Gael Force

[byron]

Anyone else received the new Gael Force catalogue? An excellent Tome along the lines of the West Marine catalogue unfortunately there's no price list, a bit like having an excellent bucket with a hole in it, entirely useless. I rang and asked but they said if one is interested in an item one should ring and ask the price - What a shame all that money wasted just to lose browser sales.

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[rogerroger]

so presumably they have a a 24 hr 0800 price line ? (yeah right...)

Roger Holden
www.first-magnitude.co.uk

 

[gtmoore]

Agreed - got mine today. I can't see them following this business model for long.

 

[billskip]

No havent seen it and prob wont..however byron I just got draged into a shop here and was looking in the corner while she did whatever..I found a "Reggata" one piece with waist belt/harnes float if u fellin breatherble etc etc..1698sek=about £125 is this cheap?

Bill
www.aegeansailing.co.uk

 

[DepSol]

whats the number, do they have a web address?

Dom

 

[byron]

Yep! They have a website, it contains no email address it has a form to fill in to get a catalogue and a form to fill in to buy something (you guess the price I suppose) Frankly the site is a waste of time. www.gaelforce.net

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[davel]

I registered for a catalogue on their web site about 8 weeks ago and heard nothing from them.
I assumed they'd gone belly up like so many others.
When did you register?

Dave L.
Location: 50 51.0 N 1 18.6 W

 

[andyball]

I checked a few prices with gael force....flares,s/s shackles,I forget what else- they were very expensive, even comparing the same brands

 

[Geoffs]

There's a lot to be said for the local, chandlers that is. I used to go all over the place to visit one of the big names, thinking I would get a bargain. I even drove from darkest Oxfordshire to Bristol to buy a VHF, daft!

I now just go to my local, Piplers of Poole. Five minutes walk from the boat, they seem to have all I want, competative prices, and a loyalty card like Tesco & Sainsbury's.

 

[Strathglass]

They are local to myself. The web site is only recent. They opened the new store long before the web site was active. They has a smaller store in Inverness which was quite good before opening the new Superstore. All items are priced less VAT in the new shop so you must make a calculation to find the real price. It seems that a priceless catalogue may be wrong. Good and helpful staff. Time will tell.

 

[Falcon71]

but who the hell advised them to get a web site, that wasn't fully purchaser friendly. we all know that catalogue ordering is wonderful, iceland dont even charge delivery, shocking how much peoplewill pay for useless crp.

 

[Gludy]

Being involved with a large mail order business myself and looking forward to their massive catalogue I was shocked bt their business model. It does not allow me to compare products, think if a purchase is worthwhile etc. Its like going into a department store with a large array of products but being unable to comapre and decide. They have a wide slection of ropes for example, how can you compare one with the other, prepare your shopping list and order.
So unbelivable was this policy that I rang them and spoke to senior management.
They told me they intended the catalogue to last 2 or 3 years! I explained the basis of any mail order business and advised them to at least offer s seperate price list when they do their next special offer mailing - but they seemed very confident of their model having taken expert advice and having invested £3m.
I also pointed out that they would have the overhead of, in effect, processsing each order twice but they did not seem to mind this. The business model is the worst I have ever experienced in mail order.
I cannot beleive how bad the marine mail order market is as a whole. Having tried many firms, all I can say is that it an industry that is in great need of someone entering it who really knows their onions, it is a pity that Gael Force have failed before they begin. The market is still wide open for a decent operation to enter and take over.



Paul

 

[billskip]

Dont just sit there then Paul.. .take the oppertunity..and show us ..also if its worth millions£s count me in.....

Bill
www.aegeansailing.co.uk

 

[milltech]

I agree with all you say about the Gael Force business model, but at one time I was heavily into supplying Innovations, House of Bath, GUS, Viking Direct etc., and the margins they work on would make most mail order marine companies blush with embarrassment.

I suspect it is not quite the undiscovered crock of gold you percieve it to be, for one thing it's very much smaller than most people give it credit for, high profile, minority interest.

Boat Junkie

 

[ToMo]

What about a crossover business, like camping and boating together....how many times has the advice "don't go to a chandler, it's exactly the same thing only loads cheaper in a camping and caravan suppliers!" appeared on these forums? So when is some brite cookie going to really get the message and start up a 'Leasure Supplies Centre' - or something like that?....no don't look at me, I'm retired and I'm staying that way thanks!
TôMö

 

[byron]

I agree with you 'Gludy' I am Chairman of an ad agency, we no longer handle mail order companies as 'MOPS' is such a rigmarole now-a-days, however we would never allow a catalogue to be produced without a price list. I rang and asked where they got the prices and was told from their computer so I asked why not offer the price list as a download and was told that they couldn't do that and that if I wanted to make comparisons I can always ring for prices.
Without prices the catalogue is just so much toilet paper.

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[andyball]

Re: Gael Force:tomo

What?....like Towsure? (OK, there's a very limited marine range, but it's a start, and the prices are right.)

 

[Gludy]

O do not perceive the Marine market to be anything other than a specialist , modestly sized market. I fully appreciate margins and what goes on. My experience has been in specialist mail order companies that grow to dominate markets, althoughI am also involved in mass market companies as well.

As a way out of their mess, and just as others did, I suggested to Gael force they offer a download price list (only partly solves the problem) - but they cannot even do this, even though the technology to lift the price from their computer and create a downlable file is such that, it is just a few hours work.

Pots of gold rarely exist. It is usually a significant investment and a lot of hard work. The marine market is no exception. This market, however, is crying out -(and not just in the mail order side) for a broom that will sweep clean. Seeing as every pastime I have gone into in my life has turned into a signiciant business, all of which are still going, I am trying very hard to resist adding this one to the list .... I plan to retire one day but messed up markets like mean that I just cannot stop my brain working!



Paul

 

[Deleted User YDKXO]

Agree with everything you've said. With the demise of Sowester-Simpson Lawrence and one or two other chandlery groups, I guess there are companies out there who think they can fill the vacuum if they act fast enough but, like you, I looked at Gael Force's catalogue, marvelled at its vast size and weight and spent 20mins looking for a pricelist which immediately pissed me off so the catalogue's been filed in the bin
The only reasonably comprehensive and useable catalogue I've come across is Cruisermart although the Vetus catalogue is nicely laid out