Buyers Beware
I normally donât 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 itâs 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 canât do anything for the inconvenience because the motors was disconnected for a price match, even though it was their mistake and not mine. Now Iâm 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. Thatâs 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 didnât actually possess. That is not a small oversight. That is a complete breakdown of inventory control, communication, and customer handling.
Now Iâm being told a different warehouse in Florida âmightâ 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:
âDo you want your money back?â
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 ownerâs 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 âwe careâ on the outside, while leaving the customer to chase support through chat agents and dead-end channels, says more about a companyâs leadership than anything else. If even the owner wonât 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 canât keep track of its own stock; and canât be bothered to provide a real point of contact when they mess up; is not a company you can rely on
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