West Marine Reviews 15

This is a company that is going out of business, they just don't know it yet. Whenever I walk into a physical store, the inventory is always mis-matched and it's a ghost town in there. I would keep an eye on their website for deals on products, and whenever I order, half the time it's wrong. It either had something wrong with the listing and the thing that was delivered wasn't what I actually needed, or they would cancel the order and claim it's out of stock.

Don't believe me? Try calling them... oh wait, you can't... they don't have a phone number anymore.

When a company has cut costs down to the point where you can't call them... the end is near.

Worked for years at low pay and high stress environment to have a surprise lay off with no warning.

Ordered marine-grade electrical wire in bulk lengths, What West Marine delivered was a complete mess.

All wires were loosely coiled and dumped into a cardboard box with zero spools, protective wrapping, or organization—resulting in a massive tangled knot that's impossible to use without kinks or potential damage. Photos attached show the nightmare pile and the overflowing "packaging" box.
Worse, they arbitrarily cut one of my 30ft continuous wires into a 3ft section (shipped first) and a 27ft section (arrived the next day in a separate shipment). No explanation, no heads-up— just random slicing of a product I specifically needed as one unbroken length.

This is not how marine wire should ever be handled or shipped. Proper suppliers package on spools or neat coils to prevent exactly these issues.
I've contacted customer service about the cut wire and they thankfully sent me my money back for that 1 wire. Once I recieved the bulk of the order and found the mess I contacted customer service multiple times via chat, email, and phone about returning/replacing for properly packaged continuous lengths or at least a refund/credit—no response whatsoever. They've gone radio silent.
West Marine's online fulfillment is clearly broken, and their lack of accountability is appalling. Used to trust them for boating supplies, but this has me switching to better alternatives like Defender Marine, Wholesale Marine, or direct from Ancor/Pacer. Save yourself the headache—avoid bulk wire orders here.

I normally don’t leave reviews, but after spending nearly $2,000 on an outboard motor, I feel obligated to share my experience. I ordered a Honda 15 hp and received a notification that my motor had been delivered 11/19/25. Instead, the store called me to tell me the warehouse sends a 2.3 hp motor; a completely different model. Thankfully it went to the store and not my house, because returning something that large would have been another headache. Mistakes happen, but the response afterwards has been unacceptable. The manager at the store has been polite and has tried to help but it’s very clear the warehouse and GM level communication is a mess. I was told the GM call back within an hour. Few hours go by and I get a call saying the GM just said push it through. They can’t do anything for the inconvenience because the motors was disconnected for a price match, even though it was their mistake and not mine. Now I’m being told that I have to wait until next Wednesday before another motor even arrives even though online says order today and get it Monday Dec 1st. That’s a full week delay after spending $2500 and receiving the wrong product. On top of having to wait an additional week for paperwork to get done. When they have the same motor available in the electric start to get sooner. The store staff himself was very respectful, but the lack of urgency, poor communication and refusal to offer any compensation on the GM level for a mistake on a high dollar purchase is extremely disappointing. I expected a much more professional process for something of this price.

***UPDATE*** 11/25/2025
My experience with West Marine has gone from frustrating to eye-opening. After being promised my motor would arrive tomorrow, I was left in the dark for an entire week with no updates, no tracking, nothing. Only today did someone finally call to admit the truth: the warehouse never had the motor in stock at all.

A full week passed before anyone realized they had sold me an item they didn’t actually possess. That is not a small oversight. That is a complete breakdown of inventory control, communication, and customer handling.

Now I’m being told a different warehouse in Florida “might” ship it today. Still no tracking number, no confirmation, no evidence that anything has changed. Just more uncertainty.

And every time I ask for clarity, I get one dismissive question:
“Do you want your money back?”
That is not customer service. That is a company trying to end a conversation instead of fixing a mistake.

But the most telling part of this entire ordeal was the owner’s response to my earlier review. Instead of taking responsibility, offering real help, or even providing a direct way to reach someone who could resolve the issue, the owner posted a generic, surface-level reply that addressed nothing. No email. No phone number. No accountability. Nothing actionable.

A public reply that looks like “we care” on the outside, while leaving the customer to chase support through chat agents and dead-end channels, says more about a company’s leadership than anything else. If even the owner won’t take ownership, it explains why the rest of the system is failing.

This situation has revealed not just a mistake, but a pattern:
No inventory awareness
No proactive communication
No follow-through
No real solutions offered
And no leadership stepping in when things go wrong

If this is how West Marine handles significant purchases, I strongly recommend taking your business elsewhere. A company that can’t keep track of its own stock; and can’t be bothered to provide a real point of contact when they mess up; is not a company you can rely on

Their FLIBS service was excellent.

