good or bad, but it's reality.

Originally Posted by Chotu

They used to. You could get everything at West Marine at one time.

You could get everything at defender at one time. Just about everything.

Again, it's a different world. Remember when all businesses were following the fad of reducing inventory and warehousing to the bare minimum? Just-in-time delivery? Yeah. Dumb idea. Look where it's gotten us.

Amazon went against the grain on that one. You could say they are really a warehousing company. Their whole "thing" is having a massive amount of inventory in stock and ready to provide to the customer as quickly as possible. Just as West and Defender and many others used to do before inventory became a four-letter word to retailers.

Originally Posted by Chotu

I’d rather pay a little bit more and not have to waste all my time looking at all the different websites.

I guess that's a personal preference. I'd have to drive 7 miles to the closest chandler. The next closest one is West Marine, 14 miles away in a very inconvenient location, on a busy road with dozens of stop lights making it slow and stressful. Or I could sit in a comfy chair with my laptop and scour the world looking for exactly what I need.

Of course, when something breaks and I need a part quickly, it would be nice to go back to the old days of a well-stocked chandlery nearby. Sadly, I think those days are gone.

[OneBoatman]

Defender Marine was once the place to turn to as chandleries everywhere disappeared. I used to drive about 45 miles from the early 70s I believe into the early 90s and could save money on just about anything you might need on a boat when they were on Main Street in New Rochelle. It was an old school chandlery pretty similar but perhaps a little higher than Prestons of Greenport. That was pre-internet. Then they grew tremendously after the move Waterford, CT and became pretty much the king of online sales. It stayed pretty good pretty long and you had to work to beat their price considering they stocked or could quickly get you just about anything for your boat. Before the pandemic most things "marine" were rising about 7% each year, since the pandemic the sky is the limit. You can beat their price but now it's real work. The re-configuring of Waterford and the post covid pricing I would think hurt the new owners more than it helped. The down sized store is laughable compared to what it once was. Even now, I would think they could warehouse their inventory somewhere cheaper than Waterford, CT.

[Pegu Club]

For the most part Defenders prices are very competitive, we recently purchased 150 feet of 5/16 G4 chain and some Maxwell windlass parts, they were the best price we found, and we searched out several chandleries. We have been to the store three times over the last two months or so and the guys said that the new management is starting to come around to having more product out in the retail store, and it appears to be happening, so hang tight, they are trending in the right direction,

Fair winds,

[CaptTom]

Originally Posted by OneBoatman

...You can beat their price but now it's real work. ...

I don't know about that part. It's usually pretty easy nowadays. Easy enough that I haven't bought anything from them in several years.

[PNWSalmon]

It didn’t feel so exceptional when my credit card was stolen (along with many other people) and I had to spend 1/2 a day setting all my auto pay things up again (stupid me , I shouldn’t have trusted defender).

I could’ve forgiven it if there had been an explanation, or apology with reasons why it would not happen again. Or, if they had simply acknowledged my email, after spending tens of thousands of dollars with them. So, Nope, they lost me then.

Anyway , I never shopped with them again and don’t plan to.

[Sansail]

I don’t disagree with many of the complaints regarding Defender. No question that, for many common name brand items, - say, Blue Seas and Ancor, it's hard to beat the lower cost found on Amazon. Factor in the 5% discount with the Amazon Prime card and free shipping.. it's a no brainer.
I have also found that a few of the most well known marine stores do sell on Amazon under a different name. Not Defender or West... but, maybe soon.
All that aside, I still get an emotional rush whenever I place a Defender order. For 46 years they've been my favorite toy store. That's worth more than free shipping...sometimes.