Defender Marine is exceptional

[Chotu]

Defender is pedestrian.

Same exact prices as west marine at this point.

First pic is Defender website.

Second pic is West Marine website.

West marine is slightly better at this point because they have local stores.

[Renegde_Sailor]

Originally Posted by Jammer

I used to buy all my stuff at Defender and have for the most part switched to Fisheries Supply for the reasons stated upthread. I'm in Minnesota where there aren't any local chandleries with meaningful depth of inventory.


I use Hodges for electronics.

I was getting stuff from Defender, then their website got hacked, and my credit card got stolen which was a huge mess, and I think that is what probably precipitated the buyout.

Now like you I am pretty much Fisheries as a first stop, and have bought so much from them on my account I am getting amazing prices on most things, although I still do shop it around because at times on certain things Amazon can be cheaper.

[Rigdaddy]

I went to their website today and for some reason I have been blocked. I cannot think of any action on my part that would cause this. Has this happened to any of you?

[PNWSalmon]

Originally Posted by Rigdaddy

I went to their website today and for some reason I have been blocked. I cannot think of any action on my part that would cause this. Has this happened to any of you?

Are you connecting from Mexico (based on your profile it says you're in MX)? They may be blocking foreign IP addresses to reduce perceived or real fraud or scams. More information on how you've been blocked or what message you're getting would be helpful.

[Statistical]

One nice thing about defender is they usually ship the same day and they have overnight shipping. They have most stuff so when I really need a part yesterday I usually use defender.

[Orion Jim]

Originally Posted by Statistical

One nice thing about defender is they usually ship the same day and they have overnight shipping. They have most stuff so when I really need a part yesterday I usually use defender.

That’s odd. My experience has been that many items listed as “in stock” are now “in stock” at a remote location and take two to three days to make it to their warehouse in Waterford. After they pulled this stunt one too many times I now do 10% of my business with them and 90% elsewhere. Those percentages were reversed before the corporate acquisition.
Their pricing is no longer attractive and their customer service is based on asking the right questions. Their selection of merchandise has also declined dramatically.

[FlyingScot]

Originally Posted by Rigdaddy

I went to their website today and for some reason I have been blocked. I cannot think of any action on my part that would cause this. Has this happened to any of you?

I had to switch VPN location to ge to the Defender website. I presume like others they are blocking foriegn connections.

[massnspace]

Years ago I bought a boat in New London, CT. Niagara 35. I had about a week or so to get it ready to go.

I asked some random guy on the dock if he knew of any marine supplies stores anywhere in the area. He looked at me kind of weird…..”You haven’t heard of Defender”?

I hadn’t, and replied as such….then decided to try it. Drove my rental car there. Oh wow, what a pleasant surprise! I spend about the next 2 weeks going there sometimes up to twice a day….they had everything, and were super polite, knowledgeable and helpful.

I am glad they are still there and still doing well….

[GordMay]

Just now, I had NO problem accessing Defender’s U.S. & Canadian website[s], from a Canadian IP address.
US➥ https://defender.com/en_us/
CA ➥ https://defender.ca/en_ca/

[NYSail]

As most have said….. they use to be my go to and spent $1,000’s there over the years. However since the new ownership prices are not the best. Still buy from them but find better prices and purchase elsewhere.

[rslifkin]

Originally Posted by NYSail

As most have said….. they use to be my go to and spent $1,000’s there over the years. However since the new ownership prices are not the best. Still buy from them but find better prices and purchase elsewhere.

Agreed. I've been buying from them less often. Their prices on some items are still good, but they're no longer the best price for 90% of stuff like they used to be.

[JimsCAL]

I've been a Defender customer for decades. I do agree that things have changed since the recent acquisition by the new owners. Prices are still good for most things, but no longer almost always the lowest or close to lowest. After some customer service issues right after the acquisition, things are much better. Shipping is quick, typically arriving in a day or two here on Long Island. In the old days, you had to pay for shipping for everything, but they didn't charge sales tax. Now you pay sales tax but they have free shipping over $99. Not hard to make that limit on boat stuff.

[gonesail]

their prices are no better than West Marine .. which is pretty bad