Online shopping for boat products

[ChrisJefferies]

Hi all,
You may or may not have noticed that we've started doing a lot of online shopping guides over at: Boating gear
We'd love to get your feedback on these so we can make them as good as possible.
What kinds of boat products would you consider buying online?
What would you never buy without touching / feeling / testing them first?
Is there are maximum price at which buying online would make you uncomfortable?
And which sites do you trust for buying boat products online?
Thanks,
-Chris

 

[LadyInBed]

Through the forum I heard about this Fire Port from Float Your Boat.
IMO It should be fitted to all engine bays and at less than a tenner and well made there's no reason not to.
Fire Port - Stainless Steel or White | Float Your Boat

 

[ctva]

At this point I'd like to see a varnish / lacquer review although that might have to be a long term test to show is it better to go 2 part high price or DIY cheapo.

Have already seen a few of the reviews and used the info, good pages.

 

[colind3782]

Through the forum I heard about this Fire Port from Float Your Boat.
IMO It should be fitted to all engine bays and at less than a tenner and well made there's no reason not to.
Fire Port - Stainless Steel or White | Float Your Boat

Bought one from the link and just need the nod to travel to Spain to fit it! Looks much neater than a piece of ply.

Due to the difficulties caused by the "B" word, I probably won't be buying stuff from UK chandlers that I can't carry on board the aircraft. Looked at the SVB site and that will probably be my "go to" for stuff I need sent to Spain.

 

[johnalison]

I seldom buy from the web other than for hard-to-get items such as a water-tank sensor. This is partly due to caution, partly because I dither and choose slowly, partly because I don't like waiting for deliveries, and partly because my custom keeps nearby chandleries going. I don't want to be bothered with the business of returning items, so that what I would buy online would not include clothing or other personal items. The most attractive items for me would be small stuff that would pass through my letterbox. However, I am probably too senior to be regarded as a typical sailor today.

 

[pvb]

However, I am probably too senior to be regarded as a typical sailor today.

Today's typical sailors are senior....

 

[LadyInBed]

Today's typical sailors are senior....

70 is the new 50 ?

 

[pandos]

I will buy almost anything online...not just marine goods...for the boat in the in the past year I have bought an Radar target enhancer, AIS receiver and a separate transponder. Dsc VHF, shortwave radio.solar panels, Rocna anchor, bruce anchor, radar system, refrigeration unit, Loads of other bits and pieces...including rings gaskets bearings and fuel pump for the engine...bulkiest thing I bought was powerwasher, most expensive was a windpilot...

Online is the future...

local chandler's are to be avoided...mainly because when I was skint they were frequently snotty.... only wanting to sell to the chaps with more money than sense...

Essential that the price is displayed and a decent searchable site...

the most off putting thing being bait and switch with goods not being in stock but a similar one in stock at a much higher price, or restrictions on delivery areas or extortionate delivery prices.

I think boots are the only thing I probably would not buy on line...

Hope the above is of some assistance.. feel free to pm for specifics...

 

[Neeves]

I buy shackles from Tecni, in the UK, delivery to Sydney, Australia. The reason to choose Tecni is: they stock the items but the main reason is that they are flexible with delivery, they are happy to send courier (at exorbitant cost) or parcel post. For most items I'm in no hurry but so much mail order is delivered by FedEx et al and only courier - and I will not pay the price.

Hope that helps.

Jonathan

 

[V1701]

One that came up in a thread recently was real world fuel consumption tests of the different diesel warm air heaters, that would be really useful for a lot of us...

 

[ashtead]

It’s good to be able to buy on line but click and collect is most useful as well -eg ordering a dehumidifier on line but collect from retailer in Portsmouth etc. It’s just a shame no network via Waitrose stores or suchlike for click and collect . I would probably buy items I know but sometimes you want to try out but I would have looked and felt in past at SBS and then ordered online . Likewise have bought an outboard on line but collected from retailer. I tend though to use retailers I know for my online choices

 

[Rappey]

Clothing is personal so try before you buy makes sense.. Most other things, its google to see who can supply the cheapest.. The variation between some retailers is quite shocking...
Your boating gear shopping guides are great.. Its often hard to compare one product to another.. or have no idea what to buy until you buy something, then find out there are better options available..

