East Coast chandleries rant.

[sailorman]

Fox's is called Marine & Country Store, on the building it says Chandlery & Outdoor. Not the same?

might be to differentiate sites then improve the sartorial elegance of the locals :ambivalence:

 

[Stork_III]

might be to differentiate sites then improve the sartorial elegance of the locals :ambivalence:

Can't disagree with the latter, but I was talking about the shop at Fox's.

 

[ianc1200]

Well i hope it is the same people at Fox's, at present closest but a 40 min drive from Titchmarsh.

 

[Cantata]

Very good independant chandlery at Faversham...

 

[BuckJumper]

See also an earlier chandlery rant of mine on SB: how come hardly any on-line chandlery is able to list on their site whether an item is in stock or not?

That would be because live/online stock systems are very expensive to buy and install and chandlery's are not multinationals or even national businesses. With a few exceptions (Force 4 and Mailspeed to mention 2) they are family run, mom and pop companies who struggle to make ends meet and have to resort to the mosh pit of online trading to keep afloat. Chandlery is one of the most difficult businesses to run, it requires a massive stock holding which may turn over every other year if they are lucky and it works on really thin margins. I really don't know how any survive quite honestly.

I'd be very surprised if Marinestore did deduct money from a card, they never have done so with me.

 

[Jon-Marinestore]

Two-fold rant:

1. Ordered several items from Marinestore last night (Sunday). Free shipping for orders over £50. Great.
Today (Monday) I received a confirmation e-mail and my order will be shipped NEXT week. So, this means my order will arrive around 10-12 days after I've placed it.
If I want it sooner, I have to pay extra (a small fortune) for their overnight service.

So, they have it in stock, but they are still going to sit on it (juggling their testicles) for another week.
Hey, shipping was free - so I guess I can not complain.

Has the money already been taken from my card? Of course it has.

2. Apropos of nothing:
Needed a cradle for our new liferaft.
Two local chandleries have it in stock.

Fox's: Unbeatable range at great value prices

http://www.foxsonline.com/cgi-bin/s...al-Liferaft-Cradle.html#aOSRAF0750#aOSRAF0750

Seamark-Nunn: East Anglia's favourite

http://www.seamarknunn.com/acatalog/stainless-steel-universal-liferaft-cradle-4204.html#.UzCtW4U_hvk

Just saying.



PS: Guess who will be getting more of my custom?

Thank you for your Feedback,

I would just like to add a perspective from the retailer, firstly just to confirm your order was dispatched today with Fedex, you should have been emailed a confirmation with your tracking number. The original email actually stated "Shipping within the Week" not shipping next week as stated but I will check the wording to make sure it doesn't come across as you understood it. We had to collect one of your items ordered from our Mersea store to complete your order, hence the 24 Hour delay with dispatch. We certainly don't sit on customers orders if we have stock ready for dispatch.
I would also like to clear up our card payments, we currently use Paypal for all our online transactions and as such they take the money from your card, if we don't capture the funds in a timely manner then all funds are returned to you, the length of time does depend on which bank you use We will not take payment until your order is on the packing bench ready to be dispatched. As already stated by another that would be just shoddy!

Please understand that comments like this can really hurt a small retailers such as ourselves, we are a small family run business and as such try and pride ourselves on providing the best service possible within our means, I do understand that sometimes we don't get it right but we all make mistakes don't we? I'm of the thinking its how you fix your mistakes is what can set you apart from the rest.

Many thanks, Jonathan.

 

[Laurin]

Marinestore is our local at Burnham so would never order online with them, always over the phone or in person. However we get consistently good prices and service from them. Family run business, nice guy!

 

[Lucky Duck]

I have bought a reasonable amount of kit from them and used the collect in store option without any problems.

 

[Kurrawong_Kid]

I once ordered some Sikaflex (rare type) from the dreaded Marine Megasore and got it by return whilst, at the same time, ordering Sikaflex cleaner and 295 from Marinestore and heard nothing from them until I rang and then they said they were "out of stock". Eventually as soon as it arrived I dashed to Titchmarsh to collect it before they sold the stuff to someone else! Wasn't very impressed.
Whenever possible I use Fox's. You can actually see what they have got. If they havn't got it they will get it for you. Their prices may be higher but when you factor in postal charges etc. in the end "You get what you pay for".

