West Marine

Great store! James was helpful and extremely knowledgable, and took the time to explain in detail how to approach my teak restoration project. Highly recommend this place.

Came in to decide which kayak would be best for use in the harbor without breaking the bank. The young man that helped me was very knowledgable and gave me great advice and in the end even saved me a few bucks by switching out the paddle I chose with a non name brand before he rang me up. The place is huge and has a large selection of marine necessities. I would recommend. I was Leary because of the reviews but my experience was great. Maybe it just depends on who you deal with or what you are shopping for.

Great store terrible customer service the people here don’t give a damn about anyone walking in their store let alone wanting to spend money. Put us out of our misery.

I was not a real big fan of West Marine.
Over priced and stuffy employees.
Started a Whaler rebuild.
(Spent about 20,000 on the rebuild).
Headed to West Marine and we pleasantly surprised.
Nice big store, great employees and some good deals.
Some items I purchased elsewhere.
But, they did have much of my needed items and were fair priced.
I am now shopping whenever I am in town.
There is a guy there Gio? I believe.
Great guy, very funny. He knows his store very well.
Really like seeing him there.

West Marine is the Nieman Marcus of boating… unbelievably expensive, but there when you need them. This store stocks more boating & sailing gear in one place than probably anywhere else. They usually have a couple kids working… but always seem to have a few guys working that seem to know their stuff, too. They are expensive, but so is their rent in Newport!

This store is 24 000 sf
It has the most wan apparel of west marines I’ve seen at Santa Barbara Oxnard ventura Oceanside
The clothing sale for Columbia off gear was great I got to take advantage of a 25% off manager sale that allowed me to get $ 50 Columbia shirts for $ 29 my wife got three pairs of shoes that were normally $ 49 for $ 19 and $ 29 shirt selection is excellent the short selections excellent they have really knowledgeable staff the store is really clean and not crowded and there is plenty of parking on the back
They were having a sidewalk sale for Claire and out of the shoes that I thought was really great now is the best time to come.
It looks like they have a fishing reel roller they have a very in-​depth voting section and fishing section they have some of the best selection of cold-​weather gear and waterproof jackets that I’ve seen ever

This is a FABULOUS West Marine. Super clean and spacious with a large clothing section full of perfect boat/​water outfits. The staff is friendly, helpful, and quick with transactions. A large selection of marine items for dogs too!

I needed a pre-​treatment chemical for my boat and they were the most helpful people. When I walked in each of the employees greeted me as I walked by. They got me the product I needed quickly. It was a pleasant experience and I will be back.
This store is huge for marine supplies. The only problem is they have too much cool stuff for sale. I wanted all kinds of upgrades for my boat and I need to save up.

Found an amazing selection of the traditional merchandise along with so many new things we’ve never seen in our normal stores. The staff is very accommodating and will bend over backwards to make it happen. Great attitude and great service !

One star was the lowest option or I would choose ¹⁄₁₆^th of a star.
This new store is HORRIBLE.
As you have read other reviews — the majority of the staff are young probably high schoolers. They have no idea about any profits they have in the store, can’t even tell you were to look for it — and if you do — it’s 200% higher than any other marine store.
Im BoatUS member as well — so I try to look for «deals» when they send out the mailers. But can usually find the same «discounted» item for much cheaper online.
Also. I just bought a West Marine battery jump starter. I used it twice and now it won’t even charge back up. No lights — nothing. Just dead.
I’m willing to bet they will NOT swap it out for a new one for me when I try to exchange it this week. I’ll update the post when I return from the Newport store most likely disappointed.
I bought one at Oriley’s about 3 years ago — still works great. But I leave that on the boat for emergencies.
Good thing I didn’t leave that West Marine pile of crap on my boat or I would have been stranded in Catalina a few months ago.
In short — go there — scan or write down items you like or want — and buy it on amazon for well lees than half the price the store sells it for.
And don’t go there without the part # — it’s not like the old one on PCH and Bayside. Those guys (although total jerks) knew everything and knew where everything was in the store.
Huge location — nice and pretty — but I doubt they will last long unless they make some serious changes quickly.

We found the staff at the Newport store to be very accommodating and knowledgeable about all of our nautical necessities. What a great selection in each of the departments. We spend hours there each week. The greatest clothing collection around. Parts Dept. person Gio answered many questions for us at the counter. He gave us a lot of insight as to the the operation and maintenance on our new boat.
We were also drawn to the salt water fishing gear. Kevin really gave so much of his attention and answered so many of our questions. He spoke of his own experiences and made great recommendations for new equipment and aided us in our selections.
Kevin was very impressive with his understanding of boat ownership and operation. He was willing to get the items we had on our list and get us on our way.
We are looking forward to subsequent visits to complete our float list. Shopping this store is a real pleasure.

