RichardS
New Member
Hey, if you guys are anything like me, you know what B.O.A.T. stands for, so whenever there's a chance to SAVE a few $$$, you take advantage of it, right??
In the last few weeks, not once, not twice, but EIGHT TIMES, I have placed an order with West Marine for an item tagged "Limited Availability" and succeeded in getting it in my cart and completed the purchase, only to get a call a couple days later from a rep advising me that "the order has been canceled" because the item is out of stock and not being replenished.
OK.....I get that someone got lucky, and it wasn't me.
BUT.....
HERE is what takes me from "disappointment" to "ANGER!"........
A few days or a week after my order is canceled, because they have none to give me and they aren't getting anymore, and the item has been removed from the website.........
SUDDENLY THE ITEM IS BACK ON-LINE, and CAN BE ORDERED!
BUT......"Limited Availability" again........I order again, and AGAIN that phone call comes to cancel my order!
Why was it back on-line??
PICK YOUR ANSWER: (These are the explanations I received when I called)
1. We WERE out, but they must have found some more. So we put it back up and sold them.
2. Our system isn't the greatest......it shouldn't have been put back up.....I don't know why that happened.
3. That was an item in stock in one of the stores that they say is (pick one of these) A. Missing parts, B. Scratched, C. "Can't be sold" (MY personal favorite)
Guys, I am NOT talking about little orange balls on clearance (many of you will know this story....some of you even got some! I never got any. Of course! LOL!)
These were GREAT deals on GREAT items, like a Garmin 7212 for $1499, a Garmin 4210 for $1049, and a Raymarine c95 for $749, and a Raymarine a67 for $349. And those are just a few examples.
I mean COME ON!!! How do you allow an item to stay up on-line when you're out of stock, not for hours, which I MIGHT understand, but for DAYS? And then take it down, and then put it BACK UP, after telling previous buyers "sorry", and then sell it to someone else instead of the back-ordered customers you chose to cancel?
Is THAT any way to run a company??
Here's another thing that contributed to me not getting the item........apparently they put electronics orders "on hold" until the order is verified, or at least that's what they told me yesterday, when they called me to be "confirm" that I "really wanted" the items I had ordered!! That call was several hours after I had placed the order, but the order didn't actually get placed until that call was made and that person"released" my order.....potentially, by her own admission, after many folks who ordered AFTER I did got their orders released and entered into the system by other West Marine employees.
Guys.....I can't "make this stuff up"!!
I have "Gold Member" status with West Marine, which I don't actually believe means anything, although they want me to believe it does.
I have spent, and I can prove this to anyone who doubts me, over $50,000 in the last three years alone with West Marine. And NEVER RETURNED A SINGLE ITEM! When I owned the 42 footer, I did a complete "makeover" in the boat, including, just in electronics, a state of the art (at the time) Nav system with a Garmin 7215 at it's heart, coupled with new radar, digital sounder, autopilot, weather, entertainment system, etc, etc, etc. The boat needed a whole NMEA 2000 system installed to run everything, since it had primitive electronics when I got the boat, and every piece came from WM. I also bought a TON of other "stuff", and it added up FAST, as you guys are aware these things do.
So now I have a small bowrider, and want to buy a clearance chartplotter (I don't want to spend the kind of money I did before for electronics for this boat......I just don't think it's necessary. The other boat was a "live-aboard" for us when we went to the marina, and when we traveled with it, so I thought I needed the newest and best of everything. This is a day boat.....a screen big enough for my tired old eyes to read is good enough for me, with maps that are somewhat accurate.
I just don't think it's fair to have a system in place sure to disappoint people. I know I can't possibly be the only guy getting frustrated by this.....thinking a GREAT deal is on it's way only to find out (time and time and time again) that it's NOT coming after all.
OK.....I'm done venting.....but have any of you guys had similar experiences?
In the last few weeks, not once, not twice, but EIGHT TIMES, I have placed an order with West Marine for an item tagged "Limited Availability" and succeeded in getting it in my cart and completed the purchase, only to get a call a couple days later from a rep advising me that "the order has been canceled" because the item is out of stock and not being replenished.
OK.....I get that someone got lucky, and it wasn't me.
BUT.....
HERE is what takes me from "disappointment" to "ANGER!"........
A few days or a week after my order is canceled, because they have none to give me and they aren't getting anymore, and the item has been removed from the website.........
SUDDENLY THE ITEM IS BACK ON-LINE, and CAN BE ORDERED!
BUT......"Limited Availability" again........I order again, and AGAIN that phone call comes to cancel my order!
Why was it back on-line??
PICK YOUR ANSWER: (These are the explanations I received when I called)
1. We WERE out, but they must have found some more. So we put it back up and sold them.
2. Our system isn't the greatest......it shouldn't have been put back up.....I don't know why that happened.
3. That was an item in stock in one of the stores that they say is (pick one of these) A. Missing parts, B. Scratched, C. "Can't be sold" (MY personal favorite)
Guys, I am NOT talking about little orange balls on clearance (many of you will know this story....some of you even got some! I never got any. Of course! LOL!)
These were GREAT deals on GREAT items, like a Garmin 7212 for $1499, a Garmin 4210 for $1049, and a Raymarine c95 for $749, and a Raymarine a67 for $349. And those are just a few examples.
I mean COME ON!!! How do you allow an item to stay up on-line when you're out of stock, not for hours, which I MIGHT understand, but for DAYS? And then take it down, and then put it BACK UP, after telling previous buyers "sorry", and then sell it to someone else instead of the back-ordered customers you chose to cancel?
Is THAT any way to run a company??
Here's another thing that contributed to me not getting the item........apparently they put electronics orders "on hold" until the order is verified, or at least that's what they told me yesterday, when they called me to be "confirm" that I "really wanted" the items I had ordered!! That call was several hours after I had placed the order, but the order didn't actually get placed until that call was made and that person"released" my order.....potentially, by her own admission, after many folks who ordered AFTER I did got their orders released and entered into the system by other West Marine employees.
Guys.....I can't "make this stuff up"!!
I have "Gold Member" status with West Marine, which I don't actually believe means anything, although they want me to believe it does.
I have spent, and I can prove this to anyone who doubts me, over $50,000 in the last three years alone with West Marine. And NEVER RETURNED A SINGLE ITEM! When I owned the 42 footer, I did a complete "makeover" in the boat, including, just in electronics, a state of the art (at the time) Nav system with a Garmin 7215 at it's heart, coupled with new radar, digital sounder, autopilot, weather, entertainment system, etc, etc, etc. The boat needed a whole NMEA 2000 system installed to run everything, since it had primitive electronics when I got the boat, and every piece came from WM. I also bought a TON of other "stuff", and it added up FAST, as you guys are aware these things do.
So now I have a small bowrider, and want to buy a clearance chartplotter (I don't want to spend the kind of money I did before for electronics for this boat......I just don't think it's necessary. The other boat was a "live-aboard" for us when we went to the marina, and when we traveled with it, so I thought I needed the newest and best of everything. This is a day boat.....a screen big enough for my tired old eyes to read is good enough for me, with maps that are somewhat accurate.
I just don't think it's fair to have a system in place sure to disappoint people. I know I can't possibly be the only guy getting frustrated by this.....thinking a GREAT deal is on it's way only to find out (time and time and time again) that it's NOT coming after all.
OK.....I'm done venting.....but have any of you guys had similar experiences?
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