 

[Laurin]

So rather than slagging off our local chandleries when we choose to get something from them online, which, as a previous poster says, they are unlikely to be big enough to do as well as say, for example Amazon. How about we show them a little loyalty, and take advantage of the personal service they can and do provide well. Most will price match, and I'm sure that most of us would be disappointed to see the chandleries disappear from our marinas. So how about making them our first place to call (in person or on by phone) when we are going to spend some of our hard earned cash. We all surf the net for the best price, but would it be that much of a hassle to then phone your local chandlery and give them the chance to price match. If you do that enough times you may well find that they give you a bit of a loyal customer discount too! If we use them as our first port of call for new stuff, then perhaps their business will grow and they will be able to hold more stock which will help us all.

 

[tugger]

Hurrah! well said!:encouragement:

 

[Tradewinds]

So rather than slagging off our local chandleries when we choose to get something from them online, which, as a previous poster says, they are unlikely to be big enough to do as well as say, for example Amazon. How about we show them a little loyalty, and take advantage of the personal service they can and do provide well. Most will price match, and I'm sure that most of us would be disappointed to see the chandleries disappear from our marinas. So how about making them our first place to call (in person or on by phone) when we are going to spend some of our hard earned cash. We all surf the net for the best price, but would it be that much of a hassle to then phone your local chandlery and give them the chance to price match. If you do that enough times you may well find that they give you a bit of a loyal customer discount too! If we use them as our first port of call for new stuff, then perhaps their business will grow and they will be able to hold more stock which will help us all.

I agree. I've had some excellent deals (non-electronic) from Richard Gadd (Chandlery Manager) at SYH.

 

[Colvic Watson]

Hurrah! well said!:encouragement:

+1

 

[Bru]

Seamark Nunn seem to be able to tick all the boxes

Almost always the best price on-line (ignoring the dodgy we'll order it when you order it merchants) without any price matching nonsense*

Prompt mail order service and immediate notification if items are out of stock. No hassle over split orders either

Physical presence and decent shop within an hour or so of the marina so if I need to call in person it's not the end of the world

My second port of call on-line is Force 4. Prices are usually a fraction higher than Seamarks but not enough to be an issue, seems to me they carry a somewhat wider range of stock (more than one shop of course) but they are too far to visit in person under normal circs

If I need anything right now, it's Marinestore at Burnham or Maldon. Good shops, good service but not price competitive on-line

Realistically, I need to pre-order as much of what I need before a maintenance session so the on-line chandlers have it. Every trip to the chandlers in person is at least an hour, usually nearer two, wasted (it's astonishing how long it takes to drive from Fambridge to Burnham and back!)

* I don't like price matching. AFAIC, if they can sell it to me that cheap, they should advertise it at their best price. Price matching = we'll rip you off if you're too dumb to check prices elsewhere. Fox's therefore get my business if they've got it, Seamark Nunn haven't and I need it (or want it!) right now

 

[ChattingLil]

Yer, nice one Karen. There's only one chandlery that I don't like at all (and that's down to the indifferent and lazy and rude staff, so won't mention the name), but have always had excellent service whenever I've been at Fox's, Burnham, TCS or Dauntless - the advice you can get on the ground is brilliant. If it costs an extra £ or two, it's worth it. (but not when there's £30 difference for the same item - that is annoying and off-putting).

Fox's really impressed us last year in the electronics dept. Truly excellent and helpful service.

 

[ianc1200]

Or, they show us a little loyalty!

More than happy in previous years to phone in advance, see if the item was in Titchmarsh Marinestore, knowing if it wasn't Maldon would send it & I'd pay picking it up from Titchmarsh on Saturday. However the few weeks before they closed down obviously were taking stock away to replenish the other stores leaving an exasperated store manager & customers.

 

[Sixpence]

I have a sneaky feeling there's a reply in from Jon-Marinestore awaiting moderation as he's a new user

http://www.ybw.com/forums/member.php?137887-Jon-Marinestore

 

[FullCircle]

Well, I use TCS Wallasea almost exclusively. For the reasons already stated.

It's 1.2 miles from my house and will have a real go at price matching, not to mention decent advice on tricky subjects.

Go Jon and Stretch....

 

[Sixpence]

Nice website too http://www.tcschandlery.co.uk/

 

[Athene V30]

I do understand that sometimes we don't get it right but we all make mistakes don't we? I'm of the thinking its how you fix your mistakes is what can set you apart from the rest.

Well said. Running a wholesale, retail and internet fulfilment warehouse myself for a toy retailer I totally agree - every one makes mistakes in some way.