West Marine has been offering price matching for almost a year, but I’ve found that there are still a lot of boaters who don’t know about it or how to take advantage of it. For international readers, West Marine is a large US chain of marine supplies stores.
West Marine offers price matching with retail competitors and, probably
The easiest way to price match is to find out the manufacturer’s model number for a given item and then search for it using Google. Click on the “Shopping” tab and find the lowest price. Go to that company’s website — you can print the page with the price or bookmark it on your phone for quick retrieval when you’re in the store. At least at my West Marine, it’s fine to just show the cashier the website with the better price on a phone.
I have used price matching to save 25 to 33% off many items. Magma grill. New halyards. Harken blocks. Wiring and connectors. Emily Graham, a reader, recently wrote that they’d gotten $550 off a new outboard!
You can even price match right in the store if you have a smart phone. I’ve saved some serious money for just a few minutes’ work.
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Aj says
I’m not being glib but I don’t understand how this works – if it’s a price match how are you saving? You could just buy it from the place that has the lower price.
Are they offering an additional % off?
Love the site,
Carolyn Shearlock says
The primary advantage is that you can get the item immediately — no waiting for it to be shipped to you. This is big if something breaks and you need a replacement or if you’re working on a project and need a part. The second advantage is that there is no shipping fee.
John Fox says
Thanks for the info.
I personally don’t do price matching, I don’t think it’s fair to the vendor that has already presented a low price. If I need it so badly that I can’t wait, well, that’s what West Marine is there for and I’ll pay a little extra for being convenient. It’s like buying toilet paper at a gas station, I probably need it right now if I’m not willing to go to the grocery store.
But I do appreciate knowing it’s a possibility if I change my mind.
Max says
As of today, March 1st, our local Southern California WM will only price match to Amazon, and with store manager approval. WM wouldn’t have to price match or have a price match policy if they were cost competitive in the first place, not that I won’t pay for convenience, just not too much..