⸻

Order #23030026 – Same Day Delivery Not Honored

I placed an order on September 25, 2025 for a Gelcoat Repair Kit with same-day delivery to Port Charlotte, FL (Order Total: $75.21).

West Marine promised same-day delivery, but my order still has not been delivered as of today. This is frustrating and disappointing because I relied on your guarantee of quick service.

I respectfully request an immediate update on my order status and an explanation as to why the same-day delivery commitment was not fulfilled. If the item cannot be delivered as promised, I expect a refund of the shipping charge and compensation for the inconvenience.

West Marine, please take accountability and resolve this issue promptly

Expect to be ripped off by this company if you do a return. Managers are crooked, and will manipulate things to screw you over.

if I could do less stars I would but one is the option. We went to buy two fishing rods and two reels and had $1400 to spend. There was two people working and no one (customers) in the store (in the SARASOTA area) today and when we asked for help, we were told that there was only two people in the store so we left and spent our money with Richards’s Sporting Goods because they won’t let me say the word that the store actually is and drove 30 minutes to get there and shockingly enough they had everything we needed and john helped us at the university store. I highly recommend spending money with people who want you to spend money with them.

Horrible manager and some workers at the store. They don’t know anything about boats but tell off customers who are professional boat operators and have lifetime worth of knowledge. The Hawaii location is absolutely horrible and the manager who was this old Caucasian woman gives the customers zero respect and doesn’t want to help people who maintain boats for a business. In Hawaii we have some of the roughest waters and things break. when we go and try to return things within warranty period she makes the process difficult and wants us to just go away. They used to take returns for some pump products and now they don’t so why shop there anymore if they won’t honor return on the warranty of the products. Completely useless store and company. We will definitely be spreading the word to not buy from west marine if there are alternatives.

The most deceitful business I have delt with accompanied by absolutely atrocious customer service. I tried multiple times to cancel my order due to the item no longer being in stock prior to it being shipped. After multiple attempts to cancel the order, West Marine then changed the status from in progress, to shipped to stop me trying to cancel. The order was supposed to have been delivered July 2nd. West Marine created the shipping FedEx label on July 3nd charged my card and the item has not been picked up by FedEx as today July 08 25. There is no tracking info available. My assumption is that the item is STILL not in stock which is why FedEx has not picked it up. This is incredibly poor service and appears to be misrepresentation or misleading statements of facts. There is no reason for this nonsense when all West Marine had to do was cancel the order when I first requested it on July 1st. since it was not in stock. In my last attempt to get information and have someone call me the customer service rep, Mike, left the chat mis conversation.

The website only works on Google, not Explorer. The Live Chat doesn't work and they customer service number has nobody to answer. The website cannot provide the technical answers to find the CORRECT replacement product even though it is a West Marine product. Very disappointed at how far the company's service has fallen. Even store staff is frustrated at how poorly the website functions. After 25 years of shopping, I am ready to quit WM as a supplier.

Used to be a really good source for boating needs. I have spent at least $15k over the years, but I have been moving to other suppliers. Products are good, instore staff variable (but they try), overall customer service on account and product issues is about as bad as it gets. No phone service, chat is absurd (been waiting over 40 minutes for any response today), website offers little detailed self-help. They just lost $900 to Defender today, and more tomorrow as I update my sailboat rigging and equipment.

They advertise on website that product is available to pick up next day. I placed order, they charged a credit card and instead of conformation sent a notice that order is cancelled without any reason. Meanwhile they will keep your money for week or longer. Well known trick you don’t expect from reputable company.

Drove 3 hours to the Worst Marine in Phoenix to pick up a $1600 Isotherm refrigerator only to find it had been smashed and severely damaged during shipping. The box had been opened. No WM staff called to notify me the unit was damaged despite it being at the Phoenix store (right next to the cash registers) for 8 days. Come to find out Isotherm PALLETIZES all fridges for shipment. This one was not palletized or secured in any way. This shipment was made without ANY care whatsoever as to the protection of the fridge... or the customer. Refused delivery of the fridge, got a refund and bought from another supplier with great service and palletized products! BTW, Worst Marine no longer offers customers a way to actually speak with another human being (no phone access). Instead you get to "chat" with someone (?) after waiting for 30 minutes -- and only for a few hours each day -- only to learn they "can't help you". Shame.

Very poor customer service. Chat doesn't work correctly . No other way to contact customer service to inquire about order problems