West Marine brand kayak If your looking

Yes, that is a 2008 Wilderness Systems Tarpon 120. With this coupon code, "AFFWEST", you get 10% ($50) off. And it gets better, FREE shipping to your local West Marine store! I put one in my cart, and the total including tax came out to $489.38.

Just buy a wilderness sticker and your good to go. Man that's a good deal, let us know how you like it .

   

       

    We still love ya man... Just economy's got us down...

 You're so cool Ron        Thanks !

          Why would WS compete with themselves by offering a less expensive replica of their most popular boat?    This smells like Chinese import to me. Typical of West Marine to do this.

Why wouldn't they do it?  West is a bulk buyer, WS (or whoever they're parent company is) selling a bunch more boats to a market that they probably wouldn't normally reach. Not to mention its the older model that they weren't using any longer.  It seems like a win win to me.  They're not buying 2nd rate knock-off products from shady foreign mfgs. They just sell re-branded products, in most cases they have the original companies product sitting right next to theirs on the shelf. 

It's not at all unusual for a "Brand" manufacturer to produce private brand or generic products.  It goes on all of the time in the drug industry.  When a patent runs out, the manufacturer who held the patent has a choice to make.  They always continue to make the brand name product but the choice becomes either capturing the generic business or letting a large part of their production go to another manufacturer.  In most cases, the brand manufacturer enters the generic business and produces both branded and generic product.  I don't see where this would be any different.  They can produce this "generic" yak with an old mold and stave off competition from imports, while still maintaining a strong branded market.  They really serve two very different customers in doing so.  The loyal brand customer isn't going to be interested in this product but there will be many others who will buy based solely upon price. (Walmart shoppers)

I received the WM sale flyer yesterday and that kayak is on sale for $399. Now that seems like a pretty good deal.

West Marine is limited in what it carries Kayak wise, which leads me across the street more times than not. REI carries boats as well, it is likely to be the most decensly populated kayaker dealer area in NoCal with three dealers 100 yards from each other.

For W.M., the Kayak portion of their business is VERY small.  They do support it, but looking at kayaking as a total portion of business, very small.  They do carry a moderate selection in their catalog and can have them to the store in a matter of a few days w/ free shipping (uin most/some cases).  REI & W.M. are in 2 different markets with a small amount of cross-over.  One specializes in boating while the other in general outdoors.  Each of the stores are semi-tailored to the local market in which they reside.

I buy a lot of my gear including yaks at WM. They'll match price almost anything. Just print out any ad (non sale), as long as it's not from a site like amazon or ebay and they'll match it. What I do is go on the WM site find what I want, find a few other sites that have the same exact item for less, call my local WM and have them order my matched items. They'll call you when the order comes in and just bring in your ads. Last year I bought a friend a brand new OK scrambler xt for 329.00 cause Academy sports had it for that price. Hey, they made the price match rule!

That is correct....  as long as it is a stocked item by the company you are price matching, and not a clearance item, they are supposed to match it.  From their 2012 Master Catalog it reads:

'Our Low Price Guarantee'
Our low price guarantee is simple!  If you find a lower price offered by one of our retail competitors on identical, in-stock branded items, we will match the price of that item within 30 days of purchase.

   There is a list of exclusions that is 1/4 page long but in short include:  refurbished, auction, liquidation, wholesale, free offers, clearance, coupons, used/damaged/returned/open box/display, shipping/handling charges, taxes or tax promotions, early bird/door buster, expired ads & typographical errors.

   Then theres the disclaimer of "Prices, offers and our low price guarantee policy are subject to change at any time and from time to time without prior notice".

   Sorry for the digression .... brings me back to the 10+ years I spent working for them and the years of things changing "without prior notice".  They have had this price match guarantee, in one form or another, for at least the past 20 years that I can remember.  I think it was a core value that the company was built on.....

   So, to reel this back in ... yes, you do do price matching within constraints and yes, people do it at the stores (not as often as one would think though).  If the coupons and offers are out there, by all means USE THEM!!!!

Yea it's great when small company's get bought by corporations. WM can buy these boats for 1/3 the cost of a specialty dealer, they sell them for a few months and finally close them out after the season. The bad part is your money is leaving NorCal. It's also causing kayak shops to close their doors. As far as REI, they are on the list of MLPA supporters. Your money going to shut down fishing. I'll stick to buying kayaks made buy company's that only sell to specialty shops. Hobie, Jackson, Malibu, ect. company's that care about there customers and the sport, not just there wallets. I shop local as much as possible. No Walmart, no chain grocery stores, ect. Sure it might cost a few dollars more but my neighabors can pay there bills instead of a CEO getting a new jet. I'll get off the soap box now, 

just my 2c

but

From all my experience with WM, its very clear that WM's core demographic is Powerboaters, yachters, and sailboaters.  A yak like this is likley meant to be thrown on a larger power boat for occasional forays into kayaking or fishing by someone who doen not intend to become a core kayak fisherman.  As such, I think its a great deal and a great thing, especially if it makes oven one guy with a 30' cruiser think about kayakers even ONE TIME on the water when he;s cruising through the delta at 45kts.  Remember, this guy (WM's core market) is either going to buy either Top of the line or ottom barrel for an occasional use toy...

and the folks with low cash flow benefit as well.  They are either going to buy used or not at all, so the local specialty stores don't loose out on this market here either....  and the local shops might make up on the accessory side after getting frustrated with a lack of respect when they return to WM later, as long as cust. service is up to par and they dont look down on guys with "cheap" or "knock-off" yaks...  or not

but again, this is just my take on it   

I actually had a guy at West Marine give me a light lecture about buying an item locally from them versus ordering it on the net from their own website.  I think it is all relative.  It may not be a mom and pop store, but it is still a store where all the people working there are from the area.  Sales affect their payroll just like anywhere else.  If they don't sell stuff, their stores payroll hours get cut.  Eventually if they can't turn a profit, the store will go by by along with everybody's paycheck.  I also believe business is business.   Most internet super specials are at cost or they are taking a hit hoping to get you to add something to the cart or to come back next time.  As many people found out, having .com on the end of your name proves nothing.  Some businesses just need to get their crap in order.  For example, Fisherman's Warehouse in Sacramento.  What percent of their items have a price tag on them.  Maybe 60%.  It's annoying as hell, so I feel no problem going to a Walmart or an internet retailer whom are going to just sell me something that I want without the hassle.  It's a tough economy out there.  If your business plan involves surviving because your a mom and pop, you need to re-think the plan.

Yea it's great when small company's get bought by corporations. WM can buy these boats for 1/3 the cost of a specialty dealer, they sell them for a few months and finally close them out after the season. The bad part is your money is leaving NorCal. It's also causing kayak shops to close their doors. As far as REI, they are on the list of MLPA supporters. Your money going to shut down fishing. I'll stick to buying kayaks made buy company's that only sell to specialty shops. Hobie, Jackson, Malibu, ect. company's that care about there customers and the sport, not just there wallets. I shop local as much as possible. No Walmart, no chain grocery stores, ect. Sure it might cost a few dollars more but my neighabors can pay there bills instead of a CEO getting a new jet. I'll get off the soap box now, 

We can shop guilt free at west marine, they're based in watsonville so all the dollars they  (and all their chain stores) generate flows right back through norcal.
 


PS....I'm surprised to hear that about FW's Sac store.  I've always found everything priced in the SJ store.