FIND SOMEPLACE ELSE TO GO!!! There return policy — NO returns without a receipt. I got CLOTHES as a Christmas Gift. The jacket and shoes were too small. The tags were still on. The shoes said West Marine and the inserts were still intact. I asked for a refund — no was the answer. I asked for store credit — No was the answer. I asked to get a bigger size — NO was the answer — by the store manager!!! WHAT SUCCESSFUL STORES HAVE THIS KIND OF A RETURN POLICY??? Their new store is big and beautiful and EMPTY! Just watch this will be /​should be the next store going out of business…

MY GOD!!! I may have an issue… I found this place on a lark. This particular one has only been open since september, but jeez this place is like the mecca for nautical supplies. Honestly, just about everyone can find something here! from shoes, to boats, shoes to go pro’s.
The staff is friendly and helpful, always ready to offer assistance. If your a novice, expert or just stopping by to see what the store is about, they will help you find it.
Give this store a whirl!

Will West Marine «get it» before they go out of business? On the way to the electrical section I passed employees openly wondering why the new store is dead. I was after heat shrink tubing. The stuff I wanted was $ 10 at this store. I asked what the price was with my wholesale card and they said it was still $ 10. In addition to the thousand percent mark up they were all out of this common product. That turned out to be a good thing because I went a couple blocks away and got twice as much product for only $ 1.75.
They really lack the knowledge base as well. They don’t match online prices either. This is going to be a problem for them since they are basically a clothing store with some marine stuff. I went to get my girl a bikini made by Sperry. They would not match the price that the Mfg. «Sperry» had it advertised for on Amazon… lol. I got it from Amazon for %60 less than at West Marine.

Big run a round with the riverside store and the new newport store. Tried to get a cap and rotor for my volvopenta, they said it would take two weeks (riv store). Called newport, got transferred to the parts dept and they guy had no idea what a rotor was. After half hour on the phone he said he would need to see the old one. I drove there and after a hour searching the their web site to find it they couldn’t. 50 mile trip for nothing. I went back home, got on my computer and found the part number on Sierra web site. Call the riverside store (that is 3 miles away) with the part number and they had 3 on the shelf, ugh,

Showed up on a Saturday to buy a bird detractor. Took the staff 30 minutes to figure out they were out of stock. Pretty common item and low cost inventory to stock. Couldn’t even give me a referral to another place in the area when there are several other shops that sell it. Prices seemed high on other items as well. Will spend my money elsewhere. The same item on Amazon was $ 34 with free 2 day shipping vs. $ 54 at West Marine. I will save the $ 20 plus the gas money to drive there!

If you are lucky enough to be reading this than you have already paid yourself handsomely! West Marine is the worst kind of company. High priced to the point of usury with an attitude that belittles customers. With a very little effort you can find almost anything they offer at half the price. I had two «3 year» batteries go bad after a year and a half. I went in and they happily offered a percentage credit (absolutely no refund) on the unused portion. Fine. But the problem is I can buy the same battery for less, including their «credit». I pointed this out to them and asked they price match at least for my troubles. No way. It has to be an exact match. But since it is a West Marine battery that becomes impossible. Even though the battery came from the exact same manufacturing plant, but with the West Marine name slapped on the side! I figured out three truths that day: 1. The guy at the counter shared with me that all marine batteries go bad early. West Marine plays into this fact by getting you hooked on the credit they are giving you. 2. This explains why anything that sits on the shelf at WM has the name slapped on it ASAP so as to diminish fair price competition. 3. Finding a local Marine supply you can develop a relationship with and going to the internet for your spend is smart.
West Marine has a foothold because of convenience factors, but they don’t give a crumb about the customer. Buyer beware indeed.
BTW, the suppliers hate them too! Don’t believe it? Just privately ask one of their vendors who you should buy their product from…

The is the new West Marine on Via Lido and to say it has everything marine-​related would be an understatement! It’s HUGE! The staff is super friendly and knowledgeable, super cute and functional clothing and other merchandise, and absolutely anything you could possibly want whether you cruise, sail, SUP, kayak, skim board or just love the coastal lifestyle. We particularly love their Pure Oceans line of cleaning products — gets the work done on both our vessels but is easy on the environment. Can’t wait to do a LOT of Christmas shopping there!

The staff is very kind and help as much as they can. The store is very clean and often has most of the items you need. The reason for only four stars is the prices are a bit high.