 

[LiftyK]

Hi Chris,

Guides can be great to fill in knowledge gaps so long as they offer enough in-depth review to build trust. Further, the ability to see additional user feedback would be a real bonus. Feedback on this forum really helps with decision making because you feel you can truly trust the feedback. If you could add reader feedback to your guides that would make them so much more useful. Otherwise they are good for creating awareness of a selection of products but not good enough to make a final choice. Alas, this extra research required would likely lead people away from your affiliate links.

Example: EPIRB GUIDE - good for awareness. To be of complete value I would like to know if batteries are user replaceable and how much they cost. In this case the guide might help build a short list.
Example: BOAT SHOES - Crocs are mentioned in the guide. Crocs I tried to wear on board leave marks on deck and the Admiral forbids me from wearing them. Do the Crocs you highlight leave marks in deck when wet? Direct user feedback might answer this question. Without knowing the answer I could not buy based in your guide.

What products might I buy online? Anything that doesn’t depend on personal fit. Examples of what I would not buy online: shoes (there go the Crocs) , life jackets, waterproofs.
What would I never buy without touching? Same as above. Everything else is OK.
Is there a maximum price limit for online purchases? No
Which sites do I trust for online purchases? There are two answers. The first set of sites are for research. I favour sites that allow customer reviews, plus YBW forums. The second set of sites to trust for the actual purchase would be anywhere reputable.

 

[ChrisJefferies]

Thanks all, really useful feedback - we're trying to do some real-world testing too, but as I'm sure you can imagine, that's been a little tricky over the past few months!

 

[laika]

Most commodity items I don't think I need advice on I'm happy to buy online
Anything that might not fit me (clothing, shoes) I don't like buying online. Sending things back is a hassle
Anything that might not fit the boat (like an anchor) I want to buy from a friendly and accommodating local retailer who'll let me return it. Again, sending stuff back is a hassle (ESPECIALLY with anchors)
Wherever people give me good advice I'm happy to buy through them, even if it's more than online. Fortunately my go-to for electronics product advice (Hudson) are as cheap as anyone else
Where there's a local bricks and mortar chandlery with friendly and helpful people (like YouBoat and Arthur's in Gosport) I'd rather buy from them. I enjoy browsing in the old fashioned sense, human interaction (although I'm not sure I recall what that's like it's been so long...) and immediate gratification. Also while deliveries are straightforward for socially conservative people who have a house, a stay-at-home partner and drive to their boat, getting deliveries is harder for working singles/couples who live in a flat and then you have to lug your new toys on the train to the boat. Easier just to buy from the chandler near the boat.

On "who do I trust to buy from"? Big names who've been around for a while but with the caveat that that doesn't mean that I trust them with secure online payments. While I'm happy to give a tech giant like amazon my credit card for an almanac, I'd be reticent to give an online chandler my credit card unless it was through an intermediary like paypal that I trusted to be competent

 

[Jamie Dundee]

I buy 95% of my boat gear online due to where I live. Most of what I need is either unavailable or ridiculously expensive here.

 

[prv]

Shopping in person (for anything, not just boat stuff) always feels inefficient to me, what with travelling and parking and carrying stuff around and being limited to what the particular place you’ve travelled to has (or doesn’t have) in stock. Shop shelves don’t have a search field or filters, and you can’t be in two different shops at the same time in separate tabs. And, most importantly, during the majority of my free time most of them are closed anyway. To visit one in person I’d have to use up weekend time, which I generally have better uses for than inefficient purchasing.

Clothes and footwear are an exception for the obvious reason (though I will re-order online clothes that I like) but otherwise I buy more or less everything online and have done for pretty much as long as it’s been an option.

Pete

 

[lustyd]

I generally go to the shop for fittings so I can decide which is best, for instance while mounting something in the cockpit. Everything else I’m good with online, most of the major online ones are my local chandleries anyway but as Pete said it’s easier and wastes less of my time.
I find smaller traditional chandleries try to fob me off with what they have rather than find the correct solution. This just wastes more of my time and money than admitting they don’t have the right fitting.

 

[sailaboutvic]

How about company you can trust and once not to touch with a barge pole .

 

[CAPTAIN FANTASTIC]

When I am certain to what I want, I would buy on line from chandleries that i trust without hesitation . For example I would buy on line a 30 m 12mm braid on braid rope or a new outboard for the dinghy. But I would like to see and touch sailing clothes or a bolts and fittings that I am not sure about sizes/suitability.